Acronym it. This has become such a problem that it is even evaluated at the level of medical academies such as the American Academy of Dermatology. Acronyms are often taught as mnemonic devices, for example in physics the colors of the visible spectrum are said to be "ROY G. BIV" ("red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-violet"). They are also used as mental checklists, for example in aviation: "GUMPS", which is "Gas-Undercarriage-Mixture-Propeller-Seatbelts". Other examples of mnemonic acronyms are "CAN SLIM", and "PAVPANIC" as well as "PEMDAS". It is not uncommon for acronyms to be cited in a kind of false etymology, called a "folk etymology", for a
Recursive acronym Recursive acronym A recursive acronym is an acronym that refers to itself. The term was first used in print in 1979 in Douglas Hofstadter's book "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", in which Hofstadter invents the acronym GOD, meaning "GOD Over Djinn", to help explain infinite series, and describes it as a recursive acronym. Other references followed, however the concept was used as early as 1968 in John Brunner's science fiction novel "Stand on Zanzibar". In the story, the acronym EPT (Education for Particular Task) later morphed into "Eptification for Particular Task". Recursive acronyms typically form backwardly: either an