2 ms·
We avoid redundancy to speed up communication, but some redundancies can greatly speed up communication by removing perceived ambiguities that stall comprehensi
by Nomentatus 10y ago
We avoid redundancy to speed up communication, but some redundancies can greatly speed up communication by removing perceived ambiguities that stall comprehension. These are good. Avoiding redundancy isn't a goal in itself, and hasn't always been an explicit goal at all. Who would understand "V" standing by itself, instantly, without pausing? Nobody. (In fact, I'm still thinking about whether venture money - which could include self-issued digital coin? - is the same thing as Venture Capital.)
In the middle ages, when literacy (and therefore large vocabularies) were uncommon, it was considered good form to include three redundant synonyms or phrases all in a row, creating emphasis, giving the reader the best chance of understanding the writer correctly, and demonstrating that the author understood his language well and probably meant what he was saying. (Not "she" so much, then.)
It's now considered good form in technical writing to start with examples or present them as soon as possible, but examples are, by definition, semantically redundant. Should we axe them all? Absolutely not, since that would greatly slow, and sometimes prevent, comprehension.
- narrowrail 10y agoI didn't realize I criticized a YC company founder; that was a mistake, but I stand by my sentiments (it made my eyes go crossed).
- Nomentatus 10y agoThis could reflect a personal difference in abstraction. I'm not saying this is what should be the case, but for me "VC" might as well be it's own word with it's own associations and connotations. If you're used to mentally expanding contractions for precision - as lots of programmers and analysts are - then I can see that "VC money" would be a stumbling block. Not something I thought about enough before your second comment. Generally the plebes win such struggles: in this case, I'm with the plebes.
- narrowrail 10y agoWell, I'm old and joined my first VC-backed start-up in '03. I am well-acquainted with these terms, and have had many in person discussions about VC, cap tables, and equity. These days, I read cash flow, income and balance statements in the thousands per year.