Random...

[jomifl]

This word has been popping up often recently, strangely out of context and I assume that it is another of those 'victim' words that has been kidnapped and abused. So far I haven't seen it often enough in context to guess it's meaning. It would be like cool if some dude could give a wicked ,like answer. Nartameen?

[Zacs-Master]

Yes, my 22 yo daughter uses it frequently to describe something out of the ordinary / quirky.

[inksplotter]

"Random" has become an interjection to describe a bizarre event.

Random in generally means generated by chance, such as the roll of a dice or the spin of a wheel. The problem is whether things are random or not.

Weather works on the chaos system but may not in fact be random.

[jomifl]

ZM, that was the impression that I have been getting but it hasn't quite crystallised into anything definite yet.
IS, surely it is an adjective as it is descriptive. I am familiar with the common meaning of the word. Chaos as a system is an intriguing idea :o)

[factor-fiction]

I noticed school children using this term frequently around 10 years ago. It's still used but in my experience it's used less often now- or perhaps I just don't notice it now. Someone telling a story would refer to some person they hadn't met before as a random person ("this random woman stopped me in the street and asked me...") , or would use the term 'randomer'

[Hypognosis]

If young people become aware of the over-30s using their favourite slang word, it instantly becomes passé.

Anyone remember 'tubular'? I only remember it because it was the first time I felt old and out of touch. :-/

[jomifl]

Hypo, completely new to me please elaborate.

[Hypognosis]

It was a term used by surfers, originally - after the shape of the big rollers. Copied by trendy Californians, where the meaning changed (I think) to a more generic sense, of "cool". Then spread, via various teen/yoof movies, to the rest of the world, which, probably, made it instantly uncool in California.

[heathfield]

'chaos system'? By definition, there is no system in chaos.

[Hypognosis]

@heathfield

A double pendulum is a 'system'. It displays chaotic behaviour (although you may prefer to regard this as a subjective assessment and it is all within the bounds of mathematics)

Observe:
http://video.mit.edu/watch/double-pendulum-6392/

For more examples, try the book 'Chaos' by James Gleik. (I have never met a single person who mentions 'the butterfly effect' who has read the book and/or 'got' what this author actually meant).

[jomifl]

Thanks all, any more tubular and random words spring to mind?