We might as well stop right here in 2022 since things won’t get much better. For the first time, the public has selected the Oxford Word of the Year, and no one would be shocked if the choice is never made public again. ‘Goblin mode’ has been named the official Oxford Word of the Year for 2022.
Goblin Mode Has Been Popular, Apparently
This year saw a surge in the popularity of the term ‘goblin mode,’ defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “a type of behavior that is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.” The phrase was trending on the Internet this year.
There is something so gratifying about imagining Oxford’s leading lexicographers attempting to come up with an eloquent explanation for a phrase that is as excruciatingly online and unruly as ‘goblin mode.’ Before the voting, which included 340,000 people who speak English in diverse parts of the world, Oxford University Press provided them with three distinct options for the “word of the year” in 2022. With 93 percent of the total vote or 318,956 votes, ‘goblin mode’ was able to secure an impressive victory in this round of voting. “Metaverse,” the virtual reality arena that enables users to connect with one other in a computer-generated world, came in second place with 14,484 votes.
What the President of Oxford Languages Says
They had hoped that the public would enjoy being drawn into the process, but this degree of engagement with the campaign caught them by complete and utter surprise. Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Languages, made this observation. According to him, the volume of responses demonstrates the vital importance of having a robust vocabulary o comprehend who we are and make sense of the events unfolding in the world around us.
Casper Grathwohl also shares that in light of the year that has just passed, the term ‘goblin mode’ speaks to all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed now. This is something that resonates with us all. It is a relieving realization that we’re not always the idealized and curated versions of ourselves that we’re urged to show on our Instagram and TikTok feeds. This is something that can be a source of pressure for many people.
The Explanation for Why People See Swirling Colors With Closed Eyes
One of the most fascinating aspects of the human body is the way it can continue to function even when it is not actively using its senses. The eyes, in particular, are a marvel of engineering, allowing people to see the world around them even when their eyelids are closed. Many people experience swirling flashes of color when their eyes are closed, a phenomenon known as phosphenes.
Eyes Work All the Time
The reason why eyes show swirling flashes of color when closed has fascinated people for a long time. These flashes are caused by the mechanical stimulation of the eyes when the eyelids are closed, and the retinas convert this stimulation into electrical signals that are sent to the brain for interpretation. It is truly amazing how the body can continue to function in such a way.
When people on the internet learned about how this sort of visual information was interpreted by the brain, they were quick to speak their minds. One person wrote that they were in awe, and another commented that he learns more on the Internet than in college.
Bionic Eyes Are Now a Thing
It is truly amazing how technology can be used to enhance and improve the human body. Earlier this year, a revolutionary bionic eye implant was used to help a blind woman see again. The French company Pixium Vision developed the implant, which was able to detect signals in the woman’s blind eye. This innovative treatment was hailed as a groundbreaking achievement, and it is exciting to think about the potential for similar technologies to help even more people in the future.
The bionic eye implant that was used to help the blind woman see again was truly revolutionary. As part of the treatment, the woman had a tiny microchip implanted under her retina, and she wore special glasses with a camera and computer attached. The camera captured video footage, which was then transmitted to the computer and processed using AI algorithms to identify objects and guide the focus of the glasses. The glasses then projected this view into the microchip via an infrared beam, and the chip converted the information into electrical signals that were sent to the brain. Thanks to this innovative technology, the woman was able to make out words through her blind eye, which she was previously unable to use due to dry age-related macular degeneration.