WYSIWYG (wih-see-wig): A computer term used to describe a system in which content displayed during editing is very similar to the final output, which might be a printed document, web page or slide presentation......otherwise known as "What you see is what you get."
In case you're wondering why the phrase, "What you see is what you get.", sounds familiar, it was first made "famous" by the comedian, Flip Wilson, and his floozy character, Geraldine from the 1960's television show, "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In". Geraldine would frequently utter the phrase, "What you see is what you get." as she strutted her ample stuff. This is the same show that gave rise to the careers of Henry Gibson, Lily Tomlin (Edith Ann), Ruth Buzzi, Jo Anne Worley (Who can forget her crazed and loony laugh?), and Arte Johnson (the man who always hid behind a palm-type tree and would utter the phrase, "Veeeery Eeenteresting".) Later, the same phrase turned up in a pop song which had the refrain and title of "What you see is what you get!"
If only that were true today. If only we could be assured that what we do see is really what we do get......but we cannot. PhotoShop, for one, makes reality out of illusion, trading images here and there to create deception through delusion. Many photos are so digitized that is impossible to tell if the images were created by humans or were created from humans. You just cannot tell.
Thusly, we have the phrase, "What you see is what you get.", that has been immortalized by the acronym, wysiwyg. (See phonetic pronunciation above.) I'd like to propose that for situations, television shows, and photos that are the "Real McCoy", the acronym, wysiwyg is attached somewhere in plain sight, thereby giving John Q. Public the assurance that what he is seeing, hearing, or experiencing has not been doctored in any way. I believe the current, comparable buzzword is "transparency", a word that is vastly underutilized and, sadly, missing from our present-day vocabulary.
Yes, I have heard that before, and I'd like to hear it again!
Ancora imparo
