#145 The Algorithm is God Now - The Etymology Nerd

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Adam Aleksic, known online as Etymology Nerd, is an American linguist and content creator who produces videos exploring the origins of words. He began exploring word origins in 2016 through his blog. Aleksic studied at Harvard University, where he gained attention for his educational TikTok videos on linguistics and language in 2023. In 2025, he published Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language.

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TIMESTAMPS

(0:00) Will Social Media End Local Languages?
(7:49) Why Does Language Change?
(15:11) What Is Algospeak?
(22:33) We Worship Our Phones
(27:36) Upcoming Slang to Invest In
(33:26) Online Slang That Never Quite Caught On
(38:48) Introducing Adam to British Slang
(47:13) The Origins of Language
(57:22) Punctuation in Text Messaging
(1:06:24) The Latin Mass and Hocus Pocus
(1:13:44) The Message of Algospeak

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