New phenomena require new vocabulary, but familiar terms get repurposed

Evidence

Any confrontation with the unprecedented requires new language, and I introduce new terms when existing language fails to capture a new phenomenon. Sometimes, however, I intentionally repurpose familiar language because I want to stress certain continuities in the function of an element or process. This is the case with “laws of motion,” borrowed from Newton’s laws of inertia, force, and equal and opposite reactions. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 203

Categorization

• SEED: Zuboff’s vocabulary strategy — coin terms for new phenomena but repurpose existing ones for continuity — could anchor a meta article on how frameworks name the digital economy.
• XREF: connects to: Genuinely new phenomena resist recognition because people interpret them through familiar categories — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 48; Word identity and meaning are effects of paradoxical sameness within repetition.; Borrowing an old word for a new practice masks conceptual rupture as restoration — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 339 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Borrowing an old word for a new practice masks conceptual rupture as restoration #qualifies (0.82) — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 339
• Attention ecology is a surprisingly underinvestigated field needing new vocabulary #exemplifies (0.78) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 19
• Word identity and meaning are effects of paradoxical sameness within repetition. #expands (0.75)