(no subject)

[xiphias]

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but, if I want to express to a friend the idea that the argument that they are making is going to be too hard for someone else to follow, because the examples and analogies which they are using are obscure, and therefore, to understand the argument, you need to have a whole lot of cultural context in common, and you just can't assume that people HAVE that level of cultural context in common, I just say that all in one word: "Darmok."

I find this vaguely ironic.

Comments

[tpau]

that is fairly funny

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but Darmok totally does describe the concept you're expressing. So long as the person you are speaking to has that cultural reference, its just so much easier than the long version of the explanation.

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

Sounds more than vaguely ironic to me.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, the fact that it works reduces the "irony" factor for me. To me, "irony" is about failure resulting directly from a course of action designed to bring about success, so something successful can't really be ironic.

Um. Approximately. I've never really been able to verbalize precisly what "irony" means as I understand it.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Common ground is a very high-dimensional space.

[babalon-it.livejournal.com]

LOL

[beaq.livejournal.com]

Given the simplistic pantomime quality of the episode to which you allude obscurely, the irony turns neatly inside out on itself. Like a sea slug.

(I think the word irony applies, though not in the sense of ironic plot development. There are other words that might apply, but I can't think of them right now.)

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Well, it's only SORT of ironic, in that the person to whom you are pointing this out DOES communicate that way, and doesn't realize how much unpacking it requires. I am continually making this very reference to ablock in an effort to get him to communicate with outsiders in complete English sentences rather than by telegraphed analogy to (not-necessarily-) shared concepts. >:-)

[the-editor.livejournal.com]

The irony I see is: You have to be deeply cognizant of 'trek' culture, in order to relate the term to your friend's use of culturocentric analogies and references.
but I think the use of the term 'Darmok' to describe obscure references to bolster an argument, a useful term. And ironically illustrative.

bravo

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

That's my favourite episode of Next Gen ever, right there.