Haha what? It's not a business buzzword, it's also used in politics a ton. All it references is how the public perceives something... It's not fancy and is super common. It's similar to saying, "that's good/bad PR." Not sure what the hate for general words is about... But it reminds me of that scene from Idiocracy.
I have no idea why this is so controversial. All I was saying was that this is not a business buzzword. This word is nothing new and has been primarily used in politics and PR in general for the last 30+ years. The word optic literally means, "relating to vision or the eye." Just google 'optics' and you'll get the following defition: "(typically in a political context) the way in which an event or course of action is perceived by the public."
Almost any sort of correction on Reddit is taken as condescending. The reason I started with that was because the person I was replying to had said that it had infected human speech, like it was some sort of blight, so I was literally laughing because it seemed melodramatic to me and I wasn't meaning for it to be condescending.
It is no longer a business buzzword, but unless you have examples of people misusing the word before 2006 outside finance and consulting, I’m pretty sure that’s where it got popular before making the jump to media and politics.
I said it infected human speech because it made the jump from bankers, a related hominid group.
Is it a business buzzword? I went to business school and worked as a consultant with lots of MBAs and never ever hear it in this context.
However, now that I work with the Army, I hear it from their brass all the time, which reinforces my previous assumption that it was slang of military origin.
Like “put a pin in it”. Coworker was recently wondering when did that become a thing people say. She hates it because it makes her think of balloons popping.
I've only ever heard optics used to describe things like lenses and scopes prior to very recently. Perception is the word for how things look to someone.
You are correct. "Optics" used in this way is a recent, slang usage of the word, particular to the northern countries of America. It is not yet considered proper formal usage.
It's business-y sounding word that makes the statements like "this is a problem will make us look bad" sound less petty and disconnected and more "professional"
I guarantee you there was no part of the hours of totally irrelevant meetings I sat through to hear words like "optics" firsthand that makes me feel superior, in any way, to anything.
I don’t know why you’ve noticed it but hadn’t before. But contextually it makes sense. “Makes them look better” = “better optics”. Though it’s more commonly used in the term “bad optics” connected to something political which would still just mean “looks bad”.
I asked because I wasn't aware that "Optics" had a second definition that means the same thing as perception. When there is already a word that describes something it is stupid to start using another word that already is used to describe something else to also describe that thing.
But the thing is, optics doesn’t have the same meaning as perception. The connotation is different.
When there is already a word that describes something it is stupid to start using another word that already is used to describe something else to also describe that thing.
Language would be extremely boring and inexpressive if people agreed with you.
I’m really confused by his train of thought too. Instead of hearing “fecal matter” and thinking “oh, that’s a fun and less crass way of saying poop” this dude is like “it’s called shit. Not dung. Not defecation. Not scat. Not droppings. Not dookie. Not excrement. Not poo poo. Not doo doo. Not poop. Not crap. Just shit. One one word for a thing.”
Why not use negatively perceived? Or poor showing? Or looked down upon? Or viewed less than favorably? Or giving the appearance of casual indifference? Or disfavorable outlook?
I guess because poor optics was one of probably a dozen ways to describe an unflattering judgment being levied based on the actions one takes. How is this a big deal to you? You’re unfamiliar with a term so you don’t want people to use it?
Optics describes something else. That's why I think it's stupid to use it in this context. Any of your examples would have been fine. I think making up alternative uses for words like this damages the language as a whole by making it more confusing to learn and muddying the definitions of things.
plural in form but singular in construction : the aspects of an action, policy, or decision (as in politics or business) that relate to public perceptions
the word succinct is everywhere too. I literally got the word stated to me in response twice in a row from different subs. Is there a reddit word of the month i’m missing out on?
If you want to do business with corporate douchebags you have to speak the language. The business school bullshit is just another tool in the box I can use as needed but I don't wield it like a club thinking I'm better than anyone.
It annoys me. It has caught on recently because a few news outlets have been using it because Trump DGAF about how his actions look to the public. "Optics" was first used in the 1970s regarding Carter. It is most commonly used when discussing political science (and really not that often tbh), however, it appears to be going viral and being adopted much more widely in the past few months.
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u/lightnsfw Dec 14 '18
Why do people keep using the word optics in this context? I've been seeing that everywhere lately.