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Unrelated to Rouille, but I really like how the word factoid seems to be slowly inverting it's definition. Where it actually means an "Often thought fact that i
by hetspookjee 5y ago
Unrelated to Rouille, but I really like how the word factoid seems to be slowly inverting it's definition. Where it actually means an "Often thought fact that is actually incorrect", e.g. eating 8 spiders in your sleep per year. I am unsure if your fact is actually a factoid, but your comment reads as if you mean to use the word factoid in a reduced size of the word fact, it seems to mean something like; a small fact. In any case I see the word often "misused" in the latter sense. The appearant misuse of the factoid might make the newly acquired definition a ironic one, like an oxymoron.
I feel the latter definition of the word factoid feels more sensical: suffixing the word fact with -oid makes the text in which it is applied softer, where the word fact is rather harsh, the word factoid feels more friendly, like boba/ kiki, I speculate. In addition I think using more letters to address the subject you're about to share might make the reader hold its attention for longer and thus feels "right" to use in short sentences. I also feel as if I prefer to read the sentence in which it occurs with a slight upward inflection, which I find more positive.
Personally I hope the latter definition will stick and humanity is one more ironic definition richer.
- pavlov 5y agoI always thought “factoid” was meant to highlight the uncertainty of things you read or hear that are presented as facts. Like a humanoid is human-shaped, a factoid is fact-shaped but not necessarily or even probably actual fact.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- hetspookjee 5y agoThank you I really like that interpretation. I couldn't quite find it but this is splendid.
- dimal 5y agoInteresting. I never thought of “factoid” that way, and if that is an alternative meaning, then the “new” version has been around a long time. My introduction to it was from reading the “Factoids” section in “3-2-1 Contact” magazine as a kid in the 80s.[0] It was my favorite part of the magazine. Let me feel smart without making much effort. [0] https://archive.org/details/321contactjul88/page/n7/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/321contactjul88/page/n7/mode/2up