Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Word of the Year (2006)



Merriam-Webster's #1 Word of the Year for 2006 is "Truthiness", a term coined in a hilarious comedy skit by Stephen Colbert (see the skit here, well worth a look if you haven't seen it already!).

Truthiness means "truth that comes from the gut, not books". There is an insightful piece on "The Truth of Truthiness" on CBS News here.

Lets hope the year 2007 is a year with less "truth from the gut" and more "enlightenment". Recall Kant's definition of enlightenment: "man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity". The era of "truthiness" is a stark reminder of the prevalence of our immaturity.


Cheers,
Colin