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> You can publish only true facts Can we go back to just calling them "facts"? A statement can be true or false, but a fact is true. You're playing into the i

by freyr 10y ago

> You can publish only true facts Can we go back to just calling them "facts"? A statement can be true or false, but a fact is true. You're playing into the idea that there are "false facts" or "alternative facts." There aren't. Those are lies or errors.

jMyles 10y ago
It's useful to be able to talk about "facts" - including a fact pattern which is inaccurate - as distinct from opinion or assessment. From WikiPedia: > Alternatively, fact may also indicate an allegation or stipulation of something that may or may not be a true fact, (e.g., "the author's facts are not trustworthy"). This alternate usage, although contested by some, has a long history in standard English.
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cjfont 10y ago
A statement can also be an opinion, I think the intention was to differentiate from statements that are meant to appear to be facts but are false.
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chillwaves 10y ago
Because context matters? And people with any level of sophistication in their thinking can understand that. I don't even know how to respond to some folks here. You really think it's impossible to use facts to construct a narrative that is untrue? https://hbr.org/2016/10/theres-a-word-for-using-truthful-facts-to-deceive-paltering https://hbr.org/2016/10/theres-a-word-for-using-truthful-fac... Come on now. We're better than this.
- freyr 10y ago
  > You really think it's impossible to use facts to construct a narrative that is untrue? What? That's completely unrelated to what I said, which is simply that the phrase "true facts" is redundant. > people with any level of sophistication in their thinking can understand that. I don't even know how to respond to some folks here. I wrote just two lines of text to express a simple thought using basic vocabulary. The fact that you misunderstood my comment so thoroughly, and yet with such extreme condescension, is simply spectacular.
- ygaf 10y ago
  >Come on now. We're better than this. We should be above abusing the word "because". Honestly that shit is jarring.

by freyr 10y ago

jMyles 10y ago

It's useful to be able to talk about "facts" - including a fact pattern which is inaccurate - as distinct from opinion or assessment. From WikiPedia: > Alternatively, fact may also indicate an allegation or stipulation of something that may or may not be a true fact, (e.g., "the author's facts are not trustworthy"). This alternate usage, although contested by some, has a long history in standard English.

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cjfont 10y ago

A statement can also be an opinion, I think the intention was to differentiate from statements that are meant to appear to be facts but are false.

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chillwaves 10y ago

Because context matters? And people with any level of sophistication in their thinking can understand that. I don't even know how to respond to some folks here. You really think it's impossible to use facts to construct a narrative that is untrue? https://hbr.org/2016/10/theres-a-word-for-using-truthful-facts-to-deceive-paltering https://hbr.org/2016/10/theres-a-word-for-using-truthful-fac... Come on now. We're better than this.

freyr 10y ago
> You really think it's impossible to use facts to construct a narrative that is untrue? What? That's completely unrelated to what I said, which is simply that the phrase "true facts" is redundant. > people with any level of sophistication in their thinking can understand that. I don't even know how to respond to some folks here. I wrote just two lines of text to express a simple thought using basic vocabulary. The fact that you misunderstood my comment so thoroughly, and yet with such extreme condescension, is simply spectacular.
ygaf 10y ago
>Come on now. We're better than this. We should be above abusing the word "because". Honestly that shit is jarring.