VOCABULARY: Defining the “x – factor” whatever that is

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tag/nfl-newsletter/?source=athletic_scoopcity_newsletter&campaign=19094208&userId=30483772

The Athletic NFL
By Jacob Robinson

*** begin quote ***

Bengals’ X factors

Around the league, at least 15 players fit the dictionary’s “X factor” definition (“strong but unpredictable influence,” per Merriam-Webster, in case you were curious) this season.

Among them, the Bengals’ playoff hopes rest on their linebackers specifically, as Robert Mays explains in this clip:

“People are looking at all the moves the Bengals made this offseason: Dexter Lawrence, multiple big free-agent acquisitions, and saying, ‘All right, here we go.’

“There’s plenty of reason to believe that this group will be significantly better than it was a year ago. (But) if the linebacker play from (Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight) does not take a step forward and looks even marginally close to what it did last year, that could be enough to sink this unit.

“That is the position group on this team where they did nothing to upgrade this offseason.”

Carter and Knight are second-year players who struggled when thrust into starting roles as rookies. They improved in the latter half of 2025, but not enough to quiet concerns about Cincinnati.

*** end quote ***

Interesting. I’d never hear that defined before.  I always thought of it as a “fudge factor”.  You know when an ingineer does a load calculation and at the end multiples by two or three “just to be sure”.

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VOCABULARY: “digital campfires” — niche forums where the signal-to-noise ratio is actually managed by humans

Sunday, April 12, 2026

https://www.fark.com/comments/14032190/Fark-NotNewsletter-The-newest-trend-on-internet

*** begin quote ***

So apparently there’s a “new” “trend” called “digital campfires.” Harvard Business Review wrote about it back in 2020, Deloitte picked it up recently, and now every marketing consultancy on the planet is releasing breathless reports about how the future of the internet is small, gated, high-trust communities where people actually know each other instead of screaming into the algorithmic void. The metric of success has shifted from “reach” to “resonance,” they say. A million followers is worth less than a thousand active participants.

Sound familiar?

The basic idea is that people are abandoning the public town square of social media, which is now roughly 51% bots anyway per a report that dropped last week, and returning to niche forums where the signal-to-noise ratio is actually managed by humans who give a damn.

Discord just crossed 200 million monthly active users, and 90% of all activity on the platform happens in small servers. Ninety percent of their private servers have fewer than 15 members. The guy who co-founded it literally said the small servers are where people “developed true connections and belonging.”

So on the one hand you have the open internet turning into a bot farm, and on the other hand you have humans quietly migrating to smaller spaces where they can verify that the person they’re talking to has a pulse. Consultants are calling it “the Great Fragmentation” and charging six figures for the insight.

*** end quote ***

Interesting that the Great Fragmentation is occurring to the internet?

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VOCABULARY: Dummheit — collective stupidity

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/war-the-father-of-all-mind-viruses?publication_id=1119676&post_id=191045812&isFreemail=true&r=3snn7d&triedRedirect=true

WAR: The Father of All Mind Viruses
Fear of an enemy — real, perceived, exaggerated, or fabricated — is the emotional incubator and superspreader of all mind viruses.
John Leake
Mar 15, 2026

*** begin quote ***

Dietrich Bonhoeffer concluded that they had been afflicted with collective stupidity (German: Dummheit). He was not being flippant or sarcastic, and he made it clear that stupidity is not the opposite of native intellect. On the contrary, the events in Germany between 1933 and 1943 had shown him that perfectly intelligent people were, under the pressure of fear and propaganda, rendered stupid—that is, incapable of critical reasoning.

*** end quote ***

“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.” — Will Smith

‘Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear’s path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.’ — Muad’Dib in DUNE

“To learn what we fear is to learn who we are. Horror defies our boundaries and illuminates our souls.” — Shirley Jackson

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real —  I Kings 19:1-15

Maybe this is where our English word “dumbshit” originates?

AI Overview — “Dumbshit” is a vulgar slang term referring to a very stupid, foolish, or incompetent person. It is used as a derogatory noun or, less commonly, as an adjective to describe extreme foolishness. Originating in American slang around the 1940s, it serves as a harsh term of address.

That’s about the right timeframe for Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s observation to appear in the USA.  

Seems like a good label to apply to a lot people in today’s population.

Maybe to plagiarize Jeff Foxworthy —  

— if you have any of these “derangement syndromes”, you maybe a dumbshit!

— if you believe anything a politicians or bureaucrats says, you maybe a dumbshit!

— if you echo anything to see or hear on “social media” without citation or evidence, you maybe a dumbshit!

Nota Bene:  Everything I blog about starts with a link of what prompted it.

“My first rule: I don’t believe anything the government tells me.” — George Carlin  

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2026-03Mar-24 0841 — Revised to fix format.

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VOCABULARY: Copium, Hopium, Mopium, and Pepe the Frog

Friday, February 20, 2026

https://www.malone.news/p/friday-funnies-promises-promises?publication_id=583200&post_id=187789750&isFreemail=true&r=3snn7d&triedRedirect=true

Friday Funnies: Promises, Promises…
And other true stories
Dr. Robert W. Malone
Feb 13, 2026

# – # – # – # – #

 

# – # – # – # – #

Copium, Hopium, Mopium, and Pepe the Frog … … 

… … gives me three new words to add to my vocabulary.

  • Copium ==> to deal with a state of denial
  • Hopium ==> to have false hope
  • Mopium ==> to complain about mundane issues

Useage: 

  • I use copium to handle all the Epstein fodder.
  • I take hopium that all the villains in the Epstein matter get justice.
  • I use mopium to complain about all the politicians and bureaucrats obfuscating about Epstein.

Three good new words.

Credit where credit is due.

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VOCABULARY: Pareidolia is the term for seeing a familiar pattern in a random or ambiguous visual stimulus

Thursday, November 27, 2025

https://www.casinocitytimes.com/john-robison/article/ask-the-slot-expert-i-see-casino-equivalents-in-everyday-things-69137

*** begin quote ***

Pareidolia is the term for seeing a familiar pattern in a random or ambiguous visual stimulus, like seeing faces on toast or a potato chip that looks like Darth Vader.

*** end quote ***

 
pareidolia /păr″ī-dō′lē-ə/nounThe perception of a recognizable image or meaningful pattern where none exists or is intended, as the perception of a face in the surface features of the moon.The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition • More at Wordnik
 
# – # – # – # – #
 
Wow, never knew there was a word for this (what I’d call) human failing.
 
Like the tulip craze, human sometimes “hallucinate” just like AI.   Also like “pink elephants”, humans can imagine things that don’t exist.  Some times that’s a fatal flaw (i.e., a mirage in the dessert; an honest politician; jumbo shrimp).
 
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VOCABULARY: Mandela effect — A shared false memory.

Saturday, November 22, 2025

https://www.makeuseof.com/chatgpt-meltdown-hallucination-prompt/?user=bXVvQHJlaW5rZS5jYw&lctg=28d2ed2b3c7a64795f347195bfd302ab46e112a2d0fa032e2ba5de55cc388ab7

Why does this harmless emoji make ChatGPT lose its mind?
By Amir Bohlooli
Published 5 hours ago
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2025-11-15>>

  • Amir is the Segment Lead for Productivity and Creative at MUO. He’s a PharmD student who’s interested in clinical outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics. He loves looking at

*** begin quote ***

Despite all that, the emoji never existed. This is the Mandela effect. A shared false memory. The term came from researcher Fiona Broome, who clearly remembered Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s — only to realize Mandela became president and died in 2013. She could even recall the funeral coverage. When she found many others with the same false memory, the term “Mandela effect” was born.

*** end quote ***

I wonder how much of “history” is nothing more than a “shared false memory”.  And, if written “history” is a false memory, then what is oral “history” passed down through generations?

So it sounds like that JoHari window quadrant IV (i.e., what we both can’t see) is suddenly HUGE!

Now with “AI”, whatever that is, with its “hallucinations” and fake video creations, make even more “evidence” unreliable. The legal system has proven that “eyewitness” testimony is very fallible.  And, even forensic “evidence” has to be suspect.

What can we “know” or “believe”?

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15302383/Mr-Darcy-wet-colour-C3PO-Mandela-Effect-films.html

*** begin quote ***

Why does the Mandela Effect happen?

Arlin Cuncic, a psychologist and author based in Canada, said the Mandela Effect is ‘unreliable and not infallible’.

She points to a memory error called confabulation – where the brain fills in gaps that are missing in your memories to make more sense of them.

Another factor is the information we subsequently learn can change our memory of the original event.

‘This includes event subtle information and helps to explain why eyewitness testimony can be unreliable,’ she said in a piece for Verywell Mind.

Also, the role of the internet in ‘influencing the memories of the masses should not be underestimated’.

‘It’s probably no coincidence that consideration of the Mandela effect has grown in this digital age,’ Cuncic said.

Another theory for the basis for the Mandela effect relates to the idea that rather than one timeline of events, alternate realities or universes may be taking place and mixing with our timeline.

This far-fetched idea continues to gain traction among online Mandela effect communities but is closer to the realm of science fiction.

*** end quote ***

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VOCABULARY: mansplaining aka correctile dysfunction

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

https://www.boredpanda.com/offensive-things-people-say-to-women/

*** begin quote ***

Tempest 8 minutes ago

I remember a comment somewhere from some time ago which renamed mansplaining as “correctile dysfunction” and I’ve never forgotten it. Waiting for the day I’ll get to use it!

*** end quote ***

Pretty funny.

Never thought of it this way.

Some of the others are amazing as well.

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.VOCABULARY: As new euphamism ‘Promoted outwards’

Thursday, January 30, 2025

https://nypost.com/2025/01/29/business/lvmh-ceo-bernard-arnault-coins-new-phrase-for-being-fired-promoted-outwards/

 World’s 5th richest man Bernard Arnault coins new phrase for being fired: ‘Promoted outwards’

By Shane Galvin 

Published Jan. 29, 2025, 11:55 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Arnault came up with the eye-roll-worthy corporate jargon Tuesday during an investor call for LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Dior, Fendi, Tiffany & Co, and several other luxury brands.

The French billionaire made the “promoted outwards” comment while discussing social media company META’s decision to lay off low-performing employees, according to Fortune.

Arnault, 75, claimed that those who lost their jobs are actually being “promoted” to better jobs at different companies.

*** end quote ***

I agree with him.  I’ve been ‘promoted outwards’ five times and, in four of those five, I got a better job rather quickly.  In the fifth one, I decided that I’d had enough of “employment” and retired.  My fiancé and friends gave me a nice surprise party to celebrate.  While I regret “retiring”, (Retirement is boring), I didn’t work myself to the grave for the benefit of a sow soulless enterprise that lost its way.  (That is you AT&T!). 

Sigh!  Unfortunately I was born after the gold watch era was ending and before “your own business” became the way to FU money.  But, all in all, I survived it all even if “I didn’t do it MY WAY”.

Each era has its own challenges.

Success for your generation is: (1) ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt; (2) a life long interest in learning — education — a degree — they can’t take it away from you; (3) a NON-OFFSHORABLE white collar job in order to save big bux; (4) a blue collar skill for hard times — never saw a poor plumber; (5) one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open; (6) a free time hobby that generates income; and (7) a large will-maintained network of people who can “help” you.

I’ve blogged it before many many times and I think it’s still true.

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VOCABULARY: ‘future-faking’ — making promises to their partner that they have no sincere intent on making true

Sunday, January 19, 2025

https://nypost.com/2025/01/12/lifestyle/psychologist-warns-future-faking-is-subtle-narcissistic-behavior/

Beware ‘future-faking’ — this common relationship behavior is actually narcissistic manipulation: expert
By Eric Todisco 
Published Jan. 12, 2025, 12:49 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Partners who do this should be left in the past.

Los Angeles-based psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula made a YouTube video with a dire warning about “future-faking,” a common manipulation tactic used by narcissists in romantic relationships.

Future-faking involves a person making promises to their partner that they have no sincere intent on making true.

*** and ***

She noted that society “didn’t talk about narcissism until relatively recently in the way that we do now,” so many people who are in their 40s and older “are tolerating toxic relationships but didn’t have any word or model for it.”

*** end quote ***

Interesting that not having word or model for a behavior prevents humans from recognizing it.  Never thought of that concept.  It’s like another “window” in the Johari window Quadrant 3  — “what I can’t see that others can”.  

Have to think about that?

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VOCABULARY: “demonstrated preference” by Murray Rothbard

Friday, December 6, 2024

https://mailchi.mp/tomwoods/20243-9250479?e=39307912ab

*** begin quote ***

For instance, I know a guy who worked at a record store (remember those?) who used to feel oddly guilty about his job, because he couldn’t shake the idea that the store was somehow taking advantage of consumers.

Then he read Murray Rothbard’s discussion of “demonstrated preference” — which means that both parties to a voluntary transaction are made better off (ex ante), or the transaction would not have occurred.

*** end quote ***

This insight is one reason for a completely voluntary society.  If everyone is free, then no one can be “exploited”. 

Dona Nobis Pacem

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