Last week, novelist Terry Pratchett passed away. I admit that I have never read any of Mr Pratchett's works, but as a wannabe author and lover of language, I always find it sad when a writer goes to that Big Publishing House in the Sky.
In the many column inches of reporting on Mr Pratchett’s life and death, there was an item of particular interest to me that appeared in – of all places – Word Spy. It reported on a word he had coined that is especially useful nowadays: substition
Mr Pratchett built this word by taking the word “superstition” (defined as “something that is not real, even though you believe in it”) and replacing “super” with “sub” to create the opposite - “substition” … defined as “something that is real, but you don’t believe in.”
Facts, nowadays, are no longer facts as we’ve understood them for centuries ... things proven by evidence, experience, and experiment to be true. Today, they are merely what one absolutely believes to be true, evidence to the contrary be damned. Creationism, trickle-down economic theory, the "War on Christmas," and just about anything Rush Limbaugh says are examples of what some people* consider to be facts.
Substition is a great word for that concept. Use it often … you’ll have plenty of opportunities, given what passes for thought these days.
Bilbo
* Particularly on the far right. Take off the tinfoil hats and listen up, why dontcha.
Now that is a worthy word to be added to the lexicon!
ReplyDeleteSubstition. I like that.
It would seem that we could also include almost every newscaster, based on recent events. I love the picture. Are you one of those kids?
ReplyDeleteI like that new word!
ReplyDeleteI like that new word!
ReplyDeleteI think that's a picture of Kirk and Scotty as kids trying to beam themselves.... anywhere.
ReplyDeleteClimate change doubters and other tin foil hat wearers.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great word. Too bad it's so needed. I'm going to start using it regularly, it would seem...
ReplyDeleteOh. Those goggles make them look creepy.
ReplyDeleteYou need to read some of the Discworld series. I promise you will love them. Color of Magic would be a good starting point. Or choose here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/524399-terry-pratchett-s-discworld-where-or-how-to-start