# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/21 "2016-09-04T11:27:03Z")
There’s a fine line between craning your neck to observe yourself and sticking your head up your ass. Meta-douchebaggery. I learned it swimming with hot coals. Or walking on Dolphins. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/22 "2016-09-04T15:20:11Z")
Ever notice that meta backwards is autocorrectly atom? ---
**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, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/23 "2016-09-04T16:21:20Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > Ever notice that meta backwards is autocorrectly atom? And _atom_ backwards autocorrects to _mote_. But, unfortunately, _mote_ backwards just takes you back to _atom_, so it’s a dead end. I was hoping that if we did it enough times we’d get something that autocorrects to _nirvana_. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/24 "2016-09-04T17:00:57Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Perhaps we need an anthology of words that self-describe, and words that self- erm, refute? > > [snip…] > Verb (as a verb) > […snip] Stop verbing nouns! Oh… wait. _Shit._ ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/25 "2016-09-04T17:09:06Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > You’re thinking of the [potato paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_paradox). Or dinner. ---
**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 6, 2016, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/26 "2016-09-06T11:25:06Z")
BTW, about autological and heterological: I know what you’re thinking. Well, for starters, you’re thinking that a baked potato would go down great right now. But you’re also thinking: OK, clearly, “heterological” is paradoxically screwed up, but what about “autological”? Is that autological or heterological? Well, there seems to be some funny business going on there, too. Let’s try both options: “Autological” is autological. Well, is it? It seems to be, yeah. It sounds a bit tautological, but whatever, it works for me. What about the other option, though? “Autological” is heterological. Ah. See the problem? This seems to work, too. At least I can’t see why it shouldn’t work. This situation isn’t as sexy as with “heterological”, but I’m actually having a harder time wrapping my (admittedly very small) brain around it. The problem, to me, seems to be that there isn’t any way to really check which it is. For a word like “short”, it’s fine: Does it describe itself? Well, is it short? Yes. Job done. Same with, say, “monosyllabic”. Is it monosyllabic? No. Again, job done. But how do you check whether “autological” is autological? Well, you sort of… can’t. It is if it is, and it isn’t if it isn’t. You can arbitrarily put it in either category. And then it just sits there. And the more I look at it, the more it resembles a potato. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/27 "2016-09-09T05:00:51Z")
Nah. Autological is autological. It describes itself. if autological is heterological, then it not only doesn’t describe itself, but some other word must describe it. Just like long is heterological because “short” describes it. As for heterological, I agree it is normally a paradox. But I resolve it as heterological, the same way I resolve “this statement is false” as a false statement. Once you find that it isn’t true, then the testing ends. Once you find that it can’t be autological, it is heterological. At least, as long as we insist on a strict dichotomy. Otherwise you get it’s neither true nor false and it’s neither autological nor heterological. Both are indeterminate. ---
**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 9, 2016, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/28 "2016-09-09T07:09:04Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > if autological is heterological, then it not only doesn’t describe itself, but some other word must describe it. Just like long is heterological because “short” describes it. Well, yeah. “Heterological” might describe it. ---
**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 14, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/29 "2016-09-14T21:37:32Z")
I apologize for abandoning this thread. I forgot about it because I’ve had a crappy last couple of weeks what with car issues and me coughing my lungs out the last couple of days and maybe it’s because I’m all hocked up on the cough syrup but this thread has really given me a good laugh. That’s why I love you guys. > [@Riemann](#): > > This seems isomorphic to [Rusell’s Paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox)? That is a handsome man. His hair to forehead to facial triangularity are well done. If he just had a more prominant jaw and chin structure that man would have been swimming in the sexy times. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I read that as ‘‘Russet Potato.’’ > > I think it’s bedtime. This is the comment that had me laughing out loud the hardest. Poor Russell Potato. > [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > You’re thinking of the [potato paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_paradox). Seriously Science people, there’s no need to be that smart. Us humans have done just fine hitting things with sticks that evoluntionarily we are going to be ok. > [@WordMan](#): > > Or walking on Dolphins. I’m not one to judge, unless you are one of those that doesn’t take care of your shrubbery well enough, but personally I’d rather walk on Dolphines more than on sunshine. Sunshine can be a bit burny and we all know that Dolphins are The Lords second best gift to Humanity besides Otters. Look at these creatures of Love and Happiness. LOOK AT THEM!!! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/epUk3T2Kfno/hqdefault.jpg "Otters holding hands") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849/30 "2016-09-14T22:05:13Z")
Aside: One of my college math professors was named Dr. Sprows. He told us once that when his first son was born, he wanted to name him after some famous mathematician, such as Bertrand Russel. But of course, Bertrand is a very uncommon name, so he thought it likely that the kid would end up going by his middle name, Russel being a much more common first name. Which would make his full formal name “B. Russel Sprows”. He opted for a different name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-go-meta-and-brainwarp/764849.md?page=1)