The Logical Fallacy's definitions

Hemingway Defense

Where the stress and work of artistic expression is used to excuse substance abuse, chemical dependencies and other toxic coping-mechanisms.

"I also employed the world-famous Hemingway Defense... which goes something like this: as a writer, I am a very sensitive fellow, but I am also a man, and real men don't give in to their sensitivities. Only sissy-men do that. Therefore I drink. How else can I face the existential horror of it all and continue to work? Besides, come on, I can handle it. A real man always can."
-- Stephen King

by The Logical Fallacy February 17, 2023

Woody

An adjective meant to describe a word pleasant to the sound or pronunciation. Opposite of Tinny.

"Yes, you can't beat wood. Gorn."
"What's gone, dear?"
"Nothing, nothing -- just like the word, it gives me confidence. Gorn. Gorn -- it's got a sort of 'woody' quality about it. Gorn. Go-o-orn. Much better than 'newspaper' or 'litter bin'."
-- Graham Chapman, "The Woody Sketch" from Monty Python's Flying Circus

by The Logical Fallacy October 12, 2016

Socratic

The adjective meaning "like Socrates" or "Socrates-like". Usually applied to nouns that are involved in critical thinking.

The Socratic Method involves asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions.

by The Logical Fallacy September 23, 2016

Baraminology

The study of baramins, or a lineage of earthly life which is believed in Young Earth Creationism to be created by God during the creation week, and corresponds in some functional aspects to the secular concept of "species".

Those that study and believe in Baraminology believe that Noah did not store 2 of every species on the planet , but instead he stored each and every "Kind" of animal. "Kind" being whatever the hell creationists want to mean at the moment.

by The Logical Fallacy May 18, 2017

passive goth

A person who has a passive fascination with gothic subjects (the night, despair, the night, wearing black, Hot Topic, Tim Burton, the night, etc.), but compared to an active goth, could not be identified as goth immediately on sight. They tend to not take the more dramatic lifestyle commonly associated with other goths, and are considered "moderate" in comparison. Can usually be identified by wearing all black and/or having a dark sense of humor. Not to be confused with emos or beatniks.

"You see that guy over there?"
"Who?"
"The art student in a black sweater and sunglasses."
"Oh, you mean the passive goth."
"Passive goth?"
"Yeah, you know, a goth that you wouldn't think was a goth till you ask them about how their day went. Shit gets creepy really quick."

by The Logical Fallacy July 8, 2016

feeding the alligators

When one exposes themselves to fiction that stimulates our negative qualities (like horror fiction) so that they can work through them in a healthy and harmless environment as catharsis.

Serial killers and other murderers appeal to the impulse Stephen King calls "feeding the alligators," and Carl Jung called "integration of the shadow self," but it all means the same thing: that entertaining our own dark side can be therapeutic.
-- 8-Bit Philosophy

by The Logical Fallacy May 27, 2017

active goth

A person who has fully committed themselves to the goth subculture and the lifestyle that it entails: leather, buckles, piercings, decorative contact lenses and all. Unlike passive goths, active goths can be identified as goth on-sight.

The elusive active goth can be found at your local Hot Topic. Here we see them walking with a black parasol in their victorian/steampunk casual-wear, petting their plastic ravens and black cats as they go on about the blight of inevitable death and "the man" before they congregate by the hundreds to express their individuality to their goth brethren.

by The Logical Fallacy July 8, 2016