• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Metaphorically Speaking...

Beguiling Orbit

Neurotribe Champion
V.I.P Member
I read this headline just now and wondered why Walmart would share a rocket. It caused me distress for a moment because I wondered why they would get into the arms business. Were they selling rockets? If so, to whom? Then I realized it was being used as a verb. Does this ever happen to you?
20171116_073559.png
 
"Rocket" is just a metaphor directed to finance geeks to describe temporary but dramatically rising market activity of a particular stock. In this instance, Walmart, whose pre-market trading at the moment is above five percent.

It's a huge to deal to finance geeks. For the rest of us, not so much. ;)

Though it likely means Wall Street will have a very good day, assuming the optimism of the world's largest retailer spills over into the rest of an overbought stock market.

No doubt this morning on CNBC there will be a plethora of "talking heads" who will all appear as though they've had just a little too much caffeine. :p
 
Last edited:
Thanks, @Judge. I knew that already, but that was very well put. I was curious whether anyone else ever took an initial observation of a metaphor literally, and if doing so ever caused them stress or confusion.
 
Does this ever happen to me?
Yes.

I saw a human interest story once about the family who would be
remembering the spaghetti dinners tomorrow.

That took me a long time to figure out.
A. What was so special about spaghetti?
B. What was happening tomorrow?
C. Was tomorrow National Spaghetti day?

D. (correct interpretation) = They were a close knit Italian family who
enjoyed getting together each week for a traditional pasta fest. And
"tomorrow" meant some time in the future, when some of them would
be dead and the crowd around the table diminished.
 
Thanks, @Judge. I knew that already, but that was very well put. I was curious whether anyone else ever took an initial observation of a metaphor literally, and if doing so ever caused them stress or confusion.

It's annoying to me personally though. I mean it's indicative of the media as a whole, who insists on grabbing its target market by the lapels and violently shaking them. Can't they simply cite pre-market trading is up five percent?

Besides, if you look at the trajectory of their growth rate over a period of time, it's certainly positive. However I wouldn't apply the term "rocket" at any point in time. Even from a Wall Street or CNBC perspective.

Truth is they're just hyping the sales "war" between Amazon and Walmart. Business as usual to most of us. I suppose when this overbought market finally comes crashing down, the only discussion will be how large to make the fonts. :rolleyes:

Stress? Confusion? Nope. Just a lot of eye fatigue from rolling them more often from a media "gone wild". :p

Sad to be able to recall a time when the media was truly committed to reporting the facts rather than just think of new ways to get an audience to emotionally react. Small wonder such headlines can be confusing to us or anyone else under the circumstances. Though in my own case this sort of practice is beginning to make me numb towards headlines no matter what words they use. ;)

Sorry to get so sidetracked. Yes, count me in. I've misread headlines before as well based on the hysterical use of verbs and adjectives. It happens, even to autistic finance geeks. Though I really think I'm beginning to become numb to such tactics in general. Kind of like "banner-blindness". :oops:
 
Last edited:
I think I would have understood the headline if I had just read it myself, but the way you pointed it out made me wonder what kind of rocket they were sharing too.

I don't really thing it's an aspie thing to misunderstand headlines. Sometimes they just aren't very clear, and they often intentionally leave out words. It used to be to save ink, but now that everything is published online, I have no idea why they don't use full wording in the titles. There are websites devoted to silly headlines that can be taken the wrong way and some that are just plain wrong in the first place.
 
I think I would have understood the headline if I had just read it myself, but the way you pointed it out made me wonder what kind of rocket they were sharing too.

I don't really thing it's an aspie thing to misunderstand headlines. Sometimes they just aren't very clear, and they often intentionally leave out words. It used to be to save ink, but now that everything is published online, I have no idea why they don't use full wording in the titles. There are websites devoted to silly headlines that can be taken the wrong way and some that are just plain wrong in the first place.

The process has simply become overly-manipulative IMO.

Yes...potentially confusing people both within and from without the intended target market. It's what can happen when one is so focused only on soliciting a visceral reaction.
 
Last edited:
Ah, so I was dealing with click bait in this situation? Blegh.

Not a bad analogy under the circumstances. ;)

Tragic though to think this is how journalism is evolving. If you can call it that. o_O

Never has so much information been brought to so many. Yet so much of it is skewed and tainted in the process. Sad.
 
I don't think they were trying to bait anyone with that headline. I think they just didn't proofread it very well.

Pretty much any time the financial press uses the term "rocket" it's like flypaper to investors.

But then with the market open for the last two hours ...Walmart is up over eight percent. Admittedly that's news. With the rest of Wall Street following so far...
 
Last edited:
Yes. I can misunderstand many things if I can't work out a definite context.

I read the headline you posted about Asda/Walmart and with bonfire night (Guy Fawkes) having just passed, I immediately thought of fireworks in a celebratory sense.
 
And I thought it was just me!
I find this happening all the time especially with headlines
and also within the article and what people say sometimes.

I feel annoyed when it happens, but, my mind just takes what I read or hear so literal that I have to think it over to get the understanding. Even then sometimes I don't!
:confused:
 
I read this headline just now and wondered why Walmart would share a rocket. It caused me distress for a moment because I wondered why they would get into the arms business. Were they selling rockets? If so, to whom? Then I realized it was being used as a verb. Does this ever happen to you?View attachment 40123

happens to me quite often. are you also dyslexic?
 
Not sure if this is on topic but i've always wondered why advertisers put the word "Real" on food labels, such as "Real Mayonaise". Does it make it sell better? Is there such a thing as "Fake Mayonaise"?
 

New Threads

Top Bottom