The Way Things Are

I've been fascinated with the idea of thinking of words that should exist, but don’t yet.

For instance:

Conventuality
noun
The certain outcome of a set of conditions or policies. Their “convergent-eventuality”.

It's a very useful word in explaining the root causes of widespread phenomena.

For example: “Online services that sell their free users to advertisers and erode their privacy are a conventuality of users who aren't willing to pay, and advertisers who think they will.”

“Tuition prices that rise higher than inflation are a conventuality of greater demand and increased student loan limits.”

It has a stronger meaning than just a “product” or a “result of”. A conventuality is what is almost certain to happen given a set of (even seemingly unrelated) conditions, though usually only in hindsight.

For instance, “People usually gain weight after Halloween as a result of eating too much candy.” But, “Weight gain after Halloween is a conventuality of cheap bulk candy and the fear of never having enough for trick-or-treaters.”

Words Help Us Think

The idea of a conventuality is interesting. For one thing, it prods us to look for the root causes for common events or pattens that we see.

It reminds us to look ahead: “What's the conventuality of my current lifestyle?”

It also raises fascinating questions, like “Isn't everything a conventuality of other things?” If so, then is there a final conventuality?

Related: Society.