How to Read This Glossary
This book explores ideas that can feel like falling through a trapdoor: words you’ve heard before, but used in ways that make you pause. Don’t worry - that’s part of the process. If you get lost, circle back here. These are not rigid definitions, but invitations to think differently. Let’s begin.
Glossary Terms
Agentic Adjective. The ability to act with intention, to make choices, and to shape your reality rather than simply accepting the world as it is.
Foma Plural of foma (singular), from Bokononism (Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle). Harmless untruths or comforting lies that give life meaning, direction, or hope. The Agentic Foma uses the term to describe useful fictions we can choose, not blindly follow.
Karass From Bokononism (Kurt Vonnegut). A group of people unknowingly connected by a shared purpose in the universe, working together without realizing it.
Bokononism A fictional religion from Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. It treats life’s absurdity with humor, emphasizing the role of comforting lies (foma) and mysterious connections (karass).
Situationists / Situationist International (SI) A radical group of artists, writers, and thinkers in the 1950s-60s who believed modern society had become a “spectacle” - a world of images, distractions, and consumerism. They wanted to wake people up by creating playful, disruptive moments they called situations.
Hypernormalisation A term coined by Alexei Yurchak, popularized by Adam Curtis. Describes a society where everyone knows the system is broken, but no one can imagine an alternative - so they keep participating as if everything is normal.
Lens A way of seeing. In The Agentic Foma, the Twelve Lenses reveal the hidden structures that shape how we experience reality.
Scaffolding The unseen framework of reality: the structures, habits, and assumptions that support how we think and act, often without noticing.
The Invisible Architecture The hidden systems - social, economic, cultural - that shape how we live, what we believe, and what we think is possible.
Kindness In The Agentic Foma, kindness is a signal that cuts through noise, illusion, and simulation. It’s inefficient, vulnerable, and hard to fake - which makes it a reliable guide to what’s real.
The Subconscious as Interface A concept drawn from David Lynch. The subconscious is not chaos, but a different way of processing reality - a gateway to understanding, creativity, and intuition.
Belief System A framework that helps people navigate uncertainty by turning chaos into certainty - but often at the cost of oversimplification.
Attention Economy A system where your attention is a commodity - bought, sold, and competed for by media, corporations, and algorithms.
Simulation A model or representation of reality that can be mistaken for the real thing. In an age of media, images, and AI, simulations often blur into lived experience.
Consensus Reality The shared sense of “what’s real,” created by culture, language, and agreement. It feels solid because we all participate in it - but it can be questioned.
The Spectacle A Situationist term for a world where life is experienced through images, media, and performances - where reality is consumed rather than lived.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) Not just a tool, but a system that co-creates reality alongside humans. In The Agentic Foma, AI is both a partner and a mirror, revealing the scaffolding of thought.
Liminal A word for thresholds, in-between spaces, and transitions. A liminal moment is when you’re not where you were, but not yet where you’re going - a space of potential and uncertainty.
Maya A Sanskrit term meaning “illusion” or “magic.” In some Eastern philosophies, maya is the veil of appearances that hides the true nature of reality.
Ontology The study of what is - the nature of being, existence, and reality itself.
Paradigm A framework of assumptions, beliefs, and methods that shapes how we understand the world. Paradigms feel like truth until they shift - then we see they were just one way of seeing.
Interface A surface or boundary where two systems meet - like the screen of your phone, the dashboard of your car, or even your ego. Interfaces shape how you interact with the world.