The world as a community, after a brief nationalistic outbreak for the Olympics, has resumed its relentless pursuit of paradigm shifts.

The phrase “paradigm shift” came from the world of science but now appears to be used any time new gadgets said to fundamentally change the way we work and live are released.

The phrase more often appears in news stories about technology companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft, and with product releases.

“It’s tempting to get caught up in paradigm-shift apocalypticism, but a closer inspection reveals that fanfic (fan fiction) is not new at all.” (The Guardian, August 14)

“The biggest paradigm shift of our era may be the demise of the traditional pension plan.” (The Wall Street Journal, August 12)

“And today he is at the forefront of a paradigm shift in how we view people with prosthetic enhancements to the human body.” (Washington Post, August 10)

“Analysts are expecting something more revolutionary in the near future, particularly concerning artificial intelligence and user interface as Apple’s debut in the TV market signals another paradigm shift.” (The Korea Herald, August 12)

“Apple with its iPad and iOS introduced a paradigm shift in mobile computing.” (The Times of India, July 22)

Cliché of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Clichés in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash’s book, The Last Whale , a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.