@abc7chicago: “Brain rot” took the title in a vote in which more than 37,000 people participated, as well as public commentary and analysis of OUP’s language data. In a statement released Monday, OUP, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, defined “brain rot” as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” While the use of “brain rot” rose 230% this year, it actually first appeared more than a century ago. According to OUP, it was first used by author Henry David Thoreau in his book “Walden” as he criticised society’s tendency to devalue complicated ideas in favour of simple ones. “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot,” wrote Thoreau, “will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?” All these years later, it seems brain rot is well and truly established.

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Monday 02 December 2024 12:25:24 GMT