When something that was working, suddenly doesn't work when demoing to others

Post by skirmish » Thu, Aug 15, 2024, 5:19 PM UTC

jszymborski wrote: post #5

colechristensen wrote: post #3

I don't think this one is going to make it into English. Vorführeffekt is a bit hard to pronounce.

Doesnt seem that hard to mangle into english: Vore-fyur-effect

Post by jprete » Thu, Aug 15, 2024, 5:23 PM UTC

dinkblam wrote: post #9

> The phenomenon that something which was previously working correctly, suddenly does not work correctly when one tries to demonstrate the operation to others. the same word is also used for the reverse situation, i.e. if something that did not work suddenly works when trying to demonstrate the failure. think bug reporting e.g. at the car mechanic, warranty claims, etc. if you try to show a reproducible bug to others…

Post by dinkblam » Thu, Aug 15, 2024, 5:27 PM UTC

jprete wrote: post #14

dinkblam wrote: post #9

> The phenomenon that something which was previously working correctly, suddenly does not work correctly when one tries to demonstrate the operation to others. the same word is also used for the reverse situation, i.e. if something that did not work suddenly works when trying to demonstrate the failure. think bug reporting e.g. at the car mechanic, warranty claims, etc. if you try to show a reproducible bug to others…

Is the word only for unpleasant surprises, or for all such situations, even when the surprising outcome is also a good one?

Post by bobthepanda » Thu, Aug 15, 2024, 5:30 PM UTC

Post by wjholden » Thu, Aug 15, 2024, 5:40 PM UTC

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #11

It's fascinating to me how German composite words encapsulate an idea like "[failure attributed to] demonstration effect" in a way that just saying "demonstration effect" in English often fails to accomplish. I also love how German often has useful opposites - schadenfreude vs fremdschamen, for example. On that note, is there an opposite to this, where someone observes that something's not working, they call in the e…