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August 30 Information
Life hack?
When did an idea, a suggestion, a tip or a handy hint become a "life hack"? Who dreamt up that stupid, stupid expression? --
Jack of Oz[pleasantries] 01:44, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
You left out one "stupid".
Bus stop (
talk) 02:06, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
Sheesh, Jack, you just gave it a whole lot more publicity. Reminds me of the way the Bible says to blot out the remembrance of the Amalekites because of what they did, thus guaranteeing that their name would live on for the next few thousand years to the present day, lol. Deuteronomy 25:19 for anyone interested.
Akld guy (
talk) 07:24, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
I've only ever seen it on Lifehacker.com, Jack. It basically means a way to fix something in your life. Hacking into a computer can be used for benevolent means, too. KägeTorä - (影虎) (
もしもし!) 07:40, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
I see it on social media all.the.time. I know what it means (see my question). I was just questioning the need for such a neologism; despite claims of it being the second most useful word of 2005, I still say there's no need for it. Anyone who doesn't see things my way is wrong, and all intolerant people should be shot. The end. --
Jack of Oz[pleasantries] 08:40, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
And then there are food hacks, such as how to dice an onion
[1].
Bus stop (
talk) 09:49, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
Resolved
It's not clear to me that our article really addresses Jack's question. O'Brien still seemed to be using the term to describe computer programming techniques. The transition to mean "tips and tricks for everyday life" comes with a big ol' citation needed tag on it.
99.235.223.170 (
talk) 20:54, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
It's the same with those "instant karma" (aka "justice p**n") videos. Most of them are just videos of generic fails and clearly show that the person has no idea what karma is.
Asmrulz (
talk) 12:03, 31 August 2015 (UTC)reply
I don't know whether this is relevant or not, but 'life' may have been used as an acronym by O'Brien in the same way that
LIFO and
FIFO are used in computer terminology to mean 'Last In, First Out' and 'First In, First Out' respectively. I'm wracking my brains to think what 'LIFE' might mean, though.
Akld guy (
talk) 02:50, 1 September 2015 (UTC)reply
"The object of the game of life is to see clearly one's good and to obliterate all mental pictures of evil. This must be done by impressing the subconscious mind with a realization of good. A very brilliant man, who has attained great success, told me he had suddenly erased all fear from his consciousness by
reading a sign which hung in a room."
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the
current reference desk pages.
August 30 Information
Life hack?
When did an idea, a suggestion, a tip or a handy hint become a "life hack"? Who dreamt up that stupid, stupid expression? --
Jack of Oz[pleasantries] 01:44, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
You left out one "stupid".
Bus stop (
talk) 02:06, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
Sheesh, Jack, you just gave it a whole lot more publicity. Reminds me of the way the Bible says to blot out the remembrance of the Amalekites because of what they did, thus guaranteeing that their name would live on for the next few thousand years to the present day, lol. Deuteronomy 25:19 for anyone interested.
Akld guy (
talk) 07:24, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
I've only ever seen it on Lifehacker.com, Jack. It basically means a way to fix something in your life. Hacking into a computer can be used for benevolent means, too. KägeTorä - (影虎) (
もしもし!) 07:40, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
I see it on social media all.the.time. I know what it means (see my question). I was just questioning the need for such a neologism; despite claims of it being the second most useful word of 2005, I still say there's no need for it. Anyone who doesn't see things my way is wrong, and all intolerant people should be shot. The end. --
Jack of Oz[pleasantries] 08:40, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
And then there are food hacks, such as how to dice an onion
[1].
Bus stop (
talk) 09:49, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
Resolved
It's not clear to me that our article really addresses Jack's question. O'Brien still seemed to be using the term to describe computer programming techniques. The transition to mean "tips and tricks for everyday life" comes with a big ol' citation needed tag on it.
99.235.223.170 (
talk) 20:54, 30 August 2015 (UTC)reply
It's the same with those "instant karma" (aka "justice p**n") videos. Most of them are just videos of generic fails and clearly show that the person has no idea what karma is.
Asmrulz (
talk) 12:03, 31 August 2015 (UTC)reply
I don't know whether this is relevant or not, but 'life' may have been used as an acronym by O'Brien in the same way that
LIFO and
FIFO are used in computer terminology to mean 'Last In, First Out' and 'First In, First Out' respectively. I'm wracking my brains to think what 'LIFE' might mean, though.
Akld guy (
talk) 02:50, 1 September 2015 (UTC)reply
"The object of the game of life is to see clearly one's good and to obliterate all mental pictures of evil. This must be done by impressing the subconscious mind with a realization of good. A very brilliant man, who has attained great success, told me he had suddenly erased all fear from his consciousness by
reading a sign which hung in a room."