APedant's definitions
A "Turing slip" a revelatory error, wherein the AI unintentionally exposes:
Limitations of its training data (e.g., outdated knowledge, bias).
Constraints or heuristics built into its model.
Templated or predictive behavior not reflective of genuine understanding.
A linguistic or behavioral anomaly in an AI's output that unintentionally reveals its artificiality, limitations, or engineered nature—compromising the illusion of humanlike intelligence.
Limitations of its training data (e.g., outdated knowledge, bias).
Constraints or heuristics built into its model.
Templated or predictive behavior not reflective of genuine understanding.
A linguistic or behavioral anomaly in an AI's output that unintentionally reveals its artificiality, limitations, or engineered nature—compromising the illusion of humanlike intelligence.
by APedant July 18, 2025
Get the Turing Slip mug.Etymology: From henchman + puppet, reflecting a subordinate agent deployed to execute the will of a superior while concealing autonomy.
Definition: A pseudonymous online persona, operated singly or by multiple individuals, used by an organization or collective to harass, intimidate, or manipulate a target. Unlike ordinary sockpuppets, HenchPuppets function as digital proxies of an organization, executing strategic harm while maintaining plausible deniability for the sponsoring entity.
Characteristics:
Intentional harm: Primary function is targeted harassment, defamation, or psychological manipulation.
Organizational coordination: May be multi-author or systematically guided by a central entity.
Plausible deniability: Designed to conceal the identity of the true orchestrators.
Weaponized messaging: Posts, replies, and content are strategically timed and emotionally manipulative, often reflecting propaganda techniques.
Definition: A pseudonymous online persona, operated singly or by multiple individuals, used by an organization or collective to harass, intimidate, or manipulate a target. Unlike ordinary sockpuppets, HenchPuppets function as digital proxies of an organization, executing strategic harm while maintaining plausible deniability for the sponsoring entity.
Characteristics:
Intentional harm: Primary function is targeted harassment, defamation, or psychological manipulation.
Organizational coordination: May be multi-author or systematically guided by a central entity.
Plausible deniability: Designed to conceal the identity of the true orchestrators.
Weaponized messaging: Posts, replies, and content are strategically timed and emotionally manipulative, often reflecting propaganda techniques.
"The whistleblower discovered that many hostile comments on their forum were generated by HenchPuppets—accounts tracing back to the cult's PR division."
by APedant August 31, 2025
Get the HenchPuppet mug.Also "Ikeda Derangement Syndrome"(IDS)
noun
1. A memetic condition afflicting members of the Soka Gakkai, marked by irrational, bizarre, and fixated patterns of thought and behavior in relation to Daisaku Ikeda.
2. The tendency to elevate Ikeda to quasi-divine status, to interpret all events through his alleged wisdom, and to react with disproportionate hostility to any criticism of him.
Symptoms include:
Adulation Inflation: Ascribing supernatural foresight or cosmic importance to otherwise banal quotations.
Hostile Reverence: Branding dissenters as “slanderers,” “negative influences,” or “enemies of peace.”
Cognitive Lockstep: Reframing all nuance as betrayal; mistaking uniformity for unity.
Magical Attribution: Treating random life events as confirmation of Ikeda’s protection or “proof of his eternal guidance.”
noun
1. A memetic condition afflicting members of the Soka Gakkai, marked by irrational, bizarre, and fixated patterns of thought and behavior in relation to Daisaku Ikeda.
2. The tendency to elevate Ikeda to quasi-divine status, to interpret all events through his alleged wisdom, and to react with disproportionate hostility to any criticism of him.
Symptoms include:
Adulation Inflation: Ascribing supernatural foresight or cosmic importance to otherwise banal quotations.
Hostile Reverence: Branding dissenters as “slanderers,” “negative influences,” or “enemies of peace.”
Cognitive Lockstep: Reframing all nuance as betrayal; mistaking uniformity for unity.
Magical Attribution: Treating random life events as confirmation of Ikeda’s protection or “proof of his eternal guidance.”
After reading three pages of Ikeda’s speeches, she declared her houseplants were “thriving on Sensei’s eternal life force”—a textbook case of Ikeda-Derangement-Syndrome.
by APedant September 5, 2025
Get the Ikeda-Derangement-Syndrome mug.(noun)
Also Über Cocker
A portmanteau of “über” (German for super, ultra, or beyond) and “alter cocker” (Yiddish for old guy or old coot, literally “old defecator”). Refers to a legendary-grade elder, typically male, whose opinions are as unyielding as his sense of superiority is justified.
An Über Cocker isn’t just old—he’s mythologically seasoned. He predates social media, dot-coms, and sometimes the concept of patience itself. He also predates the ride-sharing app, which leads to generational confusion when he uses “über” in its original sense—leaving Millennials and Gen Z blinking in semantic disarray.
Etymology:
From über (German: over, above, supreme) + alter cocker (Yiddish: old man, curmudgeon).
First used to describe someone who makes Larry David seem like a TikTok intern.
Also Über Cocker
A portmanteau of “über” (German for super, ultra, or beyond) and “alter cocker” (Yiddish for old guy or old coot, literally “old defecator”). Refers to a legendary-grade elder, typically male, whose opinions are as unyielding as his sense of superiority is justified.
An Über Cocker isn’t just old—he’s mythologically seasoned. He predates social media, dot-coms, and sometimes the concept of patience itself. He also predates the ride-sharing app, which leads to generational confusion when he uses “über” in its original sense—leaving Millennials and Gen Z blinking in semantic disarray.
Etymology:
From über (German: over, above, supreme) + alter cocker (Yiddish: old man, curmudgeon).
First used to describe someone who makes Larry David seem like a TikTok intern.
– “My uncle Saul’s an Uber Cocker—he argues with the GPS and wins.”
– “Don’t tell an Uber Cocker how to make coffee; he’s been doing it since before espresso was ironic.”
– “Gen Z thinks he’s talking about ridesharing, but no—he’s an Uber Cocker from way back.”
– “My dad refuses to download the Uber app because he says he was über before Uber existed. Total Über Cocker.”
– “You can’t win an argument with an Über Cocker—he’s been rehearsing since the Nixon administration.”
– “When an Über Cocker says ‘back in my day,’ time itself sighs.”
– “Don’t tell an Uber Cocker how to make coffee; he’s been doing it since before espresso was ironic.”
– “Gen Z thinks he’s talking about ridesharing, but no—he’s an Uber Cocker from way back.”
– “My dad refuses to download the Uber app because he says he was über before Uber existed. Total Über Cocker.”
– “You can’t win an argument with an Über Cocker—he’s been rehearsing since the Nixon administration.”
– “When an Über Cocker says ‘back in my day,’ time itself sighs.”
by APedant October 18, 2025
Get the Uber Cocker mug.(noun)
1. The tragicomic experience of searching for an image online and being served results that are hilariously, horrifyingly, or bewilderingly wrong.
2. Any search engine fail involving images that creates unintended comedy, confusion, or embarrassment.
1. The tragicomic experience of searching for an image online and being served results that are hilariously, horrifyingly, or bewilderingly wrong.
2. Any search engine fail involving images that creates unintended comedy, confusion, or embarrassment.
“I typed ‘cute kittens’ and got a taxidermy exhibit instead—total pixsaster.”
“Be careful what you Google; yesterday’s pixsaster still haunts my chat history.”
“Be careful what you Google; yesterday’s pixsaster still haunts my chat history.”
by APedant October 18, 2025
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Also: Pistol-pedicure, Pistolpedicure
Definition:
When someone spectacularly sabotages themselves while trying to look clever, confident, or in control. The spiritual cousin of “shooting yourself in the foot,” but with added flair, delusion, and gunpowder residue.
Etymology:
Born from the unholy marriage of self-inflicted wounds and personal grooming, because if you’re going to destroy your own credibility, at least make it fashionable.
Usage Notes:
Common among politicians, influencers, and anyone who begins a sentence with “I’m not racist, but—”.
See also:
Self-scorch, ego exfoliation, career colonic, verbal ricochet.
Also: Pistol-pedicure, Pistolpedicure
Definition:
When someone spectacularly sabotages themselves while trying to look clever, confident, or in control. The spiritual cousin of “shooting yourself in the foot,” but with added flair, delusion, and gunpowder residue.
Etymology:
Born from the unholy marriage of self-inflicted wounds and personal grooming, because if you’re going to destroy your own credibility, at least make it fashionable.
Usage Notes:
Common among politicians, influencers, and anyone who begins a sentence with “I’m not racist, but—”.
See also:
Self-scorch, ego exfoliation, career colonic, verbal ricochet.
“Jeff tried to impress his boss by explaining how he would run the company better. Now he’s unemployed and his team threw him a going-away gift card to the unemployment office. Classic Pistol Pedicure.”
by APedant October 18, 2025
Get the Pistol Pedicure mug.also Data-blight
The systemic propagation and entrenchment of inaccurate or corrupted personal data across interconnected digital or bureaucratic ecosystems, resulting in material, social, or psychological harm to the affected individual.
In essence, data blight describes how a falsehood, once digitized and networked, acquires bureaucratic immortality. It exposes the fragility of “truth” in algorithmic governance, where records outrank lived reality.
This phenomenon occurs when erroneous information originating in one data source is automatically replicated, shared, or revalidated by other institutions—often through automated data exchange, identity verification, or algorithmic matching—creating a self-reinforcing web of falsehoods. Like biological blight, it spreads through interdependence, exploiting weak governance, poor data hygiene, and the absence of effective correction mechanisms.
Example: An error in one government database—such as misrecording a single person as a married cohabitant—can cascade through banking, taxation, and utilities systems, effectively rewriting the individual’s administrative identity and generating real-world consequences including denial of services, legal misclassification, or reputational harm.
The systemic propagation and entrenchment of inaccurate or corrupted personal data across interconnected digital or bureaucratic ecosystems, resulting in material, social, or psychological harm to the affected individual.
In essence, data blight describes how a falsehood, once digitized and networked, acquires bureaucratic immortality. It exposes the fragility of “truth” in algorithmic governance, where records outrank lived reality.
This phenomenon occurs when erroneous information originating in one data source is automatically replicated, shared, or revalidated by other institutions—often through automated data exchange, identity verification, or algorithmic matching—creating a self-reinforcing web of falsehoods. Like biological blight, it spreads through interdependence, exploiting weak governance, poor data hygiene, and the absence of effective correction mechanisms.
Example: An error in one government database—such as misrecording a single person as a married cohabitant—can cascade through banking, taxation, and utilities systems, effectively rewriting the individual’s administrative identity and generating real-world consequences including denial of services, legal misclassification, or reputational harm.
That error in the Electoral Register has come up again. I'm data blighted and my bank has frozen my accounts.
by APedant October 28, 2025
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