Ordinary Extraordinary Theory

A theory stating that extraordinary evidence, even when proven true and confirmed beyond reasonable doubt, is systematically treated as ordinary, minimized, excluded, or ignored in the short and medium term. Where Normal Anomaly Theory addresses anomalies (exceptions to patterns), Ordinary Extraordinary Theory addresses evidence that should be transformative—findings that should change how we understand the world but are instead treated as mundane, unremarkable, or irrelevant. The theory explains why genuinely extraordinary discoveries often receive yawns rather than celebrations, why journalists bury leads that should be front-page news, why policymakers ignore evidence that should reshape policy. The extraordinary is made ordinary through a thousand small acts of dismissal: it's not that exciting, it's just one study, we already knew that, it won't change anything. By the time the evidence can no longer be ignored, its transformative potential has been blunted by decades of being treated as nothing special.

Example: "The study should have revolutionized the field—but Ordinary Extraordinary Theory meant it was published, cited a few times, and then quietly forgotten, its implications too disruptive to actually absorb."

by Dumu The Void March 14, 2026

For ordinary road death

Ford Mustang GT racing touring

The model ford for ordinary road death was where my dad raped me now I'm a pedestrian customer service rocks

by Cody5050 January 29, 2022

la ordiga

Typical expression of the Basque country that expresses surprise or pleasure

- I've won the lottery!
- La ordiga! You're so lucky.

by aupaeuskadi June 15, 2022

xtra ordinary

A special way of saying one of a kind

I am xtra ordinary

by it’s _yourgirlabi November 30, 2023

Meh-orning

Short for a morning that is just meh. To be used in replace of good morning because not all mornings are good

Person A: Good morning!
Person B: Meh-orning. My coffee is cold.

by Palindrome Emordbilap August 29, 2025

Theory of the Ordinary Spectrum

The theory that "ordinariness" exists on a spectrum, not as a binary category. What counts as ordinary varies across contexts, cultures, and individuals—an event ordinary in one setting may be extraordinary in another; a phenomenon ordinary in one era may be impossible in another. The Ordinary Spectrum recognizes that ordinariness is not a property of things themselves but of their relationship to expectations, frequencies, and contexts. A rainy day is ordinary in Seattle, extraordinary in the desert. A phone call is ordinary now, extraordinary in 1900. The theory calls for mapping where phenomena fall on the spectrum of ordinariness, acknowledging that the boundary between ordinary and extraordinary is fuzzy and mobile.

Example: "He called her experience 'ordinary' and dismissed it. The Theory of the Ordinary Spectrum showed why that was wrong: what was ordinary for him (growing up with internet) was extraordinary for her (growing up without it). The spectrum revealed that ordinariness is relative—his dismissal was really just ignorance of context."

by Dumu The Void March 7, 2026

Small Veblen Ordinal (SVO)

Equal to phi(1,0,0,0…) in extended Veblen notation or phi(120) in my super-extended Veblen notation.
Also equal to psi(omega1^omega1^omega) in Bucholz’s psi.

Hi, you have Small Veblen Ordinal (SVO) dojo points?

by Joseph The Googologist May 24, 2025