Did you have such a thing that you had long conversations with yourself and pondered what to do if you knew the final outcome? Perhaps most of these conversations are the fans themselves. Well, people who are not keen on sports think in this sense about fate and its variants. And today we’ll talk about the word “post factum”, and it will be extremely entertaining.
Value
This is a rare case when we do not need an etymological dictionary to learn the source language. The phrase came to us from Latin - post factum, that is, "after done." And the meaning of the object of study, according to the dictionary, is as follows: "After something has already been done, it has been completed." Thus, it is clear that historical significance has not gone too far from the one we use. "After the fact" is a traditional classic formula. Why should it change?
But more important than the value of the object of study is that the word captures a certain constant of human thinking, which is called "post factum". What is popularly called the "fortress of the back mind." After all, all people are inclined to this and succeed in this, already knowing the whole alignment.
Phraseologisms that replace the Latin expression
Probably, the fact recorded in the title will not surprise anyone. Because the concept is complex. But still, the expression has a certain Russian analogue. There are two phraseological units that in Russian have the same meaning as the object of study:
But usually in living speech, phraseological units sound somewhat different:
- “We are all strong in the back mind”;
- "backdating".
They have the same meaning as the word we are considering. Phraseologisms express a mockery at those who, already after a fait accompli, say what he would do if he knew. The logical development of these phraseological units is the expression "I would know where to fall, I would lay straws." And of course, this is not the only option. Especially people like such conversations when their favorite team loses or someone suddenly dies, and here the quiz of versions and the cycle of hypotheses begin, but all this is completely pointless, because the thing is done. The same meaning has an adverb (as the explanatory dictionary says) after the fact, and this is obvious.
suggestions
We examined the origin and significance, learned about possible Russian counterparts, now the time has come for examples. We’ll write suggestions to make it easier to understand what is at stake:
- Listen, if the outcome of sports events were so easy to predict, then there would be no bookmakers. The idea of easy and quick enrichment has arisen in people for quite some time, but only Marty McFly managed to get close to realizing the idea close enough to understand its depravity. But he thought after the fact, as we are now, when the result is known.
- Drop this ordeal, what's the difference? You got this particular education because you considered this option the most correct, that’s all. By the way, this is the universal consolation of cognitive psychologists.
- Thinking after the fact is a vicious system, because it does not reveal the truth, but only offers the mind convenient hypotheses.
If not to argue, but to supplement the last statement, let’s say that even the wrong assumptions can ultimately lead to truthful and correct results.
Thinking after the fact in everyday life
Latin expression plays a greater role in our life than is commonly believed. Because a lot of it is explained after the fact. On the other hand, why brand something that works well? On this way to draw conclusions is our experience. Something happened, and we, choosing the plausible explanations for the result, draw certain conclusions. Then either repeat the error or not. Moreover, not only is everyday life arranged like this, but sometimes science also draws from the same source.
This type of thinking, as already mentioned, is inherent in many, therefore, it is not so appreciated in the human community as a prognostic function that works not with the past, but with the future. And it charms others much more (since it is less common) than thinking after the fact. True, in any case it is better to think than not to think. Therefore, all kinds of insights are good. Perhaps you’ll be visited by a similar one, because you already understood the meaning of the word “ex-post”.