Jon Winokur > Quotes

“NOCEBO: Latin for "I will harm"; a negative placebo; physical manifestation of pessimism; self-fulfilling prophecy of disbelief. In the nocebo effect, a bad result occurs without any physiological bias. In one study, women who believed they were more prone to heart disease were four times more likely to die of it than women with the same risk factors but without a pessimistic outlook. ”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“SITUATIONAL INTIMACY: Intimacy generated by a shared situation rather than a romantic or familial relationship, as when random train or airliner seatmates share their innermost secrets.”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“KVETCH:(Yiddish) verb: to gripe or fret; noun: a chronic complainer, a whiner”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“HOLLOW-TOOTH SYNDROME: Compulsion to torture oneself mentally, based on the fact that nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it. ”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“GRUBELEIEN: German word for a not entirely unpleasant form of brooding; a sort of inward directed schadenfreude, i.e., perverse delight in one's own troubles”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“PRONOIA: The irrational belief that people like you”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“AMBIENT FEAR: background anxiety of everyday life”
― Jon Winokur

“DEFENSE PESSIMISM: According to psychologist Julie Norem, positive thinking doesn't work for some people, who should try defensive pessimism. Here's how it works: in the face of an anxiety-producing task instead of psyching yourself up, psyche yourself down by consciously lowering your expectations. Rehearse everything that could go wrong, and devise strategies to avert every conceivable glitch. This will produce a sense of control and reduce anxiety, helping you to perform effectively. Or, maybe not.”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“TUCKE DES OBJEKTS, DIE: Literally "the malice of things," the sneaking dread that machines are biding their time until they can turn on us and take over the world. ”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“BYSTANDER EFFECT: Phenomenon documented by social scientists in which people are less likely to help someone in distress when there are others present who can render assistance”
― Jon Winokur, Encyclopedia Neurotica

“Critics are like eunuchs in a harem: they know how it’s done, they’ve seen it done every day, but they’re unable to do it themselves.”
― Jon Winokur, The Portable Curmudgeon