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it's very simple, but i just had some thoughts about it, i guess. its most contemporary formations.
famously, "google it," as shorthand for "use an internet search engine." a corporate synecdoche, because the phrase doesn't account for the whole world of search engines, appointing google as a standing representative of every possible search engine your prospective Googler may use. no, it's not, why don't you Yahoo it? Bing it? DuckDuckGo it? Why don't you Ask Jeeves? (<--this is the cultural linguistic timeline i would most prefer, personally)
our vernacular is shaped by corporate influence, by what is most profitable, regardless of whether these words match the actual reality we're describing. i mean, no dip. i think we all notice this. my second cliche example: you may ask for a Kleenex, but are you really, literally, specifically asking for the name brand tissue? no. [insert Clerks adhesive medical strips bit]
now, what i find interesting, is my propensity, and probably yours, if you use language like me, to create my own equivalents of these phrases.
you say you'd rather not pay for a book? i'll say, "why don't you libgen it?"
which is not to imply that i am mandating you use libgen specifically, or that, when i use the verb to describe my own actions, it is literal and only describes the action of using libgen: let's be real, guys, Anna's Archive is my go-to, it has a larger selection. but it has come to act as shorthand for, "why don't you pirate the book online?"
so, i guess the thing is, i am creating an imaginary standard where libgen can represent a whole subsection of web resources (sites that archive books and keep them readily available for download) and, in my speech, is a symbolic representation of multiple ideas, instead of literally only referring to the object itself. i am also creating a category of libgen-like websites which can be represented by this symbol, and thus drawing a distinction between those websites and those which are not, like, libgen-able
that sounds really boring and pretentious, but i guess my point is -- assuming we all agree that, language, on some level, shapes thought --- how might we express ourselves were there no corporate influence...? i mean, woah! logical leap, jesus. but, hey, google does own our asses, and, probably in ways we don't have the ability to totally consciously reckon with, has affected our speech and thus the way we may conceptualize things.
i mean, i tell you to libgen something, and that instruction and the word choices manifesting it represent a few different principles; that you have the right to knowledge. that you should not have to pay for it.
so, when you tell someone to google something, what principles lie beneath the phrase? convenience? i would say that's the biggest one, sure. oftentimes, "go google it" is used as a response when we choose not to share in our knowledge with others. perhaps something about the accessibility of shallow knowledge, as it comes not so much in the form of books or other primary sources but a comprehensive list of online documents, including storefronts, which let you know XYZ exists in some form and may be referenced on one of the 234,791,998 webpages our machine dredged up for you in less time than it takes for your brain to process a second's worth of sensory information. there is information, but is it accessible (is paywalled)? is it specific? is it relevant to your query? was it even created by a human mind, at this point? it is really just sending down people a corridor of advertisements, and, maybe, giving them a few new facts of tenuous origin, but never engaging with deeper exploration of a subject. and that last part, is fine, actually, because that is the purpose. (but specifying that someone ought to go to Wikipedia would accomplish that just as well or better!) do you see how this reflects certain social trends? i am not saying that this is what you, the individual, mean to imply when you say, "go google it," but that it's kind of... more emblematic of the culture than a superficial look at it might indicate.
"not everything is that deep," well, actually, everything is kind of extremely deep.
sorry guys i was eating lunch and got caught up in a weird thought pattern
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benny // whalefall
"not everything is that deep," well, actually, everything is kind of extremely deep
INDEED BRO, INDEED
i appreciate that you agree
by sam; ; Report
everything is so so deep, bro
by benny // whalefall; ; Report
no seriously.....
there have been, are, so many times (but especially as a teenager lol) where i would try to explain how i viewed Something and the way it was connected to Other Things and my friends/whoever i was talking to would think i was crazy/conspiratorial/whatever.
the above example in the blog is obviously somewhat small, arguably silly... but see when i was like, 16, 17, id tell my friends stuff like, "the reason mainstream school curriculum is the way it is here [meaning a red state with below average educational outcomes, n ive never traveled anywhere that doesnt fit that bill, but im sure its ubiquitous, just less obvious elsewhere lol] is cuz if we actually had to engage with literature or the social sciences with the same rigor we're expected to learn math and the hard sciences, next to no one in their right mind would actually support anything regarding america because they would have acquired the skills to see propaganda for what it is from a youngish age, its necessary to instill this kind of anti-intellectualism in people to keep them complacent" (very abbreviated and simple version but you understand the sentiment) and i remember my friend 1) seemed to think i was stupid because she thought the issue was that i just couldnt comprehend how calculus is objectively more useful than art history or whatever 2) said i sounded like an insane conspiracy theorist and reminded her of her father or something. like alright whatever i guess just because you dont think its that deep doesnt mean it isnt. i mean that was several years ago when the educational aims of florida specifically werent as blatant as they are now, and though i dont talk to any of those people anymore, i know theyre the type to decry this stuff. and its like. guys i saw this coming way before you did because i made connections between information and you dismissed it lol
by sam; ; Report
bro one of my college professors (even though i got a very bad grade in his class 'cause i couldn't do the actual hw assignments, 'cause i was so crippled by depression, this was the first winter post-my one ex ghosting me); he told me "you make connections i've seen nobody else make. you see the bigger picture, and the details tying it all together, in a way i haven't seen in years" (and he had no political backbone because as a gay fucking sociologist he could see everything wrong with the world and was staunchly a liberal anyway who once said he would defend a white person's right to say the n word, but) it was one of the best compliments i've ever gotten because it's the opposite of what my mother & family therapist & people like your old 'friends' say to me; that i *never* see the bigger picture, unless it's at the wrong time, and that i (hyper)focus on details at the wrong time too. but anyway. i fully believe that either everything already has meaning, OR, meaning can be attributed to everything, and pattern recognition 1) isn't paranoia and 2) fucking rules. you rule sam
by benny // whalefall; ; Report
wait sorry i know im getting hung up on a small detail but a sociologist that.... would defend that... hm.
but yes yes everything does have meaning even if its not immediately apparent
ahaha that is quite the compliment from a professor, makes me think id have liked to have been in class with you XD i hated class discussions before i got medicated for anxiety (sigh) and could not articulate my thoughts in those settings but i probably wouldve enjoyed whatever you had to say anyway
professors are Funny Beasts... i had one write on my paper, "you should consider graduate school, if you havent already" (verbatim... kinda funny wording, "if you havent already." anyway its not an impartial recommendation, there is monetary incentive there... or maybe im too cynical) and then another prof that said my relatively simple contributions to the class discussion were ingenious and would constantly refer back to stuff i said which tickled me more than anything because the main contributors were me and a dude who participated via chatgpt generated responses (god i wish i was kidding). like yeah if thats who youre comparing me to i guess i do appear to be a genius. LOL
latter professor was actually really cool, though, arguably the most based guy at my entire stupid, evil (at this point, yeah) university.
and omg thank you YOU RULE
by sam; ; Report
no no it's okay and actually good to get hung up on that that was fairly fucked up of him yeah
dude, i wish we'd shared a class. met in life earlier, in person. somehow. i think that would be really cool. i would absolutely introduce you to all my other in person-friends, i think they'd like you a lot
i mean, you are fairly smart, yeah, don't sell yourself short, but especially compared to someone who uses ai for their 'work,' that is rather funny
thank you & you're welcome
by benny // whalefall; ; Report
me too :3
by sam; ; Report
xX_Dyrk_Nyte_Xx
I now say "lemme fart page that" since I use startpage as my search engine lol. I think its funny and it confuses people. But I do think "why dont you ask Jeeves" would be amazing for ppl to pick up. I may start saying that now.
FART PAGE.... oh i love that..... and yes you get it LOL
by sam; ; Report