An adage is a short, but memorable saying, which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or it has gained some credibility through its long use.

Adages may be interesting observations, practical or ethical guidelines, or pessimistic comments on life. Some adages are products of folk wisdom which attempt to summarize some basic truth; these are generally known as proverbs. An adage which describes a general rule of conduct may be known as a "maxim". A pithy expression which has not necessarily gained credit through long use but which is distinguished by particular depth or good style is known as an aphorism, while one distinguished by wit or irony is known as an epigram. Through overuse, an adage may become a cliché or truism. Jump to: navigation, search Ethics is the branch of axiology – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic – which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. ... Pessimism, generally, describes a belief that things are bad, and tend to become worse; or that looks to the eventual triumph of evil over good; it contrasts with optimism, the contrary belief in the goodness and betterment of things generally. ... Folklore is the ethnographic concept of the tales, legends, or superstitions current among a particular population, a part of the oral history of a particular culture. ... A proverb (from the Latin proverbium) is a pithy saying which had gained credence through widespread or frequent use. ... François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld, le Prince de Marcillac (September 15, 1613 - March 17, 1680), was the greatest maxim writer of France, one of her best memoir writers, and perhaps the most complete and accomplished representative of her ancient nobility. ... Connotatively: an aphorism is a wise saying that bears repetition. ... Look up Wit on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wit is a form of intellectual humour, based on manipulation of concepts; a wit is someone who excels in witty remarks, typically in conversation and spontaneously, since wit carries the connotation of speed of thought. ... Jump to: navigation, search Adolf Hitler: layered visual irony? Irony is a form of expression in which an implicit meaning is concealed or contradicted by the explicit meaning of the expression. ... An epigram is a short poem with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement. ... Jump to: navigation, search A cliché (from French cliché, onomatopoeia for stereotype) originally was a printing term for a semi-permanently assembled piece of type which could easily be inserted into the document being printed. ... A truism is a claim that is so obvious or self-evident as to be hardly worth mentioning, except as a reminder or as a rhetorical or literary device. ...

Adages coined in modernity are often given proper names and called "laws", in imitation of physical laws, or "principles". Some adages, such as Murphy's Law, are first formulated informally and given proper names later, while others, such as the Peter Principle, have proper names in their initial formulation; it might be argued that the latter sort does not represent "true" adages, but the two types are often difficult to distinguish. Modern can simply mean something that is up-to-date, trendy, new, or from the present time. ... A physical law or a law of nature is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations. ... Jump to: navigation, search For All of Murphys laws, see Murphys laws-all. ... The Peter Principle is a theory originated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter. ...

Adages formulated in popular works of fiction often find their way into popular culture, especially when there exists a subculture devoted to the work or its genre, as is the case with science fiction novels. Many professions and subcultures create their own adages, which may be seen as a sort of jargon; such adages may find their way into popular usage, sometimes becoming altered in the process. Online communities, such as those which develop in internet fora or Usenet newsgroups, are known for generating their own adages. // Headline text Headline text Italic textItalic textItalic textItalic textItalic textItalic textItalic textBold textBold textBold textBold text--65. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in any given society. ... As understood in sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a distinct set of behaviour and beliefs that differentiate them from a larger culture of which they are a part. ... www. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A profession is a specialized work function within society, generally performed by a professional. ... You may have reached this page trying to find the Jargon File A jargon is a type of slang which is used in conjunction with a specific activity, e. ... A virtual community is a group whose participants are engaged in a dialog by means of information technologies, typically the Internet, to share information and values. ... Jump to: navigation, search Gaia Online, the largest English language forum-based community as of April 2005 — powered by a modified version of phpBB. An Internet forum is a web application which provides for discussion, often in conjunction with online communities. ... Usenet is a distributed Internet discussion system that evolved from a general purpose UUCP network of the same name. ... Jump to: navigation, search A newsgroup is a repository, usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. ...

List of some modern adages

(For a listing of old adages, see proverb.) A proverb (from the Latin proverbium) is a pithy saying which had gained credence through widespread or frequent use. ...

Famous adages from science fiction:

• Amara's law: We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.
• Clarke's three laws:
  • When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
  • The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
  • Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
• TANSTAAFL: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Famous adages from Usenet: Amaras law is a maxim stating: It was put forth by Roy Amara of the Institute for the Future. ... Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke formulated the following three laws: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. ... Jump to: navigation, search TANSTAAFL is an acronym for the adage There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, popularized by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein and promulgated in his 1966 novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which deals with a libertarian utopia. ...

• Godwin's law: As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.
• Ugol's law: If you ever ask "am I the only one who has this kink?" the answer is invariably "no".

Famous work-related adages: Jump to: navigation, search Godwins law (also Godwins rule of Nazi analogies) is an adage in Internet culture that was originated by Mike Godwin in 1990. ... Ugols Law was formulated in the alt. ...

• Peter principle: In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
• Dilbert Principle: In a company, the most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management.
• Parkinson's law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
• SSDD: Same shit, different day

Other famous adages: The Peter Principle is a theory originated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter. ... The Dilbert Principle refers to a 1990s satirical theory. ... Parkinsons law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

• Storm P.'s law: When a body is immersed in water, the phone rings.
• Murphy's law: If anything can go wrong, it will.
• Finagle's law: Anything that can go wrong, will.
• Sturgeon's law: Ninety percent of everything is crud.
• Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
• Laws of infernal dynamics:
  • An object in motion will be moving in the wrong direction.
  • An object at rest will be in the wrong place.
  • The energy required to move an object in the correct direction, or put it in the right place, will be more than you wish to expend but not so much as to make the task impossible.
• Law of accumulation: Everything great and worthwhile in human life is an accumulation of hundreds and sometimes thousands of tiny efforts and sacrifices that nobody ever sees or appreciates.
• Law of conservation of misery: Misery is never created or destroyed, just transformed.
• First Law of Holes: Stop digging.

Jump to: navigation, search For All of Murphys laws, see Murphys laws-all. ... The adage Finagles Law of Dynamic Negatives is a version of Murphys law, and usually rendered: One variant (known as OTooles Corollary of Finagles Law) favored among hackers is (but see also Hanlons Razor). ... Sturgeons Law is an adage derived from a quote by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon: Nothing is always absolutely so. ... Hanlons Razor, a corollary of Finagles law (see also Murphys law) and/or Occams Razor, reads: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. ... The laws of infernal dynamics are an adage about the cursedness of the universe. ... The law of accumulation is the adage which according to author Brian Tracy, says: ... that everything great and worthwhile in human life is an accumulation of hundreds and sometimes thousands of tiny efforts and sacrifices that nobody ever sees or appreciates. ... The law of conservation of misery is a popular adage stating that in a closed system, misery - as energy - always remains constant. ...

External Links

The 2004 Edge Annual Question: What's Your Law?: A collection of the modern adages of various scientific personalities convened by John Brockman's Edge online salon. John Brockman is a literary agent who specialising in scientific literature. ...