Hyperbole: on a channel near you!

I sense all of us are slipping—or have slipped—into the ever-expanding horizons of the hyperbola. For my sins, I must plead guilty too, but the linguistic question remains: ‘… where can [or will] the media’s quest for exaggeration end?’

The horror of the hyperbolic language of today seems largely media-led, though most of us now seek good emphasising adjectives to ram home our point. To be honest, I loathe the trend—even as I often find myself aboard the dramatisation gravy train.

 

Wikipedia [https://tinyurl.com/3nw98enw] notes that the term ‘hyperbola’ [note, there are different endings—an ‘a’, and an ‘e’] originated with Apollonius of Perga, a Greek mathematician who lived c.262 – c.190 BC. He penned a mathematical treatise, ‘Conics’ which described the features of a cone … think of a summer ice-cream cone from my grandchildren’s favourite haunt in Mountjoy Parage: Gelato Gelato.

Along with Euclid and Archimedes, Apollonius is widely considered among the greatest mathematicians of antiquity—indeed of all time. It is sobering to think that with nothing but a level bed of sand, a clay tablet and a stick, most of the mathematical principles in use today were discovered by the ancient Greeks … one only needs to look at the perfection of their architecture to understand this. Apollonius contributed the definitions of ellipses, parabolas and the hyperbola, all core mathematical concepts that still guide modern engineering. The hyperbola describes an ever-expanding mathematical shape—commonly conical—without end or limitation.

The earliest known use of the word ‘hyperbole’ as applied to language was in the early 1500s. Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, renowned humanist and implacable opponent of the excesses of Henry VIII, borrowed the word from the Greek mathematical concept of an ever-expanding shape [ending ‘a’] and, by changing the ending to ‘e’, added ‘hyperbole’ to our rhetorical language when he described Henry’s recurrent habit of ‘going beyond the limit’. Moore ultimately donated his head to Henry’s axeman, though not just for changing an ‘a’ to an’ e’!

My only use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in this article will be in the following paragraph [italics], which describes the derivation.

“… the terms “hyperbola” (a mathematical curve) and “hyperbole” (a rhetorical device) share the same Greek root, “ὑπερβολή” meaning “over-thrown” or “excessive” and invoke the concept of “going beyond a limit”.

Nowadays, hyperbole is rife in media reporting. Indeed, it has, of itself, gone beyond the limits. Excessive language and over-exaggeration are everywhere. On the nightly news, breathless cub reporters tick off superlative and effusive adjectives from their mental list as they describe accidents, bushfires, floods, or political moments. On social media, where controls and decency are now all but echoes of the distant past, the gloves are completely off as ever-more polarised sides hotly defend their opinions or challenge an opposing stance.

Of course, the stand-out modern exponent is Trump. He repeatedly uses phrases like: ‘… no-one has ever seen anything like it—ever’, or: ‘… no-one knows more about subject x, y, or z than I do—no-one’, though he appears to lack a vocabulary of media superlatives. Trump makes up for this deficit by using single-syllable, child-like words to achieve the same effect. He liberally studs his speeches with unverifiable exaggeration: tremendous, thousands, millions [maybe trillions], bad, terrible, unbelievable, great, and greatest. He tosses in these words like chaff to the wind—all nebulous and none factual—yet all conjure Sir Thomas More’s succinct use of hyperbole as … ‘going beyond’.

As we weather six weeks of near-endless hyperbole—and a dollop of muck-raking—hyperbole is now the stuff of nightly TV. It comes at us from every side. Election campaigns evoke the worst of this trend as commentators jostle for their scoop, and protagonists seek to outdo each other with boasts, spruiks, debunks, and derision.

Most hyperbole and/or exaggerations are now water from a duck’s back. Most, at best, are dull. We have developed immunity. Moreover, hyperbole can carry risk.

An example close to home for those who live in Lorne are the bulletins issued through the Vic Emergency App. Emergency warnings of fire, flood, heatwave, and tempest now beam thick and fast to our devices—indeed, one might argue too thick and too fast—with many now ‘going through to the keeper’. Therein lies the danger.

I absolutely get it that we must remain aware of—and alert to—changes in our immediate surroundings … e.g. road conditions or wind and/or water that may need us to secure our external furniture—the practical stuff. But, while some may disagree, I fear [oops—another hyperbole] that emergency warnings are trending to over-use and over-dramatisation.

When first established, I thought, ‘… whoopee, an early warning system to advise of impending threat[s]’… but sadly and largely courtesy of relentless amplification by a breathlessly hyperbolic media, the phone pings “emergency”… and we risk ignoring it.

There is a difference between a tree down over Deans Marsh Road [though here, a grateful shout-out to our night-and-day SES team] and a weather Armageddon like the recently suffered deluge in FNQ, SE Queensland, NE NSW, and Queensland’s channel country.

While the Victorian Emergency Warning App is undoubtedly a positive advance, nuance matters. Message fine-tuning might help delineate public awareness from ‘Chicken-Licken, the sky is falling’ panic … and turn down the community anxiety dial.

I am utterly over media-promoted hyperbole. However the trend crept in, and it now seems cemented into the cub reporter training curriculum as “Hyperbole 1.01”. Everything is ‘life-changing’ and ‘transformative’. Oh, and by the way, can anyone tell me what that word actually means? Transformed into what? A jelly, perhaps? Or transported through a wormhole to the supernatural?

‘Good’ is no longer good enough … everything must be ‘awesome’. ‘Bad’ won’t do … think ‘catastrophic’ at the very least. The escalating adjectives must run out soon!

Of course, as always, my thought bubbles on this page express a personal view. I am grateful that the Committee for Lorne broadly allows me carte blanche to express personal opinion under their banner. This piece is a prime example of this largesse.

But, Surf Coasters, as we plunge headlong into yet another election cycle, you can be sure that we are in for a proper dunking in hyperbolic truth-stretching as all sides seek to capture our attention and buy our votes with our own money. Buckle up!

John Agar

Feature Writer

 

A word from the chairman

Lorne Historical Society’s Fishy Tales Exhibition

Seven Years ago, when I was president of the Lorne Historical Society; Peter Spring, Vicki Norton and Jan Spring liaised with the Great Ocean Road Coastal and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) to fit out the old fish retail shop at the disused Fishing Cooperative building, to move the Fishy Tales exhibition from the Society’s rooms into the shop space.

The Authority saw the benefits of having an active use of the space and very generously refurbished the rooms and they provided a television. We used the shop rent free for six years with the Authority paying for the utilities. Last year, the then president signed a one-year lease, which is to terminate at the end of April 2025.

The Society has received a notice to vacate the space to allow for the removal of asbestos from the building. As a result of the lobbying by the Historical Society’s Committee the Authority agreed to give us a month’s extension to remove and store the historical materials. The Authority has also untaken to investigate short-term storage options. The Authority has committed to the release of clear guidelines on the asbestos removal plans, a timeline and Project updates to the Society. The Authority has also undertaken to provide regular updates to the Lorne Independent.

At the April meeting of the Historical Society a variety of views were expressed concerning the terms of the lease. A motion was presented that the executive felt should be presented to a special general meeting. This meeting is scheduled for Monday the 28th of April.

Easter Photographic Exhibition – Lorne Community Connect Arts Hub

This year’s Easter Photographic Exhibition will be held at the Lorne Community Connect, our arts hub. The opening night is on Thursday the 17th of April starting at 6.00 pm, please join us for the awarding of the prizes, sponsored by Mantra Lorne and Bells Fine Arts, Geelong. The theme of the exhibition is “Routine and Ritual”.

The exhibition dates are April 18 to 28. We have a record number of twenty-eight photographers, both local and interstate exhibiting, with sixty photographs on display. This year students from the Lorne P-12 College are contributing.

Lorne Bowls Club

On Thursday the 10th of April the Lorne Bowls Club held the annual Presentation Night. The Club completed a very good season with both the division two and division four weekend sides in their respective grand finals. Congratulations to the members of the division four team who defeated the Colac Bowls Club division four team in a close game, with a decisive break in the last five ends. Promotion into division three in the 2025/26 season will give more opportunities for pennant bowlers as the higher divisions have an additional team.

I wish to highlight three awards that recognise members who make additional contributions beyond weekly games. Heather Olney, a stalwart of the Club who won the Coach’s Award, Peter Ironmonger who won the Ken and Merna Smith Award for his work as greens director and to Allan Walls who won the President’s Award for varied unseen contributions to the Club.

Gary Allen
Secretary Committee for Lorne

Lorne Ward Events Calendar

April

18 – Good Friday.  Football & Netball.  Lorne FNC will play its first home round against Apollo Bay FNC at Stribling Reserve

18-28 – 2025 Photographic Exhibition Routine and Ritual. Info: lornecommunityconnect.com.au

19 – Lorne Market, 9-3pm www.lornemarkets.com/

19 – Football at Stribling Reserve.  Between Geelong Football League clubs Leopold FNC and St Joseph’s FNC.

20 – Lorne Aquatic & Angling Club – Major Fishing Competition No 3, Weigh cut off 12.30pm. Free roast lunch for competitors, $10 non-fishing members.

25 – Anzac Day Twilight Football & Netball.  Lorne FNC V Sout Colac FNC at Stribling Reserve

May

4 – LAAC Winter Comp No 1. lines down after 6am, weigh in at the Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club at 12:30 followed by BBQ lunch.

17-18 – Great Ocean Road Running Festival, Running, music, wellness, adventure.

June

8 – Lorne Aquatic & Angling Club – Major Fishing Competition No 4, Weigh cut off 12.30pm. Free roast lunch for competitors, $10 non-fishing members.