Universals

22 Oct 2025

Definition

A universal is a repeatable property or relation that many different things share.

It is the common relation we define to group distinct items under one classification, for example redness to a rose or a strawberry and triangularity to a slice of pie or The Eiffel Tower. These two examples lean more on the contrived side but nonetheless effectively explain and connect this idea to physical everyday human life.

Philosophers dispute what universals are. Realists say universals are real features that many things share. Nominalists and conceptualists deny that universals exist independently of our words or ideas. Realists believe universals exist as objective features shared by objects, like redness (as mentioned above) is in all red things. The nominalists argue instead they are just names we assign to the similarities we observe.

… Anyway, You do not need the digression of philosophically technical debate to use this concept.

The practical point is that naming a universal helps us realize it.
We may do something with it or simply appreciate it for what it is with a more compressed solidified understanding and often in a single defined word.

In the following sections I will explain the motivation for knowing universals and illustrate other less tangible ones that I have personally noticed in my life as a human.

IF you prefer to continue expanding more THEN search “metaphysics branch of philosophy”, which oversimplified just means the part of philosophy that is concerned with studies into the most basic structure of reality. Like what there is and how it fits together. There are also links in the works cited below for more reading on universals from a philosophical perspective.

Why care?

Knowing what universals are and being able to identify them allows us to see patterns that we would not realize. Naming universals helps us communicate, reflect on, and decide how to respond to the universal we encounter. For example, if I notice a universal in my life like retrovive (defined below), I can choose to act on it by restoring or reliving lost functions rather than no action because it is not yet realized. This realization can lead to personal growth, improved decision-making, and to comprehend/fathom our experiences.

Initial Universals

1) Retrovive

Definition| Realizing the value of something only after it is gone and then choosing to rebuild or revive it as it was or in a new form. The thinking that went behind this was that I noticed my nostalgic feeling about college, relationships, and now decommissioned software I used to enjoy. But, instead of just ruminating on whatever it may be, I chose to re-alive it in some form or fashion. In the process of attempting to define this universal, I realized that it captures a common human experience of nostalgia and the desire to reclaim or recreate lost aspects of our lives. I first started with the idea of finding a single word for the realization of how much one appreciated something until it has passed but not necessarily taken for granted nor lamented on as well as the action of bringing it back in some form. Candidates were “nostalgia”, “evanescence”, “fear of missing out (FOMO)”, “anemoia”, “saudade”, and “resurrection”. The following list are words that I found but did not fully capture the universal I was defining:

After considering these words, I thought about how some people that primarily only play retro video games call themselves “retrogamers” and how they revive old games on new hardware or emulators. Often causing old games to have a new life and audience.. reviving them and possibly their companies that made them. So I decided on combining “retro” and “revive” to make “retrovive” to capture the essence of this universal.

Essentially it is a definition portmanteau of “retro” and “revive”. Defined and created by me.

Near-miss words| Nostalgia, resurrection, anemoia, saudade.
Signals to notice| Feelings of nostalgia, loss, and the desire to recreate or restore something from the past.
Small step| Write a single sentence that attempts to define the function you miss (not the thing but it may help to start writing this first). Then plan a 15 minute session this week to either rebuild a small part of that function or decide to relive it in a new way.

2) Neophobia

Definition| “The fear or hatred of novelty, new things, innovation, or unfamiliar places or situations.” | https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neophobia

A real cemented definition of a word that is accepted by the general population.

Near-miss words| change, novelty, aversion.
Signals to notice| Getting older… or more seriously feelings of anxiety, discomfort, or resistance when encountering new experiences, ideas, and/or environments.
Small step| Try one new thing this week that you have not done before. It can be as simple as taking a different route to pickup groceries, trying a new food, and/or learning a new word. Really it is that easy and will help you in the long run. You, are, likely, already doing it by reading this blog!

3) Conterust

Definition| The gradual loss of context about a thing after not focusing on it for any period of time.

I realized this universal after my somewhat recent post on context engineering, working with LLMs, and personal experience with switching between tasks.

Essentially it is a definition portmanteau of “context” and “rust”. Defined and created by me.

Other close, almost as succinct descriptive pairings are “attention decay” and “context rot”.

Near-miss words| forgetfulness, detachment, desensitization.
Signals to notice| Forgetting details about a person, project, task, or idea after switching away from it. Difficulty re-entering the mindset or flow state you were in when you were last with it.
Small step| Leave yourself notes and ideally with a “next action” at the end of each “session”. It’ll make it better to re-enter the context next time.

Changelog

Works Cited (MLA)

This is a living document