In anthropological studies, a "liminal space" refers to a space in the midst of transitioning from one form to another. For instance, a liminal space for a queer individual could be one wherein homosexuality is no longer criminalised, but there is not yet social acceptance of queer individuals. In these liminal spaces, it is widely believed that transition will happen, but it is unclear when and how long the transition would take.

A case study of this is Singapore where homosexual sexual acts are decriminalised, but the government retains a status quo of purportedly discriminatory policies against LGBTQ+ individuals. It is widely believed that social acceptance of queer individuals is a matter of when, not if, but it is unclear when that acceptance will happen.

Geniocracy refers to a system of governance whereby only individuals meeting a certain minimal criterion of intelligence can vote or participate in politics.

Moral offsetting is a phenomenon where after one indulges in dubious moral behaviour, they would aim to offset it by doing an objective moral right. In the context of environmental activism, an example of moral offsetting can be an individual donating to charity after not recycling, or taking an environmentally unfriendly mode of transport.

In the field of historiography, academics have proposed two schools of thought on who is best placed to write national histories. One school of thought argues that 'home scholars', academics who specialise in the study of where they’re from are best placed to write national histories. Another school of thought believes that where one is born or grew up in has no bearing on their ability to write compelling national histories.

In application-based enrolment systems, candidates are assessed holistically, using letter of recommendations, interviews, extracurricular activities, personal statements, classroom grades, and many other factors. Many American and British universities utilize such a system. In testing-centric systems, a centralized, academic examination and one’s placement on that test determines where they go for university. Systems that utilize this includes the Gao Kao in China, and testing systems in countries like Taiwan and the Philippines.

Contact sports are sports that emphasize or require physical contact between players. Some sports, such as mixed martial arts, are scored on impacting an opponent, while others, including rugby football, gridiron football and Australian rules football, require tackling of players. These sports are often known as full-contact, as the sport cannot be undertaken without contact.