Posts tagged: words
neuronovel
n., a literary genre in which the characters’ behavior and motivation is explained by neuroscience, particularly brain disorders
brandy
n., a cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-the grave and four parts clarified Satan. Dose: a headful all the time.
—Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
telephone
n., an invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance
telescope
n., a device having a relation to the eye similar to that of the telephone to the ear, enabling distant objects to plague us with a multitude of needless details. Luckily it is unprovided with a bell summoning us to the sacrifice.
—Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
neologomania
n., the transhuman enthusiasm for neologisms, especially the creation of words with many prefixes
neomorph
n., a transhuman or posthuman with a non-humanoid body
future shock
“A sense of shock felt by those who were not paying attention.” [Michael Flynn, ANALOG, Jan 1990. Coined by Alvin Toffler, Future Shock, 1970]
futique
adj., stylishly futuristic
functional soup
A possible posthuman state where knowledge, mental modules and access to physical bodies can be shared between distributed infomorphs largely independent of the physical substrate of their world. Terms such as individuality become diffuse, and are replaced with teleological threads.
dryware
n., an artificial part of a cyborg (usage similar to ‘hardware’, ‘software’ and ‘wetware’)
wetware
n., similar to ‘hardware’, but denotes a biological system, most commonly the human nervous system
disasterbation
n., idly fantasizing about possible catastrophes (ecological collapse, full-blown totalitarianism) without considering their likelihood or considering their possible solutions and prevention
päeva sõna:
õudusunenäokangelane
thrillax
v., to do something that is both stimulating and relaxing
hobbledehoy
n., an awkward, gawky young man
cockalorum
n., a boastful and self-important person; a strutting little fellow
man
n., an animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth and Canada.
—Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
diarrheaist
n., a person who shares too much online, particularly personal information
friggatriskaidekaphobia
n., a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th
hashtag activism
n., activism that uses a Twitter hashtag to promote a project or cause, particularly when it requires no other action from people
The advent of “hashtag activism” has been greeted with breathless claims about the birth of a new form of technology-based social movement. While such technologies can be extremely useful tools, they do not represent alternatives to the exhausting, age-old work of meeting people where they are, hearing their concerns, reaching common ground, building trust and convincing them that it is in their interests to act politically to change their circumstances.
—Eric Augenbraun, “Occupy Wall Street and the limits of spontaneous street protest,” The Guardian, September 29, 2011
As a reporter, I don’t sign up for various causes, but as someone who lives — far too much — in the world of social media, I can feel the pull of digital activism. And I have to admit I’m starting to experience a kind of “favoriting” fatigue — meaning that the digital causes of the day or week are all starting to blend together. Another week, another hashtag, and with it, a question about what is actually being accomplished.
—David Carr, “Hashtag Activism, and Its Limits,” The New York Times, March 25, 2012
Hauaööõudused, jõeäärne õueaiamaa, öötöö
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Estonian language.
Also, I really love the word kõueööaimdus, which means as much as presage of a thundery night.
