# When did you go "Meta" and brainwarp? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849 "2016-09-03T05:37:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/1 "2016-09-03T05:37:27Z")
Meta = [Meta - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta) “For example, metadata are data about data.” I was doing that thing where you have conversations in your head about stuff with other yous with other points of view even though it’s just you and yourself. And then I started thinking about why do I have these conversations with myself and myself and myself in my head when there are means for me to have these conversations with actual real people like here at the SDMB and in the nudest colony. And then I started thinking about why the hell am I wasting my time thinking about what I was thinking about what I was thinking about. But thankfully my brain rebooted. I’m much rootbeer now. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/2 "2016-09-03T09:26:43Z")
Here’s a good one: Why is the word “dictionary” in the dictionary? If you’re reading a dictionary you know what the word means, right? And if you don’t know what the word means, how could you ever find out? ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/3 "2016-09-03T10:08:03Z")
I have a big boat. I recently spent a whole day aboard fishing, watching TV, cooking, etc., just enjoying my floating mancave. In the afternoon it began to rain and I went below. Since I was smelly from fishing I decided to take a shower, and opened the bathroom porthole because of the humidity. After a while, I realized I was in a lake, standing under a shower, watching rain fall on water thru a window. I don’t know if it was “meta”, but there was definitely a wasted step in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/4 "2016-09-03T10:37:24Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Here’s a good one: Why is the word “dictionary” in the dictionary? If you’re reading a dictionary you know what the word means, right? And if you don’t know what the word means, how could you ever find out? What I want to know is: Is there a synonym for ‘thesaurus’? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/5 "2016-09-03T10:42:27Z")
In all seriousness though, ‘thinking about thinking’ is (IMO) one of the most productive routes to creativity, invention and productivity. Pretty much the entire life work of Edward de Bono (coined the term ‘lateral thinking’ and invented many other widely-adopted thinking tools) comprises ‘thinking about thinking’. All of the industry best practice frameworks (Agile, PRINCE2, LEAN, Six Sigma, ITIL, The Deming Cycle, etc) - are all really about ‘thinking about thinking’ ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/6 "2016-09-03T21:00:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > What I want to know is: Is there a synonym for ‘thesaurus’? Treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/7 "2016-09-03T21:17:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > All of the industry best practice frameworks (Agile, PRINCE2, LEAN, Six Sigma, ITIL, The Deming Cycle, etc) - are all really about ‘thinking about thinking’ …about how much consultancy gets paid to teach these corporate navel-gazing techniques, and reaching the nirvana of “Career change time!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/8 "2016-09-03T23:08:20Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > > [@Mangetout](#): > > > > What I want to know is: Is there a synonym for ‘thesaurus’? > > Treasure. Yes, but is there an anagram for ‘synonym’? Or vice versa? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/9 "2016-09-03T23:23:10Z")
Why isn’t the word for “palindrome” a palindrome? It should be emordrome or something. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/10 "2016-09-03T23:31:41Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Here’s a good one: Why is the word “dictionary” in the dictionary? If you’re reading a dictionary you know what the word means, right? And if you don’t know what the word means, how could you ever find out? You might wish to learn the etymology, pronunciation, or plural form. (I’d say the spelling too, but that’s on the cover.) The last two aren’t likely to be a mystery to most adult native speakers of English, but dictionaries are often consulted by people who have not yet mastered the language. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/11 "2016-09-03T23:31:41Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > …and in the nudest colony. \ Is your colony somehow more naked than mine? Can I see? Please? Or, unbeknownst to me, are there varying degrees of nude? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/12 "2016-09-04T00:50:29Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Why isn’t the word for “palindrome” a palindrome? It should be emordrome or something. Perhaps we need an anthology of words that self-describe, and words that self- erm, refute? Polysyllabic Mellifluous Short Longer Mispelt Accurate Noun Verb (as a verb) CAPITALIZED Incomplet Palindrome Long Shorter Misspelt Acurate Verb (as a noun) Neologism capitalized It seems it’s already a thing > **[Autological word](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autological_word)** > > An autological word (or homological word) expresses a property that it also possesses. For example the word "pentasyllabic" has five syllables, the word "writable" is writable, and the word "English" is in English. > The opposite, a heterological word, does not apply to itself. For example, the word "palindrome" is not a palindrome, "monosyllabic" has more than one syllable, "non-hyphenated" is hyphenated, "long" is a short word, and "hyphenated" is not hyphenated. > Unlike more general concepts ... ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/13 "2016-09-04T02:33:46Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It seems it’s already a thing > [Autological word - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autological_word) Ah, autological and heterological words. There’s a cool paradox in there, as mentioned in the linked article (and described in more detail [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grelling%E2%80%93Nelson_paradox)). An autological word is a word that describes itself. The word “short” is short, so “short” is autological. The opposite is a heterological word, which is a word that does not describe itself. The word “long” is not long, so “long” is heterological. So far, so good. Here’s the problem, though: Is the word “heterological” autological or heterological? Does it describe itself or not? Let’s look at both possibilities. “Heterological” is autological If “heterological” is autological, it should describe itself. But for that to be the case, it must be heterological, because otherwise it can’t describe itself. So, in order to describe itself, it must not describe itself. That doesn’t seem to work at all. “Heterological” is heterological OK, so maybe it’s not autological, but simply heterological, and does not describe itself. But if that is the case, then, obviously, it describes itself. Making it autological. So, that doesn’t work either. And now I have a headache. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/14 "2016-09-04T02:42:45Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > …OK, so maybe it’s not autological, but simply heterological, and does not describe itself. But if that is the case, then, obviously, it describes itself. Making it autological. So, that doesn’t work either. And now I have a headache. This seems isomorphic to [Rusell’s Paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox)? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/15 "2016-09-04T03:18:38Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > This seems isomorphic to [Rusell’s Paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox)? Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/16 "2016-09-04T04:08:25Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > This seems isomorphic to [Rusell’s Paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox)? I read that as ‘‘Russet Potato.’’ I think it’s bedtime. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/17 "2016-09-04T04:17:25Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > What I want to know is: Is there a synonym for ‘thesaurus’? Why ask me? Go look it up in the synonym-book! I sometimes, not as often as I used to, get in imaginary arguments with people in my head. Sometimes I find myself telling them that something about their personality makes it hard to confront them with what I’m confronting them with now, and then in my head I tell them that that’s exactly why I’m not telling it to them now but am just telling it to them in my head. Then I get confused. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/18 "2016-09-04T05:02:31Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I read that as ‘‘Russet Potato.’’ > > I think it’s bedtime. You’re thinking of the [potato paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_paradox). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/19 "2016-09-04T08:08:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Yes, but is there an anagram for ‘synonym’? Or vice versa? 😃 There’s only one word for Monopoly. Typical. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/20 "2016-09-04T08:11:41Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > …about how much consultancy gets paid to teach these corporate navel-gazing techniques, and reaching the nirvana of “Career change time!” 🙂 I personally think they are very useful if not applied slavishly. The alternative is ‘figure it out as we go along’, which leads to results that are unstable, short-lived or simply don’t properly fulfil the actual requirement. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849.md?page=2)