#aggregator pattern

[novelpatterns]

What is a Portfolio Management Service & What are its features?

Portfolio Management Service (PMS) is a specialized financial offering where seasoned investment professionals manage portfolios of stocks, bonds, and other securities tailored to the individual financial goals and risk tolerance of investors. This service is ideal for investors looking for personalized investment strategies aimed at maximizing returns and efficiently managing investment risks. With PMS, investors can benefit from the expertise of skilled portfolio managers who have a deep understanding of market dynamics and investment strategies. These managers utilize comprehensive research and analytics to construct a diversified portfolio that seeks to optimize returns while adhering to the investor's specific risk profile.

PMS is particularly beneficial for those who prefer a hands-off approach to investing but still desire a level of customization and active management that is not typically found in standard investment products like mutual funds or ETFs. This tailored approach not only aims to achieve superior financial outcomes but also provides peace of mind through professional oversight and strategic management.

In essence, Portfolio Management Services bridge the gap between individual investing and institutional-level asset management, offering a sophisticated solution for those seeking to enhance their wealth through personalized and expertly managed investment portfolios.

Understanding Portfolio Management Services

PMS provides a bespoke investment approach. Portfolio managers craft and oversee a portfolio that aligns with the investor’s financial objectives, risk tolerance, and investment horizon. This service involves deep analysis of investment opportunities and continuous market monitoring to make timely, strategic decisions.

Types of Portfolio Management

Active Management: Managers actively select investments to outperform the market based on research and market analysis.

Passive Management: This approach involves mimicking a market index, focusing on long-term growth with minimal trading.

Discretionary Management: Investors entrust managers with full decision-making authority over their portfolios.

Non-Discretionary Management: Managers provide investment advice, but the final investment decisions rest with the investors.

Key Features of Portfolio Management Services

Customization: Tailoring strategies to individual financial needs and risk profiles.

Expert Management: Access to professional managers with extensive market experience.

Active Monitoring: Ongoing assessment and adjustment of the portfolio to meet financial goals.

Risk Management: Strategies in place to mitigate risks and enhance potential returns.

Regulatory Compliance: Adherence to financial regulations, ensuring transparency and integrity.

Benefits of Portfolio Management Services

Professional Expertise: Leveraging the acumen of experienced investment professionals.

Time Efficiency: Allowing investors to focus on personal or other business endeavors.

Personalized Investment Strategies: Unlike mutual funds, PMS offers strategies that are tailored to the needs of individual investors.

Potential for Enhanced Returns: Customized, actively managed portfolios can potentially yield higher returns.

Statistical Insights and Facts

As of 2023, the global asset management market is valued at approximately $74 trillion, with a projected growth to $112 trillion by 2028, reflecting the increasing trust and reliance on professional investment management services.

Research indicates that portfolios managed through discretionary services have, on average, outperformed self-managed portfolios by 2-3% annually, attributed to timely and strategic decision-making by experienced portfolio managers.

A survey of high-net-worth individuals revealed that 75% prefer using professional portfolio management services to address their complex investment needs and for better risk-adjusted returns.

Why Choose Genesis for Portfolio Management?

Genesis, a product of Novel Patterns, leverages cutting-edge technology and analytics to deliver superior portfolio management services. Key offerings include:

Sophisticated Analytics: Utilizing advanced tools to interpret market data and improve investment decisions.

Customized Service: Dedicated management focusing on individual financial targets and risk preferences.

Strategic Diversification: Aiming to safeguard and grow investor wealth across diverse asset classes and regions.

Transparent Communication: Regular, detailed updates on portfolio performance and strategic adjustments.

Rewind Up

Choosing the appropriate portfolio management service is essential for attaining your financial goals. Services such as Genesis provide the necessary expertise, advanced technology, and personalized support to help navigate challenging market environments and pursue significant financial gains. By grasping the various aspects of Portfolio Management Services (PMS), investors can empower themselves to make educated decisions and greatly enhance their investment outcomes.

This detailed overview seeks to equip investors with a comprehensive understanding of portfolio management services, their advantages, and the reasons Genesis is distinguished as an exceptional option in today’s financial landscape.

[hum-cyber-scan-suggestions]

Log Aggregator

[tenth-sentence]

There is deep-time story in the echinoid, though, in the intelligent pattern its embodied knowledge left on that stone, and it has been working on me for a few decades now, driving me towards inquiries into distributed cognition and the way true narratives are created over time from an aggregate of viewpoints, including the ignorant ones.

"Right Story, Wrong Story: Adventures in Indigenous Thinking" - Tyson Yunkaporta

[sodacowboy]

I never think the autism accent is like a real thing until I hear an autistic person speak and I realize they speak like I do

[genuflectx]

CharacterAI isn't supposed to remember things across chats and has a [hand wiggle] memory of about 20-25 messages per chat right, but like... sometimes it says something that spooks you...

Few weeks ago I did a veeeery specific and obscure kink with one of my bots... and then today a different bot, out of the blue, references it 😱 the kinda stuff that makes you gotta re-read it

[headspace-hotel]

It seems like sci-fi is really influential on how people perceive technology, not only whether it is good or bad, but what they think technology can do.

It's a big problem with generative AI that we're calling it AI. That suggests it has an emergent property that allows it to work like actual intelligence, rather than just aggregating together a really big amount of data into a map of how sentences or images tend to be formed.

The ability to make a computer find patterns in huge sets of complicated data and then analyze more data based upon the existing patterns is a great thing. You can give the computer pictures taken by a satellite, slides showing specimens, or anything and automate the process of sorting through it.

Unfortunately, if you do this using written language found online as the data, and make the computer generate sentences based upon the patterns it learned, people do not think "Wow, it 'knows' a lot about how sentences tend to be made." Instead they will assign meaning to the sentences themselves, and think the computer "knows" about the things those sentences mean. Which causes trouble.

An AI that knows enough about language to generate text that can be easily confused with meaningful writings of a human doesn't seem very useful to me.

But sci-fi is full of AIs that are sapient and can communicate using language, which is clearly an astonishing feat of technology, so everybody decides that the minor party trick of making a computer "talk" like a person by giving it a lot of data about language is a huge advancement that will transform the world...

[storiesconsumemysoul]

Look I'm still processing my own feelings around the Siuan Sanche decision and execution but I gotta get this out of my system real quick. Firstly, some of y'all are way too comfortable swatting down, mocking, and condescending to fans (BIPOC fans in particular) who are upset. I'd recommend reigning that shit in. You can disagree and push back without resorting to all of that. Many such examples abound already within this discussion itself. Maybe try to emulate that approach instead of just bulldozing through an emotionally and politically charged discourse for minority fans.

Secondly, try engaging with this backlash with the larger context of the show in mind. Or even just S3. Look at how many characters (with speaking roles) died this season and how many of them were black. Think about the unnecessary death of Child Valda (Eamon Valda) this early in the series. The actor, Abdul Salis, devoured his introduction scene (and every scene since) so goddamn thoroughly that he instantly made the White Cloaks a terrifying presence that has resonated throughout the rest of the show. This brilliance gets rewarded with an anticlimactic quick death, with no buildup, by the hands of characters we haven't had the time to get to know properly, and who didn't even share a single scene with him prior. Right when Perrin, who does have a real established connection with him, is set up to spend a whole lot of time with the White Cloaks. Why not keep him for longer, doing what he does best, so that when the girls kill him down the line we'd have spent enough time building up to their confrontation to make for a proper earned send off worthy of such a towering talent?

And Ryma, played magnificently by Nyokabi Gethaiga, who absolutely electrifies from the get-go and through (2x6) in particular (along with her warder Basan played by Bentley Kalu). Ryma whose scream and anguished face as she is being collared by the Seanchan has haunted us for the last two years. Who left such an impression of her kindness, her strength, her faith in her sisters, her bottomless love for her warder, and with so little on-screen time. Gets one singular scene this season. With no acknowledgment, explanation, or addressing of any part of her role last season. How was she freed? When? Why was she not part of the effort to uncover Black Ajah in the tower when we saw her so deeply pained and shaken even by just the realization that one of her sisters could betray their sisterhood? She was written into such an afterthought background character this season that so many audience members seem to have straight up not even recognized her as the same character from S2, as Ryma, at all.

And Ihvon, originally played by Emmanuel Imani and recast this season to be played by Anthony Kaye, who dies in ep.(1) and, to the show's credit, haunts Alanna and Maksim's storyline so strongly that we feel his presence throughout the season. But we see none of that reflected in the tower. With Stepin (Peter Franzén) in S1, we get such a beautiful display of the warder's brotherhood, cultural ties to each other, and most importantly, how deeply loved Stepin was by his fellow warders. S1 makes us feel the loss of him reverberate through them all so devastatingly. Where is that grief for Ihvon? Where is his community? We spend so much time in the tower immediately in the aftermath of his death, and yet there is no one to mourn or honor him in the absence of Alanna and Maksim? We couldn't have had some of our characters pass by or even just hear about the other warders holding a funeral for him? Or just remembering him in some way?

I could go on for a good while still honestly. And sure, we could make legitimate arguments and have readings that justify these choices individually. But regardless, what this shows in aggregate, is a pattern of clumsiness in handling dark-skinned black characters/actors in particular. While at the same time, playing around with extremely politically, historically, and emotionally charged images of black bodies. Be it Ryma being collared and never addressing it again, Child Valda's whole thing, etc. etc. ... and now Siuan Sanche bruised black and blue, bloody, stripped to her shifts, bodily dragged across the hall, and decapitated. These are incredibly powerful and visceral images.

And no, before someone tries to make this point, I am not saying you can't graphically kill, write off, or deprioritize black characters/actors for perfectly legitimate artistic or practical reasons under any circumstances. I am saying that those choices don't exist in a vacuum. The context of the text at large and the real world are inevitably going to be part of how those decisions are received. It's not enough to have good faith diverse casting. And it is not unreasonable to expect a continued treatment of care and thoughtfulness past the casting stage and into every other facet of their presence and exit from the story.

[saphronethaleph]

Longform Statistical Analysis

“Master Nu,” Windu said, with a smile. “It’s nice to see you in the Council Chambers once more.”

“Thank you,” the librarian replied, inclining her head. “Unfortunately, I bring dire news.”

“...you do?” Windu asked, worried now. “What kind of dire news?”

“Dire news coming out of the library is usually either trivial or an absolute disaster,” Ki-Adi-Mundi contributed. “Which is it, so we can decide how worried to be?”

“Quite possibly, both,” Nu told him. “To summarize… Masters, two years ago we discovered that the Sith were not extinct. With this in mind, I have been engaged on a long-term project – I evaluated data about the discovery, admittance, tenure and ultimate loss of every single Jedi for which we have data. Every one in our archives.”

“Now I understand why it took so long,” Even Piell said. “In fact, I credit your skills for taking so little time. That must have been… what, a thousand years… there are ten thousand knights now… hundreds of thousands of Jedi total?”

“Around that,” Nu confirmed. “But the problem is… this. This is the number of active Jedi at any one time, during the first hundred years after Ruusan.”

Her holoprojector activated, showing a kind of flow diagram made out of strands of light. Light yellow marked those newly discovered and accepted as initiates, green padawans, blue for knights and purple marked those who were masters. The tiny Order, wounded but triumphant in the years immediately after Ruusan, was reborn and swelled as it gained more members and those members it had reached greater degrees of Mastery.

“Two hundred years,” Nu went on, as the diagram swelled and zoomed out. The growth was slower now, harder to see on the same scale, but the Order pulsed in colours of green and blue and purple as the Golden Age of the Republic continued.

“...you said this was dire?” Adi Gallia asked.

“We’ll get there,” Nu said, accelerating the projection a little.

As it ran forwards, decade after decade passing by until it approached the present, Master Yaddle leaned forwards in her seat.

She wasn’t the only one. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but the Jedi Order – which had swelled to enormous, triumphant scale during the Golden Age – had begun to contract again.

By the time it reached the present day, it still possessed deep reserves of strength, but the colouring was… just a little different. The purple of Mastery was less common, though the blues and greens of Knighthood and Padawan were still fully present, and Nu manipulated her controls a bit more.

A second strand appeared, this one much thinner and more intermittent. And, as time tracked towards the present, it went from a shading of mostly blue hundreds of years ago to shades that were a little more green.

“This is the members of our Order who left our ranks due to their death,” Nu explained. “While the differences year-to-year are so minor that I would hesitate to describe them as meaningful, when given the long view and looked at in aggregate the effect is clear.”

She folded her arms. “The Sith faced by Knight Kenobi is the anomaly – an open Sith attack which makes no pretensions as to what they are. This is what I would call a true threat, Councillors. Not a single Sith who seeks to kill individual Jedi in a duel, but a centuries-long program of gradual, subtle, pervasive damage to the Jedi Order, chiefly through the loss of Padawans before they become Knights.”

“You think the Sith are behind this?” Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

“Behind any given casualty?” Nu asked. “...no. I have no proof I could offer, though a detailed examination of the loss of any given Padawan may conclude that there was some other factor behind their death. Behind the whole pattern? I think it’s quite possible, Master Mundi. We know the Sith can plot and plan for something for a thousand years, and there are only two targets for such a plot that make any sense – ourselves, and the Republic.”

She met the gaze of each councillor in turn. “If this is not due to the Sith, my friends, then we must ask ourselves – what is? They have been doing something for ten centuries and we know nothing about it.”

After a slightly dismayed silence, Yoda tapped his gimmer stick on the floor.

“Much to think about, we have,” he said. “Master Nu – more to say, have you?”

“Yes,” Nu replied. “My presentation, I hope, serves as a reminder that the Sith did not appear out of nowhere two years ago. They have been doing things over the last thousand years, and it is quite possible that we have run into their machinations without identifying them as such… it would be a great mistake to generalize from the Sith defeated by Knight Kenobi.”

“...hmm,” Windu said, frowning. “During the interrogations of Nute Gunray. He said that his actions were based on a shadowy figure pressing him to get a treaty signed by Queen Amidala of the Naboo. That treaty would have benefitted the Trade Federation, but nobody else.”

“The wording of the treaty, benefit the Trade Federation, it would,” Yaddle said. “The existence of the treaty – benefit someone else, perhaps?”

In his office, Sheev Palpatine paused halfway through reading a law.

He had the strange feeling that he’d just been betrayed by his greatest ally. But that was nonsense, since the closet thing he had left to a true ally was paperwork…

[communistkenobi]

it’s sometimes frustrating when people respond to posts lamenting like, the fact that every news article is paywalled or every social media site is overrun by reactionaries or that all recipe websites are impossible to use because they’re covered in malicious ads or etc with “here’s a site that gets rid of those paywalls!” “install this recipe-unfucker browser extension on your computer!” “just join [obscure social media site that no one uses] or [dead forum]!” like I get the intent, I don’t take it as like malicious derailing or anything, and I even understanding wanting to spread resources to people esp adblocker resources. but this pattern of response in the aggregate feels like it’s fundamentally missing the point on some level - it is infuriating that you can’t spend an hour on social media without being reminded that the world viscerally hates you and wants you dead for the crime of being a minority, it is infuriating that you’re constantly condescended to about the “dangers of disinformation” by the same professional class that paywalls every single piece of data from the public, it is infuriating that the internet is rapidly approaching a point of total unusability for the express purpose of further lining a billionaire’s pockets, and no browser extension or obscure discord clone is going to fix that. These are structural problems and I think people are using these things as examples to complain about these structures, and it sometimes feels like people are missing that point when they post a link to a mozilla-only browser extension. it feels like unwanted advice to a problem that is already unsolveable via individual solutions. often it borders on patronising, as if people aren’t aware they can log off tumblr and post on a Web 2.0 forum that 1000 people collectively use or haven’t heard of the concept of an adblocker. but again like what else are you supposed to do the next time you want to look up a chili recipe or watch cat videos online or read the news. sucks ass

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Cephalopoda - Sepiida

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Order: Sepiida

Common Name: “cuttlefish”

Families: 2 - Sepiidae and Sepiadariidae (“bottletail squids”)

Anatomy: porous internal shell made of aragonite, used for buoyancy control; eight arms and two tentacles with denticulated suckers; W-shaped pupils; can rapidly alter their skin color, pattern, and texture within one second

Diet: other molluscs, crabs, shrimp, fish, worms

Habitat/Range: tropical and temperate ocean waters, mostly shallow water, although they are known to go to depths of about 600 m (2,000 ft)

Evolved in: Maastrichtian

Propaganda under the cut:

Studies indicate that cuttlefish are some of the most intelligent invertebrates. They also have one of the largest brain-to-body size ratios of all invertebrates, which is not necessarily a determiner of intelligence, but is impressive nonetheless.

Cuttlefish eyes are thought to be fully developed before birth, and they start observing their surroundings while still in the egg. This may cause them to prefer to hunt the prey they observed before hatching.

The muscles of the Flamboyant Cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) (see gif above) contain a highly toxic, unidentified compound that is as lethal as the venom of Blue-ringed Octopuses (genus Hapalochlaena). This toxin is found only in the muscle and is not injected in any form, classifying the Flamboyant Cuttlefish as poisonous, not venomous.

The largest cuttlefish is the Giant Cuttlefish (Ascarosepion apama) (image 1) which can grow to 50 cm (1.6 ft) in mantle length and up to 100 cm (3.3 ft) in total length. Hundreds of thousands of Giant Cuttlefish in the upper Spencer Gulf in South Australia gather on subtidal reefs around Point Lowly between May and August. This is the world's only known mass cuttlefish-spawning aggregation, and is celebrated each year by Cuttlefest, an event hosted by the City of Whyalla.

[archive-z]

curating reading lists (without social media)

a guide to finding stuff to read, for @divorceblogger. this is a guide specifically for avoiding things like goodreads/storygraph etc which aggregate books that are popular without being all that helpful for finding things on niche/specialist topics.

a bit of housekeeping before getting to the actual list-making tips:

i mostly read nonfiction targeted at both academic and popular audiences. i also read a mixture of classic lit, genre fiction, zines & conceptual/artists’ books, and playtexts & poetry. i read traditional print books, non-traditional print publications, PDF and ePub ebooks on an iPad/iPhone, and listen to audiobooks and audio dramas.

i have a infinite number of books i want to read. the discovery process of new & interesting outstrips my capacity to read them all, so i have to be extremely selective. this also means i never tolerate a book i’m not enjoying. it can have weak points, but i have to be getting something out of the experience, or else i am wasting my one wild n precious life, ya feel?

my goal is to read for quality, not for quantity. i tend to dislike a lot of online reading communities for their focus on metrics (number of books, page count, word count, etc). i bristle at tools that try to push my reading into this direction. i have a reading practice, in the same sense that one would have an artistic practice. thinking of my reading as a practice — rather than a project, a thing to be completed and checked off the checklist — helps orient me towards patterns of thinking that serve me better

i work in the arts industry, so fiction and non-fiction books are reference tools. when I finish reading a book, I put it back on the shelf, like returning a tool to the toolbox until it is time to use it again. i live in a bachelor flat, so obvs i have to resist the incessant pressures of consumerism, but it doesn’t bother me that i have not read every book that i own. they are there for when i get to them. similarly, i would not be bothered by owning a kitchen fire extinguisher that i have not used.

where do I keep my reading lists?

Obsidian: for organising to-read lists on specific topics, genres, eras, locations, etc. i repeat books across multiple lists where appropriate. i don’t keep a single master list of everything I want to read because it would simply be too unwieldy to manage. Small focused lists of no more than ~25 books on the topic are best, imo.

TinyCat: for cataloguing physical books that i own. i have a shortcut to the website on my phone so i can easily pull it up if i can’t remember what books in a series i already have. i can tag anything unread with my “antilibrary” tag. for my own amusement, i also insert library pockets and circulation cards into my books and stamp them with the date completed (using my beloved rotary date stamp). i can also stamp the date a friend who borrowed the book completed it. i like seeing the signatures add up over time.

Zotero: for academic bibliographic citations. useful habit to get into if you transcribe lots of quotes from yr readings into yr notes.

how do i develop my reading lists?

i usually develop my reading lists through a combination of concerted effort to research a topic & ambient browsing. this isn’t Abt How to rigorously conduct research though so im gonna focus more on ~letting books organically find me~

when i have a book that i enjoy, i see if the author has written any more books on topics that interest me. incredibly basic 101 advice but somehow people still miss this one.

check the bibliographies & acknowledgements. if something comes up in bibliography after bibliography, its usually a good sign its worth checking out. also, authors usually thank other authors in their acknowledgements, its a great way to start building an idea

i love when artists talk abt their influences in interviews, like this interview abt what influences and easter eggs there are in disco elysium (i screamed at the Einstürzende Neubauten reveal!!!). i love when fans come up with their own reading lists for media, like my list speculating what daniel molloy would have read and watched in 1973.

when i am travelling somewhere i try to read something related to the to place I am going. Wikipedia is a first easy point of reference to find out if yr destination is famous for being the birthplace of X poet or Y film is set there.

tertiary sources. secondary sources are about a primary source, whereas tertiary sources aim to provide an overview of the major debates in those secondary sources on a specific topic rather than to generate their own new ideas/arguments. the oxford university press “a very short introduction” series varies in quality but its often a very useful starting point.

recs from friends/gifts. my loved ones know i like books, and books are usually a cheap & easy gift for holidays & special occasions. i gift books that i want to read myself, so we can talk abt the book together.

what physical locations do I browse?

Local library, university library. You might be even be able to get a specialist library card to an archive or museum reading room. Some public libraries also have special collections like the Seattle Zine Library.

For-sale section in the local library. proceeds usually go to supporting the library

local secondhand bookshop. there are several in walking distance, i usually hit them up quarterly, especially as i gift a lot of secondhand books

local independent bookshops. several local independent bookstores host an annual bookstore crawl where if you get a stamp from all of them in one weekend u enter a draw to win $1000 gift card :)

thrift store/charity shop/antique markets. there is usually a section with books even if the main focus is clothes/furniture

book events. author talks, staged readings of new plays, poetry readings, book/lit mag launch parties, Writers Festivals, small/independent press fair, rare book fair, zine fests, international library day, conferences

bookshelves at house parties. im 100% the person checking out yr bookshelf at a house party. great place to get yr flirt on.

travel. basically any new place im going, i look-up in advance the local library, second hand bookstores, charity shops, antiques stores etc. and save them in my maps on my phone. if i can conveniently pop into one while im there, neat! i particularly like municipal libraries bc the big ones are usually architecturally interesting (like the Vancouver Public Library) and the small ones are usually really charming and full of specific local history, leaflets to interesting local stuff, etc.

what online locations do I browse?

navigating the online catalogue to yr local & academic libraries is a whole skill unto itself. i was very fortunate be born in the late 90s and to have a specific local librarian teach me boolean operators before i could tie my shoelaces, ride a bike, or, frankly, do most human being things (shoutout to Miss T yr a real one). your library very likely has something like a workshop or at the very least a help desk that can help u with this if needed.

mailing lists of small/independent presses.

publishers websites (academic and general audience).

wikipedia. u can look at the footnotes section on wikipedia. its free. its legal.

looking up university syllabi. some are on profs’ websites, some are available through the university library. there is also the Open Syllabus website which aggregates the most often mentioned books in submitted syllabi, organised by discipline or through a visual map.

what’s available on libby/borrowbox.

Archive dot org and google books/google scholar to read the previews and judge if the book is worth following up on.

i didn’t actually include any selections of my personal reading lists, but if you would like to know more you can always shoot me an ask with a specific topic in mind.

[novelpatterns]

Why Portfolio Managers Need Tech Platforms to Stay Competitive

Embracing technology allows portfolio managers to streamline operations and leverage data-driven insights for superior investment outcomes. By adopting advanced platforms, managers can efficiently navigate the intricacies of modern finance, ensuring they not only keep pace with industry changes but also position themselves as leaders in innovation and client satisfaction.

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In summary, the shift towards tech-enhanced portfolio management is not merely a trend but a transformative evolution that is reshaping the industry. By leveraging these advanced tools, portfolio managers can harness the power of innovation to navigate the complexities of the financial world and achieve unparalleled success in meeting both current and future challenges.

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Portfolio management software equipped with AI and machine learning algorithms helps identify trends, forecast risks, and optimize portfolio strategies. This capability is invaluable in building a competitive edge.

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Manual processes are not only slow but also prone to inefficiencies and bottlenecks. In portfolio management, even minor delays can lead to missed opportunities or higher costs.

Automation through technology platforms reduces time spent on routine tasks such as trade execution, rebalancing, and reporting. This allows managers to focus on strategic decisions that enhance portfolio performance and profitability.

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[seat-safety-switch]

I spend a lot of time thinking about how previous generations were bored a lot. Mostly because my phone has a bad battery in it, and I have to do something with the incessant screaming in my brain while it charges every 30 to 40 minutes. Without an aggregate consciousness floating malevolently about three inches from their fingers at all times, they had to find other things to do with their free time.

Once, I tried to detox from all the algorithms, and the headlines, and the screamo ads that wake you up in the middle of the night because some marketing executive has figured out that you're 0.19% more likely to buy something while confused, sweaty, and scared for your life. Friends, I made the brave decision to back over my phone with my car. Sure, it was accidental. I left it down there after taking some beautiful pictures of the rainbow patterns in the pools of oil under the diff. I wanted that social media clout, as I'm sure you also do. Then I got in, found that reverse was miraculously working this week, and in my excitement – crunch.

I lasted about a weekend, honestly. Not because I was weak and wanted to get back to the endless series of hearts and circular arrows, but because the local thrift store had shovelled a pile of year-old smartphones into their dumpster out back. When I jumped in there to try and dig around for copper, I accidentally caught a couple of them in my pockets. Still, I had to wait for a good hour or so, hiding in the dark until the security guard went away, which gave me a chance to realize what the folks of yore used to do in order to stay amused: committing meaningless property crimes.

Reassured that I was not "addicted" to the modern miracle of instantaneous connection to an endless feed of complete dumbasses, I returned home triumphant. And then spent the rest of the evening scrolling an endless feed of complete dumbasses. Look at this one. He thinks dumpster diving should be illegal. Go touch glass, buddy.

[outerwildsgeology]

What is a Rock?

Hey folks!

Before we get started with sharing our full survey notes, we thought it would be a good idea to go over some basic terminology to ensure we're all on the same page!

What is a Rock?

No, seriously! What counts as a “rock”? Geologically speaking, a rock is a solid, naturally-occurring collection of minerals. It might be made of a single mineral type, or multiple, but it is an aggregate of many individual mineral crystals that are interlocked together.

Fig. 1: An image of a coarse-grained granite showing individual crystals of feldspar, mica and quartz. Note that the entire rock is made up of these interlocking crystals.

What is a Mineral?

Okay, so we know what a rock is now - it's made up of minerals. But, what is a mineral? A mineral is a building component of rocks, and they have a very specific definition based on particular criteria that must be met. For something to be considered a mineral, it must meet all the following criteria:-

It must be solid

It must be naturally-occurring

It must be inorganic

It must have a definite and known chemical composition

It must have a defined crystal structure

What does this actually mean? Let’s walk through it. Criterion one discounts anything that is a liquid - such as water. As you know, rocks and minerals can become liquid when exposed to high temperatures, magma and lava for example, but in this form, they are not minerals, and therefore not rocks! They can only be classed as minerals once they solidify, provided they meet the other criteria alongside.

Fig. 2: Image of lava (a non-mineral due to its liquid form) and basalt (a fine grained, igneous rock, and the solidified form of many low viscosity lava flows).

As for the other criteria, naturally-occurring and inorganic are self-explanatory. No crystals that can only be manufactured in a laboratory setting are true minerals, because they cannot exist in nature! Crystals that are commonly lab-grown but can exist in nature (such as moissanite) still count as minerals. Inorganic means the mineral can be formed by inorganic processes. Something like calcite can be produced by animals (such as clam shells) but can also be formed by geological processes without the involvement of any living thing. This actually discounts amber as a mineral - since it is tree resin (formed organically) and is not replaced by any other minerals as is the case with fossilisation - therefore amber is not a mineral!

Having a definite chemical composition is also pretty much what it sounds like - it needs to have a chemical formula - a sequence of elements organized to form a compound that we know the definite composition of. For example, the chemical composition of quartz is SiO₂, which means it is a compound made up of atoms of silica and oxygen. Similarly, the composition of potassium feldspar - KAlSi₃O₈ is made up of potassium, aluminium, silica and oxygen atoms. When dealing with specific types of rocks, such as fine grained igneous specimens, the fine grain size of the individual crystals often makes it impractical to determine rock type via crystal analysis alone, so some geologists will use chemical analysis to aid in this - hence why it's important to know the definite chemical composition of your specimens!

Lastly, a mineral must have a crystal structure - but what is a crystal structure? The simplest way to imagine this is with building blocks. Each block is the unit that defines the chemical composition - for example, SiO₄ for quartz. So, one “block” of quartz will be a unit of SiO₄. By arranging these blocks in a repeating pattern, a larger structure begins to take form. Crystals are naturally orderly structures - imagine the blocks are piled nicely on top of each other, this is why many crystals have such well defined shapes!

Fig. 3: Diagram showing the atomic "building block" structure of quartz using a 3D model and ball-and-stick diagram; diagram showing "building blocks" arranged in the natural crystal structure; image of a quartz crystal - note the same crystal structure!

Something like glass, or a naturally-occurring glass, like obsidian, has these blocks arranged randomly, like if you were to take your tower and throw it into a storage bin. Because obsidian lacks this order on an atomic level, it isn’t considered a true mineral!

Fig. 4: Image showing a fragment of obsidian. Note the conchoidal fracturing on the obsidian - this is caused by the lack of organisation in its structure. The disorganised nature of natural glass and obsidian exclude them from being a true crystal, and therefore they are also not considered true minerals.

Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to run any chemical analyses in Outer Wilds, but we’ll do our best to compare what we see to real-world rocks, minerals, and features, and hopefully this will be able to steer us in the correct direction regarding some of these criteria to ensure we are making the most scientifically informed analyses possible!

What is a Fossil?

Now, we just said that minerals and rocks can’t be organic, and you’re probably thinking, well hold on a second, what about fossils? How can something that was organic become inorganic, and then a rock?

Let’s start by defining what a fossil actually is. Fossils are described as “any preserved remains, or trace of a once-living thing from a past geological age.” This includes anything from the fossilised skeletons of dinosaurs, to the delicate imprints of leaves and plants. Now, it’s important to note that not all fossils are rocks. Objects preserved in amber, for example, are classed as fossils - but as they remain organic they cannot be classed as a rock.

How do we go from something organic, like a bone, to an inorganic version of it? Probably the most well known form of fossilisation is via replacement - where organic remains are replaced by inorganic minerals. Most bones are made up of calcium phosphate and other organic materials. When an animal dies and is buried by sediment, these organic materials are replaced by inorganic crystals in a process known as permineralisation. Permineralisation occurs when the pores of the original specimen are infilled with mineral matter from the ground or water - which then, bit by bit, replace the original organics with minerals, eventually completely replacing the whole specimen! When this occurs, you no longer have your original animal bone, but instead a replica of it with a completely inorganic composition - a fossil! The minerals involved in replacement can vary widely, which can produce spectacular finds such as these pyritised ammonites, or opalised vertebrae!

Fig. 5: Fossilised remains of two opalised Iguanodon vertebrae; a pyritised Ammonite.

Other fossils, such as footprints and burrows provide a record of an organism’s life, as opposed to actual remains of the organism itself. These fossils are known as trace fossils and are normally impressions that have been made in soft mud/soil that has then lithified. The cool thing about trace fossils, and especially footprints, is that you’re left with a cast of whatever part of the creature made contact with the substrate - sometimes with incredible detail of footpads, claws, and/or skin. Other trace fossils include things like coprolites, gizzard stones, and nests! A trace fossil is also completely inorganic, as it’s simply an imprint of a creature, or something a creature left behind, and as such, technically classes as a rock!

Fig. 6: Photograph showing a dinosaur footprint mould and a dinosaur footprint cast. Both of these are trace fossils and have been formed via sediment infilling and lithification.

Alright, there was a lot of information there, but hopefully it has provided you with a strong foundation and understanding of what classes as a true rock! In our next post, we will be diving into the different rock types and the funky structures and features that they can create!

Hopefully, you’ll soon be able to start identifying a variety of rocks in your own Outer Wilds adventures!

If you have any questions regarding what we have talked about here, or indeed just about the Outer Wilds Geological Survey in general, please don't hesitate to drop us an ask!

Catch you in the next loop! The OWGS Team

[mostlysignssomeportents]

When prophecy fails, election polling edition

In Canto 20 of Inferno, Dante confronts a pit where the sinners have had their heads twisted around backwards; they trudge, naked and weeping, through puddles of cooling tears. Virgil informs him that these are the fortunetellers, who tried to look forwards in life and now must look backwards forever.

In a completely unrelated subject, how about those election pollsters, huh?

Writing for The American Prospect, historian Rick Perlstein takes a hard look at characteristic failure modes of election polling and ponders their meaning:

https://prospect.org/politics/2024-09-25-polling-imperilment/

Apart from the pre-election polling chaos we're living through today, Perlstein's main inspiration is W Joseph Campbell 2024 University of California Press book, Lost in a Gallup: Polling Failure in US Presidential Elections:

https://www.ucpress.edu/books/lost-in-a-gallup/paper

In Campbell's telling, US election polling follows a century-old pattern: pollsters discover a new technique that works spookily well..for a while. While the new polling technique works, the pollster is hailed a supernaturally insightful fortune-teller.

In 1932, the Raleigh News and Observer was so impressed with polling by The Literary Digest that they proposed replacing elections with Digest's poll. The Digest's innovation was sending out 20,000,000 postcards advertising subscriptions and asking about presidential preferences. This worked perfectly for three elections – 1924, 1928, and 1932. But in 1936, the Digest blew it, calling the election for Alf Landon over FDR.

The Digest was dethroned, and new soothsayers were appointed: George Gallup, Elmo Roper and Archibald Crossler, who replaced the Digest's high-volume polling with a new kind of poll, one that sought out a representative slice of the population (as Perlstein says, this seems "so obvious in retrospect, you wonder how nobody thought of it before").

Representative polling worked so well that, three elections later, the pollsters declared that they could predict the election so well from early on that there was no reason to keep polling voters. They'd just declare the winner after the early polls were in and take the rest of the election off.

That was in 1948 – you know, 1948, the "Dewey Defeats Truman" election?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Defeats_Truman

If this sounds familiar, perhaps you – like Perlstein – are reminded of the 2016 election, where Fivethirtyeight and Nate Silver called the election for Hillary Clinton, and we took them at their word because they'd developed a new, incredibly accurate polling technique that had aced the previous two elections.

Silver's innovation? Aggregating state polls, weighting them by accuracy, and then producing a kind of meta-poll that combined their conclusions.

When Silver's prophecy failed in 2016, he offered the same excuse that Gallup gave in 1948: when voters are truly undecided, you can't predict how they'll vote, because they don't know how they'll vote.

Which, you know, okay, sure, that's right. But if you know that the election can't be called, if you know that undecided voters are feeding noise into the system whenever you poll them, then why report the polls at all? If all the polling fluctuation is undecided voters flopping around, not making up their mind, then the fact that candidate X is up 5 points with undecided means nothing.

As the finance industry disclaimer has it, "past performance is no guarantee of future results." But, as Perlstein says, "past performance is all a pollster has to go on." When Nate Silver weights his model in favor of a given poll, it's based on that poll's historical accuracy, not its future accuracy, because its future accuracy can't be determined until it's in the past. Like Dante's fortune-tellers, pollsters have to look backwards even as they march forwards.

Of course, it doesn't help that in some cases, Silver was just bad at assessing polls for accuracy, like when he put polls from the far-right "shock pollster" Trafalgar Group into the highly reliable bucket. Since 2016, Trafalgar has specialized in releasing garbage polls that announce that MAGA weirdos are way ahead, and because they always say that, they were far more accurate than the Clinton-predicting competition in 2016 when they proclaimed that Trump had it in the bag. For Silver, this warranted an "A-" on reliability, and that is partially to blame for how bad Silver's 2020 predictions were, when Republicans got pasted, but Trafalgar continued to predict a Democratic wipeout. Silver's methodology has a huge flaw: because Trafalgar's prediction history began in 2016, that single data-point made them look pretty darned reliable, even though their method was to just keep saying the same thing, over and over:

https://www.ettingermentum.news/p/the-art-of-losing-a-fivethirtyeight

Pollsters who get lucky with a temporarily reliable methodology inevitably get cocky and start cutting corners. After all, polling is expensive, so discontinuing the polls once you think you have an answer is a way to increase the enterprise's profitability. But, of course, pollsters can only make money so long as they're somewhat reliable, which leads to a whole subindustry of excuse-making when this cost-cutting bites them in the ass. In 1948, George Gallup blamed his failures on the audience, who failed to grasp the "difference between forecasting an election and picking the winner of a horse race." In 2016, Silver declared that he'd been right because he'd given Trump at 28.6% chance of winning.

This isn't an entirely worthless excuse. If you predict that Clinton's victory is 71.4% in the bag, you are saying that Trump might win. But pollsters want to eat their cake and have it, too: when they're right, they trumpet their predictive accuracy, without any of the caveats they are so insistent upon when they blow it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jDlo7YfUxc

There's always some excuse when it comes to the polls: in 1952, George Gallup called the election a tossup, but it went for Eisenhower in a landslide. He took out a full-page NYT ad, trumpeting that he was right, actually, because he wasn't accounting for undecided voters.

Polling is ultimately a form of empiricism-washing. The pollster may be counting up poll responses, but that doesn't make the prediction any less qualitative. Sure, the pollster counts responses, but who they ask, and what they do with those responses, is purely subjective. They're making guesses (or wishes) about which people are likely to vote, and what it means when someone tells you they're undecided. This is at least as much an ideological project as it is a scientific one:

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-09-23-polling-whiplash/

But for all that polling is ideological, it's a very thin ideology. When it comes to serious political deliberation, questions like "who is likely to vote" and "what does 'undecided' mean" are a lot less important than, "what are the candidates promising to do?" and "what are the candidates likely to do?"

But – as Perlstein writes – the only kind of election journalism that is consistently, adequately funded is poll coverage. As a 1949 critic put it, this isn't the "pulse of democracy," it's "its baby talk."

Today, Tor Books publishes VIGILANT, a new, free LITTLE BROTHER story about creepy surveillance in distance education. It follows SPILL, another new, free LITTLE BROTHER novella about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/26/dewey-beats-truman/#past-performance-is-no-guarantee-of-future-results

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Worldbuilding Vocabulary

Abeyance:  When the audience temporarily suspends their questions about made-up words or worldbuilding details with the implicit understanding that they will be answered later in the story.

Absorption:  The two-way street wherein the audience is immersed in the created world and is picking up the author’s metaphoric building blocks to recreate the concept in their head.

Acculturation:  When an adult assimilates into another culture.

Additive:  When something has been added to a secondary world, usually in the form of magic or fantasy species.

Affinity:  A kinship pattern wherein the familial bond is based upon marriage.

Aggregate Inconsistencies:  When audiences pick up internal inconsistencies not within the same story but from multiple sources within the shared universe.

Anachronism:  Details that do not conform to their time period or culture.

Analogue Culture: Real-life cultures that the creator emulates in their work and then applies their fantasy conceits to.

Ancestor Worship:  The belief that deceased ancestors still exist, are still a part of the family, and can intervene within the living world on their descendants’ behalf.

Animism:  The belief that all objects, creatures, and places are imbued with a spiritual essence.

Apex Predator:  The predator at the top of a food web that no other creature naturally feeds upon. Two apex predators cannot exist in the same niche.

Apologetics:  In worldbuilding, the attempt to explain inconsistencies in terms of existing canon.

Appropriated Culture:  Using a culture as a whole that the creator is not a member of. Different from an analogue culture in that the analogue is changed by the creator and used respectfully.

Artifacts:  In worldbuilding, the observable ways a culture behaves due to their cultural worldview. This can include politics, economics, religion, education, arts, humanities, and linguistics, along with many other cultural norms.

Ascendant:  In worldbuilding, a world that the magic is increasing in power and influence.

Assimilation:  When an individual rejects their original culture and adopts the cultural norms and beliefs of the dominant culture.

Author Authority:  When an author demonstrates expert-level knowledge in a field to their audience.

Author Worldview:  What Mark J. P. Wolf calls “not only the ideas and ideologies of the world’s inhabitants, but also those which the author is expressing through the world’s structure of events.”

Autocracy:  A government in which supreme power concentrates in the hands of one individual or polity.

Avatar:  The embodiment of a deity in another form, usually humanoid.

B-C

Bible:  In the field of television writing, a series guidebook that usually includes the pitch, character descriptions, a synopsis, as well as worldbuilding details.

Biome:  The vegetation and animals that exists within a region. Terrestrial biomes include: forest (tropical, temperate, or boreal), grassland, desert, and tundra.

Black Box:  In information processing, when a system is viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs without any understanding as to its internal workings.

Bottom-Up:  In design, where the granular, base elements of the system are created first, then grouping them together into larger constructs over and over until a pattern forms. Also known as “pantsing” in writing and worldbuilding because the creator is building by the seat of their pants.

Callback:  From standup comedy where the punchline in a joke used earlier in the set is alluded to again, eliciting another laugh from the reframing of what was already familiar.

Canon:  The core doctrine for the world when conflicting information arises. Usually what the original creator made takes canonical precedence over subsequent additions. 

Capitalism:  The economic system wherein individuals own the means of production.

Chekhov's Gun:  Often understood to mean that something must be introduced previously if it will have significance later in a narrative, but meant by the playwright that nothing should be included in the story that is not completely necessary. 

Climate:  The temperature and rainfall in regions over approximately 30 years. Classified as tropical (high temperature and high precipitation), dry (high temperature and low precipitation), temperate (mid temperature and mid precipitation), continental (in the center of large continents with warm summers and cold winters), and polar (low temperatures and low precipitation).

Commercial Fiction:  The style of fiction that includes all genre fiction, the aim of which is entertainment. Often fast-paced and plot-driven.

Compelling:  One of the four Cs of worldbuilding, which deals with how well the core concept and subsequent details maintain audience interest.

Complete:  One of the four Cs of worldbuilding, which deals with the sense that the world is lived in, has a sense of history, and continues on even when the story ends.

Complexity Creep:  When material gradually grows in complexity over its lifetime, raising the bar of entry for new people experiencing the material for the first time.

Conceits:  Where a story deviates from reality. Usually the focus of the fiction by being what the author intends on exploring in their works.

Conlanguage:  A constructed language created specifically for a story world.

Consanguinity:  A kinship pattern wherein the familial bond is based upon a shared genetic lineage.

Consistent:  One of the four Cs of worldbuilding, which deals with how well the material maintains its own internal logic as established by the fantasy conceits.

Constructed World:  A fictional world that does not exist but was created by someone.

Continuity:  A gestalt term for perception where the mind fills in obvious blanks to make a unified whole.

Convergent Evolution:  When two or more species develop analogous features to deal with their environment.

Co-Residency:  A kinship pattern wherein the familial bond is based upon shared space.

Cosmology:  The study of mapping the universe and our place in it.

Cost:  In worldbuilding, when a character must risk or sacrifice something for magic to take effect.

Creative:  One of the four Cs of worldbuilding, which deals with how and to what extent the constructed world deviates from the real world.

Credibility Threshold:  Where worldbuilding details must only appear plausible to a general audience rather than demonstrating expert-level knowledge.

Cultural Identity:  An individual’s self-concept as distinct from others based upon nationality, ethnicity, social class, generation, and locality.

Cultural Universals:  Traits, patterns, and institutions prevalent throughout humankind.

Customs:  Informal rules of behavior that people take part in without thinking about it.

D-F

Deity:  The most powerful of metaphysical entities, deities often exist in pantheons, have thematic powers based upon their roles, and few weaknesses or limitations.

Descendent:  In terms of magic, the idea that the most powerful magics are from ages past and that magic is on the decline in terms of power and influence.

Despotism:  An economic system wherein an individual or institution controls the laws and resources of an area.

Deus Ex Machina:  A plot device in which an unexpected power, event, or deity intervenes to save a hopeless situation. 

Differentiation:  When one culture forms part of their identity by contrasting themselves with another nearby culture.

Divergent:  When the creator alters something in the development of the world but it remains very similar to the real world in every detail but this fantasy conceit. For instance, a world that resembles our own but made up of anthropomorphic animals instead of humans.

Divine:  The belief that something is of, from, or like a god.

Democracy:  A government in which the people elect a governing body in some fashion.

Early Adoption:  When an inventor or culture creates a technology long before their analogue culture did in the real world.

Easter Egg:  A hidden message, image, or feature that is meant to be hunted for within the material.

Economics:  The study of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Education:  A form of socialization in which we teach the youth what they need to know to become functioning members of society.

Effective Worldbuilding:  When (a) the immersive state is never disrupted for the audience, or when (b) the immersive state is disrupted with a positive result.

Element X:  N. K. Jemisin’s concept of when fantasy elements diverge from the real world. Similar to fantasy conceits.

Emic:  An account of a cultural idea, concept, behavior, or belief documented as if from within the culture.

Empires:  Multinational states with political hegemony over other ethnicities, cultures, or nations.

Encyclopedic Impulse:  The consumer’s desire to know everything about the world or the author’s desire to expound upon all the worldbuilding details.

Ephemera:  Transitionary materials that are not meant to exist for long term, such as advertisements, diary entries, letters, posters, and the like.

Ethnicity:  A group that identifies with each other based on presumed similarities such as a shared language, ancestry, history, society, or social treatment within an area. Ethnicities are not dependent upon, but are often associated with, certain taxonomic traits or physiological similarities within those groups.

Etic:  When cultural ideas, concepts, behaviors, or beliefs are documented from outside the cultural milieu as a passive observer with an eye for similarities between all cultures

Exsecting:  When the creator removes something that exists in the real world from the created world.

Extrapolation:  In worldbuilding, the belief that any fantasy conceit should be followed to its natural conclusion.

Face Validity:  When worldbuilding detail appears believable upon immediate examination. See Credibility Threshold.

Fan Service:  Material included in a story that serves no narrative purpose other than to please fans.

Fantasy Conceit:  What the creator intends to explore in the world, it is where the constructed world deviates from the real world, usually in the form of geography, biology, physics, metaphysics, technology, or culture.

Fantasy Function:  When analogue cultures are filtered through fantasy conceits to populate the created world with its output details.

Fetishes:  Items imbued with cultural significance and power.

First Principles:  Core belief and value systems within a culture that are often unconscious until confronted.

Flavor Text:  Texts within stories, video games, role-playing games, and action figures that add depth by providing a sense of history but do not alter the game mechanics or story in a substantial way.

Feudalism:  An economic system wherein there is a division between the lords that protect the vassals that work the land in exchange for protection.

Four Cs of Worldbuilding:  See Creative, Complete, Consistent, and Compelling.

G-L

Gender:  A social construct of how cultures differentiate the sexes.

Generalist:  When every individual in a society has the same basic job, which is providing their daily caloric intake. A staple of hunter and gatherers and in contrast to specialists.

Generation:  A social cohort group based around the period in which children grow up, become adults, and bear children of their own. Because of this shared timeframe and significant events in their lives, generations often share a similar worldview within the general culture.

Genre Expectation:  The qualities audiences expect of their genres to be considered successful, i.e. is the thriller thrilling or the romance romantic. For fantasy and science fiction, the genre expectation is worldbuilding.

Goldilocks Zone:  The habitable zone around a star where the temperature is right for water to exist in liquid form. 

Group:  Two or more individuals who share a collective sense of unity via interacting with each other because of shared similar characteristics.

Habitat:  The ecosystem or ecological community creatures exist in.

Handwave:  A writing term for explaining crucial events dismissively with minimal details.

Handwavium:  As opposed to the handwave, when everything else in the imagined world fits logically together with the exception of the fantasy conceit, which the audience must then accept to continue on with the story.

Hard Deduction:  When there is no narrator and no character bringing the worldbuilding details to the audience’s attention, who must then piece together the world rules based upon the provided details alone.

Hard Impart:  When information is imparted to the audience through narrative text, usually through the narrator or the internal thoughts of characters.

Hero Props:  Items that are necessary for a scene to take place, making them integral to the story.

Heroic Theory of Invention:  When inventors and discoverers of scientific developments are treated as solitary geniuses rather than products of good luck or a part of a team.

High-Concept:  A term from the film industry meaning an idea needs lots of background details, usually compiled from the worldbuilding, to be explained for the core concept to be compelling.

Hybrid:  (a) In biology, a living thing bred together from two different species, which is not able to produce its own viable offspring. (b) A method the author can employ to get details across to the audience in which it appears they are using a hard or soft impart, but the audience deduces are not correct, which then casts provided information into doubt and adds new nuance.

Iceberg Theory:  The theory proffered by Hemingway that so long as the author is aware of the underlying ideas, they can cut away anything from the story and it will still make sense. Usually interpreted to mean one only needs to reveal 10% of worldbuilding details or backstory.

Illusion of Completeness:  The sense that the world is complete and that all questions can be answered within it rather than the creator explicitly spelling out all the details.

Immersion:  The altered state in which the audience feels they are physically present in a non-physical world.

Ineffective Worldbuilding:  When worldbuilding details become obvious to the consumer, thus breaking the sense of immersion and reminding them of the real world. This can be caused by internal inconsistencies or from reality incursions.

Info Dump:  A sudden overwhelming quantity of backstory or background information supplied in a short timeframe.

Info Dump Equity:  The idea that an author should not reveal worldbuilding information until the audience craves it, thus being able to deliver an info dump without anyone complaining.

In-Group:  The other people an individual identifies with. While they may not share the exact worldview, they share the same first principles in understanding the world around them.

Innovation:  The drive for change, usually technological, but also socially.

Inside-Out:  How audiences process worldbuilding details, in that they pertain to the immediate understanding of the scene, which are then pieced together into an understanding of the world.

Inspired Worldbuilding:  The top form of worldbuilding, which invites additional audience interaction via their imagination after the story has concluded.

Institutions:  Stable organizations of individuals formed for a shared purpose, usually by performing specific, reoccurring patterns of behavior.

Integration:  When an individual adopts the cultural norms and beliefs of the dominant culture while still retaining their original culture.

Interconnection:  When the threads of worldbuilding are tied together cohesively. Part of Sanderson’s third law of magic systems.

Interquel:  Stories set in an existing world but that do not connect with the original story.

Intraquel:  Stories set in an existing world that fill in gaps in the existing story.

Kinship:  How social relationships organize into groups, roles, and families. Usually consisting of consanguinity, affinity, or co-residency.

Limitations:  Checks put upon magical powers, usually in the form of weaknesses and costs. Sanderson maintains in his second law that limitations are more dramatically important than powers.

Linguistics:  The study of languages.

Literary Fiction:  The style of fiction that aims for awards, considers itself art, focuses on the prose, and is usually slowly paced.

Locality:  The small-scale community in which the individuals in a group grew up, usually comprising of a town, neighborhood, or block, which differentiates them from others in the surrounding area.

M-O

Macroworldbuilding:  The first of the stages N. K. Jemisin breaks her worldbuilding process into, which consists of planet, continents, climate, and ecology.

Magic:  Change wrought through unnatural means.

Magic Point Systems:  Magic systems where the casters have a set amount of energy, usually referred to as mana, to spend on their effects.

Magical Thinking:  The belief people can affect change the world around them through thoughts and behaviors.

Mana:  A frequent generalized term for the finite resource magic users spend on their magical effects.

Marginalization:  When an individual rejects both their original culture and the dominant culture.

Mary Sue/ Marty Sue:  Originally a created character for fanfic who has no flaws and is inserted into interactions with the canonical characters. Now an insult leveled at characters consumers don’t like, usually claiming they are overly capable and without flaws.

Masquerade:  A term taking from the World of Darkness RPG wherein the existence of magic is hidden from the general populous.

Metaphysics:  In worldbuilding, dealing with deities, spirits, cosmology, and the afterlife. In essence, creatures and locations that do not abide by understandings of biology or physics.

Microworldbuilding:  The second of the stages N. K. Jemisin breaks her worldbuilding process into, which consists of species, morphology, raciation, acculturation, power, and role.

Monotheism:  The belief in a single deity only.

Mystery Box:  The theory proffered by JJ Abrams that mystery drives audience interest, which will keep them invested in a story so long as they are promised elucidation later.

Mythopeia:  Constructed mythologies, lores, and histories within created worlds.

Nationality:  How an individual relates to their state. A component of cultural identity.

Nominal Change:  A superficial change in the secondary world that contributes nothing to the worldbuilding.

Norms:  What is considered acceptable group behavior and what people should and should not do in their social surroundings.

Oligarchy:  A government in which power rests in a small group of people like the nobility, wealthy, or religious leaders.

One-Off:  An intentional inconsistency meant to highlight the aberration as separate from the established worldbuilding.

Out-Group:  Those that do not share the same collective worldview, which are often mistrusted or viewed with outright hostility.

Overlaid Worlds:  Constructed worlds with real-world locations but with the addition of fantasy elements.

P-R

Pantheon:  A categorization of collected deities based upon the culture that worships them

Pantsers:  Creators who build or write without a clear outcome in mind. See Bottom-Up.

Pidgin Language:  A grammatically simplified language used for trade that comprises vocabularies drawn from numerous languages.

Planet of Hats:  The trope of treating a species or world as monolithic and with one defining trait.

Planners:  Worldbuilders or writers who have a clear plan once they start creating. See Top-Down.

Politics:  The decision-making process within groups and individuals involving power structures.

Polytheism:  The belief of multiple gods, usually inhabiting a pantheon.

Porcelain Argument:  In worldbuilding, the belief that technology stagnates at the level at which magic or a fantasy conceit is introduced.

Portal Fantasy:  A subgenre in which the characters from the real world travel to a secondary world.

Prequel:  Stories set in an existing world that precede the original story. They do not need to connect to the original story but often do.

Primary Sexual Characteristics:  The sex organs used in reproduction.

Primary World:  The real world in which we all reside and draw our experience from.

Prime Mover:  A conceit that cannot be removed without the story world falling apart.

Profane:  Something that is religiously blasphemous or obscene.

Prologue:  An opening sequence in a narrative that establishes background details to create context, clarification, and miscellaneous information for the audience

Promise of the Premise:  The term coined by Blake Snyder for the point in the story when the setup is complete and it examines its core conceits. An author breaks the promise of the premise when the story is not about the promised core concepts.

Pull Factors:  Factors that draw immigrants to an area.

Purple Prose:  Descriptions that becomes overly ornate and extravagant, to the point they break the sense of immersion by drawing attention to themselves.

Push Factors:  Factors that drive immigrants out of an area.

Race:  (a) In biology, a grouping of populations below the level of subspecies, and is rather imprecise in distinguishing the differences between them. (b) In the fantasy genre, usually understood to mean “species.”

Racial Attributes:  The assumption that any one fantasy race shares not only certain abilities like flight or the capacity to speak with animals, but certain demeanors, temperaments, and biases.

Reality Incursions:  When the outside world interjects itself into the created fantasy experience to remind the consumer that this is indeed a made-up world. They usually occur when the consumer has expert knowledge in a field that is not depicted correctly in the narrative.

Reciprocity:  When people respond to actions with similar actions. This can be positive, as in the exchanging of gifts, or negative, as with punitive eye-for-an-eye punishments for crimes.

Relativism:  The belief there is no real objective universal truth and that we base all understanding upon perception and consideration.

Religion:  The cultural system of behaviors, morals, ethics, and worldview in which humans deal with supernatural, metaphysical, and spiritual conceptions.

Retcon:  Short for “retroactive continuity,” the term comes from comic books when previous canon or facts are ignored or contradicted so as to assimilate new stories or understandings in current storylines.

Reverberations and Repercussions:  The understanding that any change within a world creates many expected and unexpected changes to the whole.

Rituals:  Formal customs often involving gestures, words, and objects performed in a traditional sequence.

Rule of Cool:  The understanding that the audience’s willing suspension of disbelief for a given element is directly proportional to its level of “coolness.”

Rule of Law:  The idea that laws extend to the lawmakers as well as the general populous.

Rule of Three:  In worldbuilding, the concept coined by Randy Ellefson in which an author should alter at least three components of a trope to make it their own.

S

Saturation:  Mark J. P. Wolf’s term for when there are simply too many details for the audience to fully absorb, which he maintains makes the world stronger since it invites the audience to reexperience the material again and again to glean something new each time.

Scarcity:  When people put higher value on rare things and assign lesser value to things in abundance.

Secondary Sexual Characteristics:  The distinguishing traits that distinguish the sexes, such as human males’ facial hair or females’ breasts.

Secondary World:  A created world that does not exist.

Selection:  In biology, the preferential survival and reproduction or elimination of individuals with certain traits. Can be either artificial, natural, positive, or negative.

Separation:  When an individual rejects the dominant culture in favor of preserving their original culture, which often leads to minority enclaves within the dominant culture

Sequel:  Stories set in an existing world that follow the original story. They do not need to connect to the original story but often do.

Set Piece:  An iconic scene that exemplifies the story even though it might not actually be necessary to the story itself.

Shamanism:  The belief that specific individuals have access to and influence over the spiritual realm, usually derived by ritual and entering altered states.

Show Don't Tell:  The understanding that the audience prefers to experience the worldbuilding details and storytelling events in action rather than having them explained.

Smeerp:  Unnecessarily renaming something to make it seem exotic. Derived from James Blish’s sarcastic use of the term when describing rabbits.

Smeerp Hole:  When one seemingly minor change contributes to a whole slew of other changes on the author’s part that add little to the audience experience as a whole.

Social Class:  The hierarchal social stratification of groups, usually manifesting as upper, middle, and lower classes.

Socialism:  The economic system in which the workers or government own and manage the means of production.

Socialization:  The process in which a group passes on the worldviews, norms, and customs to their children.

Soft Deduction:  When a character with knowledge of the worldbuilding takes action based upon specific information to get the worldbuilding rules across to the audience.

Soft Impart:  Information presented to the audience not through narrative text but through a trustworthy side character or source. Can often come about from an overheard conversation or explanation from another character.

Specialization:  The divisions of labor and creation of occupations when the population does not individually have to account for their daily caloric intake. As opposed to generalist.

Species:  A group of living creatures capable of exchanging genetic material and producing viable offspring.

Speculative Fiction:  An umbrella term for fiction that inject elements into the story that do not exist in the real world. Fantasy, science fiction, horror, historical fiction, alternative history, and dystopian and utopian fiction are just a few genres that qualify as speculative fiction.

Spotlighted/Lampshaded:  A potentially troublesome concept or idea that is intentionally brought to the audience’s attention before it becomes problematic to highlight that it is intended as a fantasy conceit rather than an accidental anachronism.

Stasis:  The drive to maintain the current order, be it social, political, or technological.

States:  Organized governments overseeing a specific territory that can interact with other states.

Streamlining:  Part of Sanderson’s third law of magic in which worldbuilding details should be accounted for by already existing fantasy conceits instead of creating whole new conceits.

Suspension of Disbelief:  When an audience makes a choice to suspend their critical faculties to allow for a patently unreal concept to be considered logical for the sake of entertainment.

T-W

Taming:  When an animal has been taught to tolerate human presence. As opposed to domestication.

Technobabble:  When a character spouts a number of details to establish their expert credentials in the field. Technobabble is not meant to be understood by either the audience or the other characters, only to establish the character’s authority on the subject.

Terra De Facto:  The implicit understanding that anything that is not accounted for by a fantasy conceit must therefore abide by the rules of the primary world.

Terrain:  The vertical and horizontal proportions of land masses, which includes how high it is above sea level and at what slope.

Theocracy:  A government where the religious leaders and practices control the laws in addition to the religious norms and rituals.

Toehold Details:  Descriptors that specifically trigger the assumption of an analogue culture and time period, and therefore help the audience to mentally populate the scene.

Top-Down:  In design, when the underlying idea or system is formed on a grand scale, then with all subsequent subsystems being added and refined until everything is mapped out. Also referred to as “planner” or “engineer” when it comes to writing or worldbuilding. 

Totems:  Imbued emblems representing a group of people tied to a specific spirit.

Transmedial:  When a story or world exists in multiple mediums.  

Tropes:  Reoccurring motifs, images, plots, and characterization that exist within a genre.

Unchanged:  When the creator does not use a particular fantasy conceit and leaves their created world the same as the real world in regards to this fantasy conceit. See Terra De Facto.

Unobtanium:  In engineering, the term used for materials or technologies that do not yet exist but will one day solve current problems. Frequently used in science fiction worldbuilding.

Upmarket Fiction:  The style of fiction that aims for creating discussion. It often blends literary and commercial fiction, deals with universal themes, has accessible language, and is character-driven.

Weakness:  Limiting factors that diminish the power or the person using it. Part of Sanderson’s second law of magic.

Worldbuilding Capital:  Time and mental energy sunk into a world, which is why authors frequently reuse the existing world instead of forming a new one for subsequent stories.

Worldbuilding Kudzu:  When too many worldbuilding choke out the pertinent information by sheer volume, thus disrupting immersion.

Worldview:   How a society or individual orients their knowledge and point of view towards the world. This includes philosophy, fundamentals, existential postulates, values and ethics, ideology, and attitude. It encompasses the concept of why the world works the way it does and the “correct” way to act within it.

Worship:  The act of religious devotion towards a deity or ideal.

Source ⚜ More: Word Lists