An annoying meme

You've all heard it.

Starting the answer to a question with "So"...

"How long does it take for sunlight to reach Earth?"

"So, light travels at 186,000 miles per second, and Earth is approximately 93 million miles from the Sun..."

I don't think it's common currency yet; it's mainly used among scientists, and oh brother, do they use it. It's practically threadbare already.

My guess is some US scientist said it once, his peers copied, then it went viral.

Annoying? Yes, because it's a pointless add-on. And it sounds somehow pretentious.

It's particularly annoying when Brit scientists use it - which they do all the time - because they're obviously copying the Americans like starstruck schoolgirls. It's the favourite pastime in my country (sorry Americans, I'm having a pop at my airhead fellow countrymen, not you).

Another meme you're probably familiar with by now is as baffling as it is annoying; this is generally confined to the world of business and politics.

It's the phrase "going forward".

They stick it anywhere in a sentence, it doesn't seem to matter where. And it means absolutely nothing at all.

"These measures should boost the economy in the coming fiscal year going forward."

And one I've recently noticed is answering in the affirmative with "Yeah, yeah, yeah".

Human beings seem to dislike answering questions with a simple "Yes" or "No".

It's "Yes, of course", "Certainly", "Sure", or "Definitely not", "You must be joking", "Have a word with yourself, my son", and so and so forth.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" seems to have gone viral; I've heard it used by people of every nationality in the English-speaking world.

Actually, I don't mind this meme - it seems to be replacing "Absolutely", so it can only be a good thing.

None of this is a rant, by the way. Just in case you're wondering why it's not in that section.

Just a few linguistic observations.

I hate "air quotes", yeh, air quotes suck. I''m also sick of the word Awesome or Brilliant in the UK. "So" never bothered me much. But it bothers you "so" I'm never going to use it in that context AGAIN!! What do you think about that?

AND I put a challenge out to everyone on ATS to stop using it too. PEACE.

originally posted by: CJCrawley
Starting the answer to a question with "So"...
...
My guess is some US scientist said it once, his peers copied, then it went viral.

LOL! I actually do that. When someone asks me a question that requires some thought, the "organizer" in me shifts into gear and starts organizing my thoughts so that what I say will make sense when it comes out. The word "So" Is like saying, "All right" in the same context. It just means, "I'm organizing my thoughts - here we go".

Don't mean to sound pretentious or be annoying.

originally posted by: HUMBLEONE
I hate "air quotes", yeh, air quotes suck. I''m also sick of the word Awesome or Brilliant in the UK. "So" never bothered me much. But it bothers you "so" I'm never going to use it in that context AGAIN!! What do you think about that?

AND I put a challenge out to everyone on ATS to stop using it too. PEACE.

Brilliant idea!

I don't understand why people are so annoyed at how others speak. So, I'll bow out and go do some awesome tree trimming.

a reply to: HUMBLEONE

What's an "air quote"?

a reply to: CJCrawley

Deja-vu.

Didn't someone just post about using so at the beginning of sentences?

Also, I use "so" at the beginning, and I won't stop - it's too good of a transitional word / segue.

But to help you out, here is a list of other transitional words and phrases (if you use them a lot, others might pick up on the habit, like monkey see monkey do).

a reply to: CJCrawley

Yo dog, chill, kno what I mean? Cold bumpin straight up! Ese homy, son of the jungle, dude, kno what I mean, fly?

a reply to: olaru12

bro, do you even lift sentence?

amirite?

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic

originally posted by: HUMBLEONE
I hate "air quotes", yeh, air quotes suck. I''m also sick of the word Awesome or Brilliant in the UK. "So" never bothered me much. But it bothers you "so" I'm never going to use it in that context AGAIN!! What do you think about that?

AND I put a challenge out to everyone on ATS to stop using it too. PEACE.

Brilliant idea!

I don't understand why people are so annoyed at how others speak. So, I'll bow out and go do some awesome tree trimming.

I'm out of here too, I already chew my words way too much before I spit them out as it is, I don't need the extra pressure of a thread full of people that get annoyed over linguistics!

a reply to: CJCrawley

I think the "so" meme probably did begin with scientists, but in a totally legitimate way. For example, two chalk dust covered fellows with poor taste in clothing might have been stood at a blackboard one day, contemplating the mind buggering elegance of one another's handiwork. One finally realises the fundamental importance of the others work, and proclaims "So, THATS why you think you could create an Einstein-Rosen bridging effect using your home microwave oven!".

I think in essence, the science "so" comes from the way physics equations are written out. You get these huge chains of what amounts to Greek with smatterings of numerals, and at the end (or sometimes in the middle, depending how interesting the individual mathematician is) there will be a neat little string of characters which sums up and encompasses the rest, the rest being merely an effort to show ones work. If you broke that down into English, it would probably read "x equals b to the tenth power, and y is the atomic weight of helium, SO in short, ruddy big explosion/ lots of energy one way or another."

Do you catch my drift, despite my totally dysfunctional understanding of mathematics?

I think people may be getting the wrong idea here.

I'm not actually "annoyed" despite the title...which is why I chose to post my thread in the People forum and not the Rant forum.

I seldom encounter the above memes in normal, everyday life, and I've NEVER encountered them on ATS.

It's just an observation...not an invitation for folks to get all paranoid and defensive.

Feel free to agree or disagree with the OP as you choose.

I naively thought it might promote intelligent debate.

So, what you're saying is you dislike a versatile word, even though it's used in an acceptable manner?
So, here's why it's OK to start a sentence with 'So'

I'm so not getting your beef. Like, it's not like many on here, like, overused the work "like" often. That's, like, overkill usage.

originally posted by: CJCrawley


I naively thought it might promote intelligent debate.

Sorry about my urban speak response. Just trying to bring a little US reality levity to the mix.

Navigating the jargon world of the street can be a challenge as well as "totally" inspiring.
It sounds like English and the words are familiar but the obscure references and colloquial idioms, paint an abstract picture for the uninitiated.

Intelligent debate on ATS is a rare commodity; usually spiraling into divisive finger pointing or a one sided circle jerk; no matter the subject.
Perhaps that's why it's so much fun....

a reply to: olaru12

I didn't have you in mind, matey.

It was a couple of other posters who seemed to get defensive.

A bit of levity is always welcome.

a reply to: Nyiah

Cheers for the link.

Interesting...I thought I was going mad but others have noticed too.

Good article, but I don't agree.

You'd think some scientist would go, "I'm saying "so" every time I answer a question. What's that about?"

Not very reassuring being that they are the intelligentsia.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Yes, I get you.

It does seem overwhelmingly to be scientists who do this.

It may be something to do with the way they think and interact in the lecture halls.

a reply to: CJCrawley

Starting the answer to a question with "So"...

I agree , I feel my blood pressure rising with each time it's used by someone trying to sound clever by using it when they're being interviewed , it's at a point now that their message is lost as I have to switch the channel for the sake of my health.

A meme (/ˈmiːm/ meem)[1] is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."[2] A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures.[3]

en.wikipedia.org...


Personally, I freaking HATE the term, even the concept, of the "meme"....It's silly. Be yourself, don't talk about what other people are talking about to make a reference to something we all already know.


And while I'm on my tangent...


GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!


-NF

a reply to: CJCrawley

I see it as a deliberate shibboleth, used to send a signal to his / her audience: I am a scientist. I am an academic. I have a university education.

It makes the user sound arrogant and pretentious, if you ask me.

a reply to: nullafides

What would you have me call it then - a bicycle?