Generation PWN
While a coworker and I were discussing the relative merits of the Facebook groups "A grizzly bear would pwn an anaconda in a fight" and "An anaconda would pwn a grizzly bear in a fight," an elderly colleague walked by. I considered, for a second, the possibility that this guy would realize we were not discussing work-related issues and pwn us in front of our boss or something. But this was clearly paranoia: our generation is indecipherable to its own members; I'm sure those on the outside just don't even bother. This guy probably thought we were talking about computer cables ("a series of tubes") or something. What n00bs!
Labels: austin5000's personal journal, etc, musings, pwnage
posted by Austin 5-000 at 3:53 PM
2 Comments:
I think that the best the older generation can hope for is something like this scenario: Without actually learning what PWN3D means, they can learn what the *emotion* conveyed is. Thus a typical old boss guy's thought process might go something like this:
Consideration: "Hmm, I see these young jackanapes are using this strange 'pown' language. They usually means they are in a jovial and confident mood."
Direct action: "Yeah, fellas, how about that pwnage?!"
Or, similarly:
Consideration: "They're saying 't, t, t' again. That usually carries a negative connotation."
Direct action: "Oh yeah, 'dudes', that shit is totally 'TTT'!"
As you can see, this is a sort of metalanguage which is semantically empty but pragmatically robust, sort of like John Searle's "Chinese box" problem. Truly the way of the future.
The fact that you chose to blog about that experience is a further manifestation of our generational gap. Can you imagine explaining this entire situation to your parents… or grandparents:
My friend and I were discussing who would pwn who in a fight between a grizzly and an anaconda. So we each decided to create a facebook group, arguing our respective sides; mine had 10 members within the hour! Some old dude started giving me the POS (parent over shoulder) treatment, which kinda wigged me out. Later, I decided to share my thoughts on the encounter with my friends, so I posted an entry on my blog.
To peepz over 50, this would prob sound like gibberish. But to us it makes perfect sense.
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