cognitohazard

Blend of cognition +‎ hazard. Probable origin is from the SCP Foundation website.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /kɔɡˈni.toʊˌhæ.zɚd/, /kɑɡˈni.toʊˌhæ.zɚd/, /kɔɡˈni.təˌhæ.zɚd/, /kɑɡˈni.təˌhæ.zɚd/, [-ni.ɾoʊ-], [-ni.ɾə-]

cognitohazard (plural cognitohazards)

1. (neurology, chiefly science fiction) An image, pattern, sound, or any other kind of sensory signal that directly causes harmful or undesired physiological or physical effects to one who senses or perceives it.

   The symbol on that piece of paper is a cognitohazard which puts everyone who reads it in a week-long coma.

   • 2011 April 28, @triggurgoat, Twitter‎, archived from the original on 2023-01-03:

     SUMBITCH. I started listening to http://nyan.cat/ again and now I can't turn it off. #memetic #cognitohazard #scp

   • 2011 July 29, @LexLevinholt, Twitter‎, archived from the original on 2023-01-03:

     CAUTION! High-grade Cognitohazard in effect!

   • 2013 February 27, neurotrashboy, “Place name of the week”, in alt.running.out.of.newsgroup.names‎ (Usenet), retrieved 9 December 2022:

     The one about Qpple hardware being a cognitohazard?
     (I made that up, BTW. :D )

   • 2016 January 29, StringentCurry, “SCP-2359”, in SCP Foundation‎, archived from the original on 2022-12-11:

     SCP-2359’s primary anomalous property is a cognitohazard that propagates to anyone who makes visual, auditory or informational contact with it. The infection impresses a false identity and memories of SCP-2359 onto the mind of the affected subject.

   • 2017, Zachary Adam, Sanity Line (Arcane Revolution Series), CreateSpace, →ISBN:

     Numerous people have reported, or, more accurately, been discovered, as having been subjected to the proscribed work The King in Yellow. […] For one thing, we’re not even sure there’s anything useful in the King play. It’s a complete cognitohazard.

   • 2018, Paul Briggs, Altered Seasons: Monsoonrise, Secant Publishing, →ISBN:

     The last week was devoted to an equally theoretical threat—weaponized cognitohazards. Brown notes. Things that you could be hurt, or possibly killed, by just seeing or hearing them… and what would happen if they got on the Internet. How would people protect themselves?

   • 2020, Azalea Ellis, Gods of Ash and Amber (Seeds of Chaos), Seladore Publishing, →ISBN:

     “Says here you’re on the front lines, not search and rescue. Do you have the cognitohazard equipment?”

   • [2020 February 2, eukaryote, “A point of clarification on infohazard terminology”, in LessWrong‎, archived from the original on 2022-12-11:

     TL;DR: “Infohazard” means any kind of information that could be harmful in some fashion. Let’s use “cognitohazard” to describe information that could specifically harm the person who knows it.]

   • 2022 August 26, Ryan Broderick, Garbage Day‎, retrieved 16 October 2023:

     Curses! Foiled again by the cognitohazard of Harry Styles’ painted nails!!!!!!

   • 2022 December 6, @circleoflust, Twitter‎, archived from the original on 2023-01-03:

     Awawawa is a cognitohazard that spreads specifically among submissive trans people

• Langford's basilisk

• infohazard
• memetic hazard

• cognitohazardous