I remember an older less-computer savvy gentlemen asking for support because "the program isn't working", when after a few questions we realized his computer won't boot up (screen dark, etc.). We thought his terminology was all screwed up. But now I realize he just lacked the necessary PR skill. He should have said that "the program isn't working" is a well-known term of art for power users such as himself. The fact that people who actually have a clue about computing find this imprecise term upsetting if there problem. It so happens that aside from developing software, I'm physicist working on particle physics (specifically, I make my living in industry from cosmic rays). So I can assure you that "cosmic rays" actually mean something. Something very specific. Books have been written full of specific intelligent things we can say about cosmic rays. If you go an appropriate it to describe a whole bunch of phenomena because you can't be bothered to distinguish between them, you're in the exact same boat as that gentlemen from the start of the story. Using wrong terms prevents understanding, as can be seen in all the stories linked elsethread so far. For example, using thinner silicon typically reduces the rate of Single-Event Upsets (the malfunctions caused by cosmic rays) but using smaller silicon components typically increases the rate of malfunctions due to quantum fluctuations. The latter typically happen in specific hardware that we manufactured not-quite-as-well as the rest. SEUs happen in the same rate in all hardware.

Interesting, because I was thinking of ... cosmic rays.

It is not a "well-known term", it is a cliché.