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>> Firstly, I didn't accuse them of cheating. "X-but-not-X", under my understanding of idiomatic English, refers to something that's X in spirit but not technic

by igouy 11y ago

>> Firstly, I didn't accuse them of cheating. "X-but-not-X", under my understanding of idiomatic English, refers to something that's X in spirit but not technically X, or vice versa. The former was what I was going for. << Given your stated understanding, you still accuse them of cheating in spirit. In ordinary English you equivocate, to have your cake and eat it too.

Veedrac 11y ago
> Given your stated understanding, you still accuse them of cheating in spirit. Indeed I do. I wouldn't mean that as a criticism of the author, though, lest I'd have not done the same.
- igouy 11y ago
  http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cheat?q=cheating http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cheat?... Those programs are not intelligent agents, they cannot cheat. When you say the program cheats, it is a direct criticism of the author's intentions.
  - Veedrac 11y ago
    I don't want to get into a semantic quibble, since it's really besides the point, but to quote your link: > You can use cocoa powder to make the cake rather than chocolate - it's a bit of a cheat, but nobody notices the difference. If you're trying to produce cheap cakes and your competition also uses cocoa powder, it's a mark of intelligence to follow along. It's still a bit of a cheat, though. --- If you don't accept this reasoning, maybe I'm wrong and the word is unfairly used here. But please at least accept that I meant no insult, regardless of whether I have to vocabulary to express myself correctly.
    - igouy 11y ago
      >it's a mark of intelligence to follow along< So sheep are markedly intelligent? >a bit of a cheat< It is not the cake that cheats. >I meant no insult< I don't think you're confused about how all these comments you've made about cheating will be read.
      - Veedrac 11y ago
        As I said, > I don't want to get into a semantic quibble If you'd rather the semantic quibble than actually address the concerns I've raised, on your head be it. And I see no reason to trust your statements of my opinion over my own knowledge of my opinion.
        igouy 11y ago
        You started with a semantic quibble and have continued with a semantic quibble for 3 weeks -- "cheating-but-not-cheating".
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]

by igouy 11y ago

Veedrac 11y ago

> Given your stated understanding, you still accuse them of cheating in spirit. Indeed I do. I wouldn't mean that as a criticism of the author, though, lest I'd have not done the same.

igouy 11y ago
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cheat?q=cheating http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cheat?... Those programs are not intelligent agents, they cannot cheat. When you say the program cheats, it is a direct criticism of the author's intentions.
- Veedrac 11y ago
  I don't want to get into a semantic quibble, since it's really besides the point, but to quote your link: > You can use cocoa powder to make the cake rather than chocolate - it's a bit of a cheat, but nobody notices the difference. If you're trying to produce cheap cakes and your competition also uses cocoa powder, it's a mark of intelligence to follow along. It's still a bit of a cheat, though. --- If you don't accept this reasoning, maybe I'm wrong and the word is unfairly used here. But please at least accept that I meant no insult, regardless of whether I have to vocabulary to express myself correctly.
  - igouy 11y ago
    >it's a mark of intelligence to follow along< So sheep are markedly intelligent? >a bit of a cheat< It is not the cake that cheats. >I meant no insult< I don't think you're confused about how all these comments you've made about cheating will be read.
    - Veedrac 11y ago
      As I said, > I don't want to get into a semantic quibble If you'd rather the semantic quibble than actually address the concerns I've raised, on your head be it. And I see no reason to trust your statements of my opinion over my own knowledge of my opinion.
      - igouy 11y ago
        You started with a semantic quibble and have continued with a semantic quibble for 3 weeks -- "cheating-but-not-cheating".
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]