472

What's the most petty/pointless/pedantic hill you're willing to die on? (programming.dev)

submitted 3 months ago by notnotmike@programming.dev to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

1267 comments fedilink hide all child comments

For me, it may be that the toilet paper roll needs to have the open end away from the wall. I don't want to reach under the roll to take a piece! That's ludicrous!

That or my recent addiction to correcting people when they use "less" when they should use "fewer"

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 3 months ago

Begging the Question is a logical fallacy, a circular argument. So when a position brings a question to mind that is other than a challenge to its validity, it raises the question.

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 points 3 months ago

Just because someone says something begs the question doesn't mean they're talking about the logical fallacy though. Like, if I said "I turned down the million dollars," wouldn't that really beg you to ask why? It begs for context.

That said, I do admit that I use "raise the question" when I'm not referring to the fallacy just because I don't want to deal with explaining that people can say a phrase and not mean the fallacy. It just sounds like a cop out after the fact lol.

[-] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 months ago

It raises the question. The reason begs the question has become acceptable is specifically because English speakers used the term in error often enough to make it common.

Which is to say, when the President of the United States uses the phrase ...which begs the question... in a speech, or a PHD academic uses it in a thesis in 2024, it's fine. But nineth-grade grammar teachers all across the nation cringe when they hear it.

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

A "moot point" originally meant the point was salient/still open for debate.

[-] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

...and a forgone conclusion (a Shakespearean phrase) used to mean a conclusion that could be ruled out as implausible.

this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2024

472 points (98.2% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26980 readers

1401 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.