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"A future this or any other transport technology lacks in Japan, for the Tōzai line is almost certainly the last subway line Japan will ever build." "Ever" is
by apsec112 11y ago
"A future this or any other transport technology lacks in Japan, for the Tōzai line is almost certainly the last subway line Japan will ever build."
"Ever" is a very, very long time! There might not be any new subways for a few decades, but the idea of a "subway" itself is only about a hundred and fifty years old. How could one possibly know whether Japan will need new subways in seven hundred years? And seven hundred years is just an eyeblink, compared to "ever". The human species is about a hundred thousand years old, and most animals have been around for far longer than that.
- knappe 11y agoSo a better form of transportation won't come around in over 700 years? I think you're being a little pedantic.
- apsec112 11y agoThey said "almost certainly", and put "last subway line Japan will ever build" in bold font for emphasis. In any case, that really isn't a very strong argument: "The next level up we start to see responses to the writing, rather than the writer. The lowest form of these is to disagree with the author's tone. E.g. I can't believe the author dismisses intelligent design in such a cavalier fashion. Though better than attacking the author, this is still a weak form of disagreement. It matters much more whether the author is wrong or right than what his tone is. Especially since tone is so hard to judge. Someone who has a chip on their shoulder about some topic might be offended by a tone that to other readers seemed neutral. So if the worst thing you can say about something is to criticize its tone, you're not saying much. Is the author flippant, but correct? Better that than grave and wrong. And if the author is incorrect somewhere, say where." http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html