Sunday, July 20, 2014

I X Hate X This: The Rise of Conjunction X

I've been seeing a lot of usage of the X symbol recently on websites, posters etc. I can't help but get annoyed with this new 'fad'. I mean I see titles like:

Artist X Musician
Abstract concept 1 X Abstract concept 2 (i.e. Love X Art)
Band X Location

What the hell does the "X" mean? "Versus"? "And"? "With"?, "In"? I don't really know. I think it's a hipster way of saying this not an ordinary combination of two things. This is an X of two things. X is a conjunction of two entities related or otherwise which makes the sum of the two separate entities appear much, much better.

As if one entity would magically get the redeeming traits of the other if the Conjunction X is used instead of say And or With or Versus.

 When did this new trend even began?

X already means a lot of things, some even quite cool. X marks the spot for Pirates. X is a prize worth aiming for by inventors, scientists and engineers. X is a generation used to be thought of as cool and forward-looking (that is until generation Y came.) X is a gene that gives cool powers. X indicates an unknown/classified project. X are files referring to mysterious and unexplained events.

But Conjunction X is fairly new. I see this on events where a designer would partner with a comic book artist for a line of clothing with comic book characters printed. Or when a symphonic orchestra performs with a rock band. Or when a electronic band performs in a trendy restaurant.

Googling "X" does not return anything useful. I find a band named X, a manga titled X, the xprize etc. Googling "Conjunction X" is the same. I find the real mathematical and grammatical definition of conjunction and X as a cross-product of two vectors. Google fails me this time.

In any case, I think conjunction X is here to stay to symbolize something that materialized from the hipster generation of today, like YOLO, or selfies or expensive ice cream.

End X Rant

(Hey look! My username has an X!)

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