Society

Let's be honest, feeling smart is way better, and so much more important, than being smart.  If you don't feel smart, how can you be self-confident?  If you can't be self-confident, how can you be a success?  If you can't be a success, how can you feel smart?  See?  It's easy. Here are some of the top ways to help yourself feel smart: -Use air-quotes a lot -Roll your eyes every time someone says something (especially if it sounds smart) -Carry around a solved Rubik's cube -Wear non-prescription glasses -Use in-group abbreviations whenever possible (The Times, Wash-Po, etc.) -Say you're part of a book club (or better, that you quit because they were reading dumb books) -Put on your 'serious face' more often -Use that one logical fallacy you remember from college in every argument ...

The major dictionaries of the world, like Oxford, Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, and thefreedictionary.com--once preeminent preservers of meaning and definition--are all abandoning centuries of etymological tradition to embrace a new and more fluid reality--one where you can define your own. This sort of DIY approach to truth is all the rage right now, and so institutions long considered archaic and out of touch are looking to regain relevancy among a population who won't be told how to live, who they are, or even what an 'is' is. In order to do this, all online dictionaries are now making themselves more like Wikipedia, but with everyone having admin privileges. "We're redefining ourselves, if you'll excuse the paronomasia," said James Murray, principal editor of the Oxford English...