how do you use the word “meta”. I hear it all the time and no one that I ask knows what it means.
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“Meta-X” usually means “X about X.”
So for example, in science, a published paper usually does some analysis. But sometimes people will publish a “meta-analysis”, a paper that puts together the analysis of multiple papers. So a “meta-analysis” is an analysis of analyses.
If you send an email to Bob that says “Hi Bob, what are you up to?” your question is data that’s in the email. The email also has meta-data, such as who sent it (you), when it was sent, and the Internet address of the computer you used to send it. In other words, “meta-data” is data about data.
“Meta” is a widely used term in the language of competitive multiplayer games, especially video / computer games and collectible card games. In various computer games, you can often choose to play as different characters, roles or fantasy races (think of humans / orcs / elves, orcs are more brute-force, elves are more magical, and humans are in the middle). The actual game is building towers and troops, or shooting at your opponent, or whatever. The meta-game would be a “game about the game,” and it usually refers to the kind of strategic thinking you use when you decide what character or race to pick. In the gaming context, “meta-game” is often shortened to “meta.” So a commentator might say “Winston the gorilla and McCree the cowboy are good in the meta,” meaning those characters are good choices considering the characters your opponents would typically choose. [1]
[1] Typically developers of these games like to create a “balanced meta” or “variety in the meta,” which means every option the game provides is a different experience, but at the same time strategically an equally viable way to play. Individually the players are constantly looking for the opposite — you as a player want to discover new tactics or ways of using a character that “dominate the meta” or “break the meta,” that is, you’re looking for a character who’s way better than everyone else and will give you an advantage.
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