I don't think that means what you think it means...

I found a new word last week that I decided I loved.

Deepity

It was as a comment on one of those picture postcard wanna be a meme things that at first glance seems fairly profound but completely falls apart if you break it down. Now don't get me wrong, I love a lot of those picture postcard wanna be a meme things. I really do. And I've had my share where when I read it, it struck me and when I shared it I found out that other people either absolutely did not see what I did, or didn't get it the way I did, or pointed out that it really didn't mean what I thought it did. And then I saw this word that described that. Deepity.

So being me I went searching for how it came about. This is what I found on RationalWiki: "Deepity is a term employed by Daniel Dennett in his 2009 speech to the American Atheists Institution conference, coined by the teenage daughter of one of his friends. The term refers to a statement that is apparently profound but actually asserts a triviality on one level and something meaningless on another. Generally, a deepity has (at least) two meanings: one that is true but trivial, and another that sounds profound, but is essentially false or meaningless and would be "earth-shattering" if true."

Then they gave a few examples like There is no I in Team and Without God Good is just O. And a few others like that.

And then after reading that I fell out of love with the word.

I'm so fickle.

But here is why. I liked the idea of deepity, the way the person who was posting it meant. It was something that seemed profound but really fell apart. Researching where it came from it became more clear that it was really meant to mock metaphorical language. I can't get behind that part of it. I like my metaphors. I like my word play. I like a sentence that means more than one thing depending on where you are when you read it. And I really really really dislike smug bastards who want to mock you to feel better about themselves. And that's what this started to really seem like.

Now don't get me wrong, I have a hard time sometimes not pointing out to people that by dropping a word or changing the order of the phrase they are using they are not saying what they think they are, but that to me is being someone who loves language and word play. Pointing out that your little personal self -help mantra is a load of shit? That's totally different. See the difference? If you say you could care less and I let you know that you really mean you couldn't, that's different than telling you that nothing tastes as good as thin feels is a ridiculous statement because taste and feeling are not the same sensation. So nothing feels like chocolate tastes either. They are different things. (though to be fair, this particular mantra doesn't work for me on any level, metaphoric or not, I've been thin and I've had some incredible food, thin doesn't stand a chance)

I know someone right now using a phrase they have fallen in love with that makes absolutely no sense. None. So much so that I spent an afternoon googling it in various formations to try and figure out where he picked it up. Because it's like their sign off now. End of an argument drops the phrase like a mic and leaves the thread. I finally found something close. But they've dropped a critical word. So what they are saying and what they think they are saying aren't the same. I thought about asking them, "What in the hell do you think you are saying here?" but I haven't. Instead I watch how often they use it, the confused reactions they get to it, and wait to see if I will witness the time they realize it makes no damn sense. Why? Well because this amuses me...

But now I am search of a new word. One that means what I thought deepity meant. One that perfectly captures that feeling you get when you read a pretty picture postcard memelite and people are fawning over the deep profound message and you are cocking you head like the RCA dog going...ummm...what?

Oh! And the picture that started it all? Here you go...

It seems like it should be deep right? I mean it has the moody back ground. The sort of ambiguous pattern there in the lower right corner...the short phrasing making you pause to really get the full feel for it...

But it's just passive aggressive bullshit.

Turn that background red. Put the print in bold. Say what you mean. Which I believe...and I am good at this interpretation stuff so don't be upset if you missed it... was...

Fuck you. 

Now to find a new word for a new word that didn't mean what I wanted it to mean...