349) Beauty in Data 3:03 PM

(Beautiful nonsense infographics from Datavisualization.ch)

I was just writing something when I stopped to google "collaboration synonym" in order to find an alternate word. Then a data idea hit me - what if we could see the frequency of words that were searched in junction with the word "synonym" over time? Not only would this be a reflection of how much certain words were used in a given year, but also which ones we wanted to replace. (My top 2 - interesting and fascinating.)

The imagined end result would be this gorgeously designed graph of word popularity over time (a jargon map, perhaps?), as well as connections between these words and their most popular replacements. The outer layer would be this rich data set of synonyms.

(Clearly) I've become such a data nerd. It's mixing wonderfully with my word nerdom.

194) To Second-Guess 5:18 PM

(Photo from Chicago Now.)

second-guess
–verb (used with object)
1. to use hindsight in criticizing or correcting.
2. to predict (something) or outguess (someone)
(from Dictionary.com)

I've been thinking about second-guessing lately. When you make big life changes, it's only natural. Initially I figured that to second-guess implied that at some point there was a first guess. A first prediction of what the outcome might be. To second-guess, then, is to question the first guess along the way.

Apparently, I was mistaken. To second-guess is to criticize or question actions or decisions of (someone) often after the results of those actions or decisions are known. There's hindsight involved.

The origin, according to Dictionary.com (appropriate for all the World Series watchers out there) is:

1941, back-formation from second-guesser (1937), Amer.Eng., originally baseball slang for a fan who loudly questions decisions by players, managers, etc.; perhaps from guesser in the baseball slang sense of "umpire."

As we play ump in our own lives, categorizing our decisions and actions (STRIKE! FOUL! and hopefully not YER OUTTA THERE), I can't think of anything more useless than second-guessing. Especially when the outcome is yet to be known. The word has such negative connotations, no? In the end, it's really just double speak for doubt, fear, and apprehension.

Ah, word play. I should make that a tag. I've been interviewing, so my mind is elsewhere.

172) In The Closet 9:17 PM

The other day I heard someone say, "I'm a closet Britney fan," and I got to thinking about the expression. Generally understood to refer to an enclosed recess for linens, household supplies or clothing, the closet has evolved connotations of deep secrecy. According to its usage, it's the place we go to be our true selves, to engage in all the behavior that we deem socially unacceptable.

Skeletons in the closet, gays in the closet, 7 minutes in heaven (in the closet), R Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet"(see below) - somehow the small, dark confines of the closet provides protection from the judgment of the rest of the world.



The irony is that when used as an adjective ("I'm a closet anarchist" or "I'm a closet McDonalds fiend), it becomes a qualifier. It allows us to reveal something about ourselves that we want others to know, but don't want to be judged for. By being just a closet something, we don't fully embrace said something, and acknowledge it as uncool, unpopular or even unsavory. By insinuating that we only indulge in the privacy of our closets, it somehow becomes acceptable.

That being said, what we choose to reveal in our closets says a lot about the type of person we want to be perceived as.

165) Word Association 10:12 PM

(Photo from Asahi Beer.)

There's been a ton of news coverage on the Albert Brown death sentence controversy. What I didn't understand was why the phrase, "three drug cocktail" had become the standard way to refer to the lethal injection that involves three different drugs. Every single NPR reporter, every article in major news sources that I've come across has consistently used a word usually reserved for happy hour to describe a method of capital punishment.

Turns out, "cocktail" is the correct pharmaceutical term. From dictionary.com:

cocktail
–noun
1. any of various short mixed drinks, consisting typically of gin, whiskey, rum, vodka, or brandy, with different admixtures, as vermouth, fruit juices, or flavorings, usually chilled and frequently sweetened.
2. a portion of food, as seafood served with a sauce, a mixture of fruits, or juice, served as the appetizer course of a meal.
3. Pharmacology . a beverage or solution concocted of various drugs.
4. any eclectic mixture or miscellaneous collection.

A bit unfortunate that the appropriate term for this tri-blend lethal injection also carries associations of frivolity, fun and Sex and the City. Whenever I hear the phrase, I can't help but picture Albert Brown swirling a martini glass.