this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

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[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 weeks ago

"People are tired of hearing from experts."

Now, the narrative that gets pushed from that statement is that people wilfully ignore facts and behave based on vibes and feelings because they dont want to deal with reality.

However, I think this clip more accurately reflects it. Anybody can claim to be an expert. Even legitimate experts can simply be bribed or leant on to say whatever you want them to say.

The appeal to authority no longer works because the concept has lost credibility.

[–] bryndos@fedia.io 8 points 2 weeks ago

I think it means: "1.a person who agrees with the speaker or author. 2. a person who agree with the speaker or author, and talks shit on youtube."

We're just waiting for the dictionaries to catch up with common usage. OED and MW are usually pretty quick though, so it should be soon.

[–] IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

are you like, an expert in news?

[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago

Yes. I have a strong opinion on the subject and have shared it extensively among my close friends.

[–] RecursiveParadox@piefed.social 5 points 2 weeks ago

Ok, so I am considered somewhat of an "expert" in my rather narrow field. Fine, but anyone my age who's worked in this field as long as I have would equally be an "expert."

Somehow two years ago I got onto some kind of list. I had five or six "expert" panel companies pay me* to talk their consultants for an hour. I've been offered about 30 of these and done about half.

But here's the kicker: none of them ever vetted me beyond looking at my seldom to never updated LinkedIn profile. I could be making all this shit up and no one would know. No references checked, not even a cursory background check.

So I guess you could say someone is an expert if someone else calls them that?

  • I have the companies donate the payment to charity, but not because I'm a good person but because I do not want any additional USD nexus.
[–] Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

You must be an insider or perhaps a top official.

[–] drrodneymckay_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

The problem with expert is we no longer have trust but verify. I feel most organizations just pay for services and assume the other party is a reputable expert because they are accepting payment. In reality "fake it until you make it" seems stronger than every.

Also the idea achieving true mastery or world-class expertise often requires 20,000+ hours of focused, deliberate practice, is often twisted. That is 10 years of regular working full time. But in that time you are not focused or deliberately working on a single goal. Probably closer to 20-25 years in a job I would guess, and that might still be low with the many levels of responsibility we are often required to have.

News grade expert is probably just some one that claims to know more than me.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 1 points 2 weeks ago

I noticed this like 15 years ago but Im old. News articles would say "experts say..." and then ramble something we were supposed to believe.

[–] kbal@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

Its meaning is clear. What's often unclear is whether its use was appropriate.

[–] markz@suppo.fi 1 points 2 weeks ago
[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Kind of like "consultant". Just another excuse for a particular class to throw more money back and forth at each other (but not "the poors").

[–] Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago

Consult is a portmanteau of Con and Insult, change my mind.