Timebinding

Timebinding is the human trait involved in the passing on of accumulated knowledge to new generations, which in turn makes it unnecessary for each new generation to reinvent the wheel and allows that generation to use the wheel as a stepping stone to invent something else. The term comes from Alfred Korzybski and General Semantics; however, the concept is ancient, for example as embodied in the Jewish tradition of l’dor v’dor, a Hebrew phrase that literally means “from generation to generation.”

Robert A. Heinlein, in his GoH speech at the Denvention, the third Worldcon, in 1941, claimed fans did this particularly well. This listing of fan terms is an exercise in timebinding.

See also: Fanhistory.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

(Korzybski) The distinguishing characteristic of Homo sapiens, says K. It's the ability to establish continuity beyond the individual life span by the use of permanent communications and multiple record. Historical articles and things like this dictionary are examples of the practice as it applies to fandom.

---

Fanspeak

This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.