Ostrich

When one computer system needs to act like another, you use an emulator. Or an Emu.

For more complex systems, like people, the emu just doesn't cut it as a large flightless bird. You need an OSTRICH.

Most people carry around with them many ostriches of other people. ie, ways of estimating how that person would act/react in any given situation. When you read an email from someone and can imagine their glare-with-defiance-yet-smirking face, that's your ostrich kicking in.

By being able to summarise such a relatively complex notion in a single word, language is expanded. I've had long in-depth conversations about the relative strengths and failings of my ostrich for another person. (eg, "my $PERSON-ostrich is well developed with regards to fashion, but not so much with regards to alchohol)

An excellent example of an ostrich in popular culture is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The character of Clementine through most of the movie is seen in Joel's memories... so this is not in fact actually *her*, but rather, his ostrich of her.

Some ostriches take time to build up, whilst othertimes they can appear as if almost fully formed, and the normal ostrich-building-moments of a friendship is instead replaced with an ostrich-confirmations. I call these 'instinct ostriches', and I think they form the basis of the strongest friendships.

Historical note

This usage of 'ostrich' derives from the following #afda excerpt (note that 'atob' is another regular of #afda)

[2004-03-19 14:59:13] <nemo> you should introduce them to, say, cvs
[2004-03-19 14:59:22] <nemo> CVS WITH A NAIL IN IT
[2004-03-19 14:59:47] <Screwtape> Way to make me smile for the first time this afternoon.
[2004-03-19 15:00:19] <nemo> oh good. it must mean my atob emu is working
[2004-03-19 15:00:50] <Screwtape> :)
[2004-03-19 15:01:37] <nemo> someone will probably get an atob ostrich next though,
                        and be all 'my feathered vertebrate is bigger than yours' at me :<