Good Morning, Friends & Digital Neighbors! Happy Friday! More fun from The Little Book of Lost Words by Joe Gillard. The book has some fantastic artwork too that you will miss in the digital copy.

Mumpsimus – A stubborn person who refuses to change their mind despite being proven wrong. Noun | muhmp-si-muhs | Sixteenth century. English.

Fun word, sad reality. The tribalization of the culture has pushed more and more people into the legion of marching mumpsimuses. (The proper plural is "mumpsimuses," not "mumpsimi." )

We had a golden age sometime back in the early days of Google (may its name be removed from our vocabulary) when one could do an internet search to end the time-honored tradition of BSing others at bars, parties, or other social gatherings. "I googled (may its name be removed from our vocabulary) this and you're wrong!"

Facts – I think there are mathematical facts, scientific facts, and historical facts, and that is perhaps about it. The rest of life and its subjects & experiences are matters of preference. (I would add ethics and religion to that list of factual areas, but that is a much longer talk and discussion best left for some other post.)

What do you prefer and why? How ought I (or we) to live and why? What can I strive for in life and why? What do I find honorable or abhorrent and why?
I like facts. Seems we can't even agree on the three areas where facts might be more evident. Not too many argue about mathematical disputes, but we sure have tainted science and history in the age of group-thinking and herd-feeling. Not even Google (may its name be removed from our vocabulary) can solve that problem.

Mumpsimus – Recognizing them before you get sucked into a conversational quagmire, a thread smear, or flame war is probably a better use of time. Arguments can be fun, roasting can be entertaining, mocking the ridiculous habits and attitudes of others is easy enough. I think it was more fun when it wasn't so personal and one could acknowledge when the curtain had been pulled back on ridiculous thinking or the illumination of a preference parading as a fact. These days, when the curtain is beginning to drop, cries of racism, oppression, phobia, and hate seem to be the safe space for those who can't bridge the gap between a preference pretending to be a "fact." Or heaven forbid, someone thinking differently than them!

Mumpismus – It used to be Uncle Elmer who was the stubborn old fart never changing his mind. Now they can be found everywhere—and often much younger. Many possess certificates of indoctrination rather than actual degrees in an area of expertise. Higher learning has become an oxymoron. Make sure your own personal programming hasn't been compromised by too much confirmation bias, team identification, groupthink from your support group, or herd-feel from your singular news source.