4 ms·

"We"? I don't remember dissecting any bodies or making any discoveries in the field of anatomy. Do you?

dalbasal 10y ago
I use "we" in similar contexts too. We invented our scientific methods. We learned about our anatomy, caused the extinction of many species, etc.
Terr_ 10y ago
You have never thrust a spear at a mammoth either, yet "we" did. Work on that reading comprehension. "We" is referring to something much broader.
- dumb-saint 10y ago
  > "We" is referring to something much broader. Yes, it's all very poetic. Can you define it though? What else did "we" do? Were "we" the nazis? Or were we the allies? Were we the indians or the europeans? Did we write "All along the Watchtower"? Did we invent the first digital computer?
  - hyggyhhfdd 10y ago
    That name of yours is very fitting
  - jfoutz 10y ago
    Yes nazis, allies, indians (both kinds, but one of those terms is pretty racist, so be careful with your terminology) and europeans. We wrote all along the watchtower and invented the first digital computer. There might be a few prickly edges around carthaginians, aztecs and other civilizations we eradicated. We hung on to trigonometry in spite of eradicating the babylonians. In this case we means humans who are able to benefit from, or perhaps simply learn of, the discoveries of other humans.
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      > indians (both kinds, but one of those terms is pretty racist I'm pretty sure it isn't.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - slau 10y ago
    There's a number of reasons to use "we" in this context. There's the inclusive we, and the exclusive we. For example, "We defeated the Nazis in WWII" clearly means that the person talking considers himself part of the Allies, and excludes the Nazis from the group. "We fought in WWII", however, is inclusive, and includes all sides in the conflict. So yes, "we wrote All along the Watchtower", as in, we as a human species brought ourselves to the point of being able to write that (or, one of the bazillion different ways of interpreting that sentence). And yes, "we invented the first digital computer," could mean that you refer to the assumed implication that (some of) the people reading this board are software engineers, and "we" refers to that professional group. But it gets a lot more fun than what you imply: there's the editorial we ("We have always fought for free speech"), the author's we ("by combining the ingredients, we obtain a compound called..."), the dictatorial we (used by managers/team leads, quite often, "We have to finish feature X by Thursday"). Edit: Removed <em> tags.
  - coldtea 10y ago
    >What else did "we" do? Were "we" the nazis? Or were we the allies? Were we the indians or the europeans? Did we write "All along the Watchtower"? Did we invent the first digital computer? We should cut the BS, and stop bike-shedding on the use of "we", whose use has been accepted for millennia when one speaks of the collective whole that is humanity and its achievements.
  - Terr_ 10y ago
    Your comment-history doesn't seem to indicate a pattern of reading difficulties, so I'm going to assume you're either just trolling or way way too emotionally-invested in your original snarky reply. Either way, that's up to you to solve on your own.
funkyy 10y ago
It's called social responsibility. We, as a human race, human society.
disordinary 10y ago
Obviously "We" as in society / the human race.

I use "we" in similar contexts too. We invented our scientific methods. We learned about our anatomy, caused the extinction of many species, etc.

Terr_ 10y ago

You have never thrust a spear at a mammoth either, yet "we" did. Work on that reading comprehension. "We" is referring to something much broader.

dumb-saint 10y ago
> "We" is referring to something much broader. Yes, it's all very poetic. Can you define it though? What else did "we" do? Were "we" the nazis? Or were we the allies? Were we the indians or the europeans? Did we write "All along the Watchtower"? Did we invent the first digital computer?
- hyggyhhfdd 10y ago
  That name of yours is very fitting
- jfoutz 10y ago
  Yes nazis, allies, indians (both kinds, but one of those terms is pretty racist, so be careful with your terminology) and europeans. We wrote all along the watchtower and invented the first digital computer. There might be a few prickly edges around carthaginians, aztecs and other civilizations we eradicated. We hung on to trigonometry in spite of eradicating the babylonians. In this case we means humans who are able to benefit from, or perhaps simply learn of, the discoveries of other humans.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    > indians (both kinds, but one of those terms is pretty racist I'm pretty sure it isn't.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- slau 10y ago
  There's a number of reasons to use "we" in this context. There's the inclusive we, and the exclusive we. For example, "We defeated the Nazis in WWII" clearly means that the person talking considers himself part of the Allies, and excludes the Nazis from the group. "We fought in WWII", however, is inclusive, and includes all sides in the conflict. So yes, "we wrote All along the Watchtower", as in, we as a human species brought ourselves to the point of being able to write that (or, one of the bazillion different ways of interpreting that sentence). And yes, "we invented the first digital computer," could mean that you refer to the assumed implication that (some of) the people reading this board are software engineers, and "we" refers to that professional group. But it gets a lot more fun than what you imply: there's the editorial we ("We have always fought for free speech"), the author's we ("by combining the ingredients, we obtain a compound called..."), the dictatorial we (used by managers/team leads, quite often, "We have to finish feature X by Thursday"). Edit: Removed <em> tags.
- coldtea 10y ago
  >What else did "we" do? Were "we" the nazis? Or were we the allies? Were we the indians or the europeans? Did we write "All along the Watchtower"? Did we invent the first digital computer? We should cut the BS, and stop bike-shedding on the use of "we", whose use has been accepted for millennia when one speaks of the collective whole that is humanity and its achievements.
- Terr_ 10y ago
  Your comment-history doesn't seem to indicate a pattern of reading difficulties, so I'm going to assume you're either just trolling or way way too emotionally-invested in your original snarky reply. Either way, that's up to you to solve on your own.

funkyy 10y ago

It's called social responsibility. We, as a human race, human society.

disordinary 10y ago

Obviously "We" as in society / the human race.