Word of the Year - "Truthiness" 254
KingSkippus writes "Stephen Colbert calls it 'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' Merriam-Webster calls it their 2006 Word of the Year. The word, first introduced [Windows media] on 'The Word' segment of The Colbert Report, won by a five-to-one margin. In spite of Colbert's ironic dismissal of dictionaries and other reference books, will Colbert's coined word actually be added to those books? With media outlets like CNN and MSNBC covering it, the idea may very well have truthiness."
'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:True dat (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:This proves what is already known. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This proves what is already known. (Score:5, Insightful)
And sadly, I'm still better informed than most of my American colleagues.
They may not be "Real" news, but it keeps me entertained, informed, and isn't trying to make me hate my life and fear everyone.
CNN on the other hand (Which seems to be in ever hotel and waiting room on the planet) delivers the news with the same false forthrightness no mater if they're covering a cat up a tree or a massacre of orphans. They attempt to give all news the same mock gravity and seriousness so you'll stay tuned it, and be afraid to turn away. Which in turn makes it all worthless.
The approach of Stewart and Colbert is that the news is the entertainment, not much more than the Mystery Science Theater of news. Compared to the major outlets which focus on entertainment, and try to cram news into that mold, succeeding at neither entertaining nor informing.
Re:This proves what is already known. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This proves what is already known. (Score:5, Insightful)
Truth places more value on this fact-based, rigorous analysis, conducted by experts in the field, than it does on the gut-feeling of Bush, Cheney, or Rumsfeld. A loyalty to truth means that you don't give people a free pass because they meant well and are probably decent people when they aren't making decisions that lead to tens of thousands of deaths. Truthiness ignores the fact-based analysis, distrusts the experts, and puts credence in Bush's gut-feeling. This sort of has consequences and stuff. So Colbert is joking, but not really, so faulting him for not being all that funny must be done with the knowledge that he's trying to call our attention to a collective insanity that we need to stop buying into.
Re:'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' (Score:1, Insightful)
Truthiness is a perfectly cromulent word.
Re:This proves what is already known. (Score:5, Insightful)
But this notion of people getting the majority of their news from places like this has got to stop. I know it sounds pretty cool and progressive to dismiss traditional media and show a preference for alternative sources, but it's gotten out of hand. TDS, The Onion, etc... They're jokes first and foremost. I'd bet that the people involved with them would be the first to tell you that. Again, this isn't to detract from their intelligence or the poignance of what they have to say -- but still, the joke comes first. Announcing to the world that this is how we keep ourselves informed is not gonna get us any street cred, and that alone is enough for everyone else to hate us.
Yeah, the "real" news outlets are far from stellar. But if you follow them you can have just as good of an idea as to what's going on in the world. If you so desire, you can even think about it, check multiple sources, and wade through the bullshit.
Re:'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' (Score:5, Insightful)
"Truthiness" is truth using emotion in lieu of facts.
Similar, but not the same word.
Re:'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Fucking Philistines! (Score:3, Insightful)
Jeez, and people thought the political system now had two parties that seemed alike...
I know you're a troll, but i've already replied, so I'll bite.
The idea of social safety nets and social programs aren't to encourage lazy people. Quite the opposite in fact. The idea behind a Government program to say, fund higher education through Pell Grants, is to make sure that people aren't stuck working for minimum wage(a great liberal idea).
Truthiness == ? (Score:4, Insightful)
Gut instinct. Yeah right.
What that means is "Truthiness is what agrees with my basic prejudices".
Re:The demise of English in the US (Score:5, Insightful)
Firstly, as other posters have said, watch The Colbert Report. It is intelligent and brilliant satire, the purpose of his invented words is satire, and is also valuable and necessary commentary on the manipulation of words by the (often right-wing extremist) media such as Fox News. It is also very funny.
As to nature of manipulation of words, the biggest culprit is the advertising, promotion and marketing industry. They are closely followed by News Corp (owned by Murdoch - who is Australian, not American.) Please see the documentary "Outfoxed" if you have not done so. Bear mind that Murdoch's claws extend far beyond the US, they also own TV and Newspapers in Australia, South Africa, China, and in the UK (The Sun, The Times, Sky, and recently part of ITV).
Much of the advertising and promotion industry is international, and UK agencies play a significant part in that - Saatchi and Saatchi as one example.
Evidence of ad manipulation exists in words such as "free", "diet", "low fat", "extra" and many, many, many more. That's universal and also exists in other languages other than English.
One of the most beautiful and wonderful things about English is it's ability to be bent and stretched and often broken without losing it's meaning, in fact it often gains depth and poetry from such manipulation.
If you were to go back in time to the 16th Century I'm certain Ye Olde Slashe Dotte would have a culpatory post by M'lord Scumptious listing his bile at the disgraceful disregard for Her Most Noble Majestie's Englishe by that upstart proletarian Mr Shakespeare.
Seriously if you can understand it, it works. Grammar Nazis, you can all burn forever in Hell. We can blame Dr Samuel Johnson for introducing language fascism, which remains utterly unnecessary to humanity.
And finally, if you have a chance, do read Bill Bryson's book, "Made in America" for an eye-opening history of how American English is, in fact, more correct in many cases.
Oh, and PS, if you believe the Americans have no love of language I can only assume you have never read Steinbeck.
Re:Mod parent DOWN for ignorance... (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not truth from the gut, that's truth from evidence.
Re:Wait! What about good ol' YouTube? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:This proves what is already known. (Score:4, Insightful)
The 500 shells we've found are dud, old shells that can't be used to kill anyone, nor were they capable of harming American citizens in any of the US states. They could do skin damage, but nothing on the scale of mass death.
Further more, WE have connection to terrorist groups in South America, Africa and Asia. It doesn't make it right, but there was no credible link between Saddam and *Al Qaeda.* Who attacked us on September 11th, 2001. Saddam supported terrorists who were operating in and out of Israel. Not America.
Also, it is not the Iraqis will to hang Saddam. The trial was pre-rigged and you know it. I'm not saying what he did was right, but if you're going to accuse a man of crimes against humanity, do it in the Hague where he at least has a fair trial.
The fatality rate is something along the lines of thousands a month for both US and Iraqis. Not to mention the number of attacks are being scrubbed before they go out to press. Because of this, in the 3 years we've been in Iraq, we've caused more deaths than Saddam has combined.
I really DO hope you're joking. No one can be this ignorant to the truth of what's going on in the disaster that is Iraq.
Re:bollocks (Score:3, Insightful)
Too much thinking on a non-issue. (Score:4, Insightful)
--As if French or English, or any language in the world for that matter, sprang into being fully conceived, or worse, that the current state of a given language is by some holy decree, its final, perfect form. That's just Ego and Fear talking.
But honestly, the word 'Truthiness' is not one I'll ever find myself using in earnest, because it was invented through a sense of irony to make fun of Brain-dead Texans with Too Much Power.
It's not a word. It's a joke. And a bitter one, at that.
But if it somehow, (*cough* through ignorance *cough*), it does become a well-used word without any sense of irony attached, then so be it. But honestly, the word doesn't roll off the tongue or really describe something desperate for description enough to affect the public popular lexicon any time soon, IMHO.
Now, can we talk about something else? This whole non-issue reminds me of the banal stupidity of the whole Political Correctness thing; that is, it's too retarded for words and should be stamped out immediately so that it doesn't piss everybody off and waste enormous amounts of time and energy.
-FL
Re:Too much thinking on a non-issue. (Score:3, Insightful)