Obsidian Sync 2024-11-14 10:17:53

content/daily-notes/2024-11-14.md

@@ -4,5 +4,13 @@ Came across this really cool lamp: [Lampy – shop.absurd.industries](https://sh
 
 ![[lampy.png]]
 
+#### Linguistic Observer Effect
 
+[the linguistic observer effect - The Etymology Nerd](https://etymology.substack.com/p/the-linguistic-observer-effect)
+
+> By lending “slop” the legitimacy of the _New York Times_, we would instantly be elevating it against potential synonyms, giving it more of a platform to spread than its competitors. Alternatively, we could kill the word by making it seem unnatural, like Taylor Lorenz likely did with her [2021 article](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/style/cheugy.html) about the then-nascent word “cheugy.” I called this the _Linguistic Observer Effect_: by publicly observing a word, we inadvertently alter its trajectory.
+> 
+> Ben went on to [publish his article](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/style/ai-search-slop.html), and I wrote a [substack post](https://etymology.substack.com/p/how-to-kill-a-word) wondering what would happen to the word.
+
+Six months later, I think we have our answer. “Slop” has reached sustained usage in the media, and I’ve even heard my friends casually use the phrase (though I know they weren’t saying it earlier this year). This almost definitely happened because of the _Times_ piece: