6 ms·

This is helpful. When I hear "always", "never", "all", etc. I tend to tune out or take the remainder of the conversation less seriously as I attribute the absol

This is helpful. When I hear "always", "never", "all", etc. I tend to tune out or take the remainder of the conversation less seriously as I attribute the absolute language to an issue the speaker hasn't quite fully processed or understood yet. Of course there are exceptions when absolute words are appropriate but they feel like red flags to me.

hungerstrike 9y ago
It seems like you're taking an absolutist position towards absolutists. I'm not sure how exactly the simple use of the words "always", "never" and "all" indicate to you that a speaker hasn't fully understood their subject. I'd bet that you hear these words all the time without them even registering. There must be something more to it - Is there a certain setting where you hear these words or a certain type of conversation? Surely, you're not talking about simple phrases such as "When I dropped the bag of groceries, all of the eggs fell out and broke." Likewise, I doubt that you're nit-picking on the fact that "always" and "never" are not technically observable by any human. My best guess is that you're using some other unstated conversational cues that have gone unmentioned here.
- jpfed 9y ago
  >It seems like you're taking an absolutist position towards absolutists. Nope, parent said they "tend to" and "of course there are exceptions".
  - hungerstrike 9y ago
    The definition of "tend to" is regularly or frequently behave in a particular way or have a certain characteristic, which is why I said "it seems like..." instead of "you are". Anyway, it was kind of tongue in cheek and the main bit of my comment is the set of questions about how these conversational cues actually work.
    - prepend 9y ago
      I understood you were trying to be wry, but you were still incorrect. OP avoided absolute terms in their statement. The example of “I broke all the eggs” is best used to describe when they all broke and had to be thrown away. I think it’s harder to understand than “I broke most of the eggs.” Etc etc If it’s any consolation, I thought your expansion of the comment was interesting and your curiosity helps me better understand the overall thread.
anigbrowl 9y ago
I tend to tune out or take the remainder of the conversation less seriously Wise if someone is attempting to influence your life choices, not so wise if they're having a problem and you're studiously ignoring their requests for help, however clumsily articulated.
upvotinglurker 9y ago
The recently popular "worst X ever!" idiom, and its variations, pretty much end my ability to take the person who uses them seriously.

hungerstrike 9y ago

It seems like you're taking an absolutist position towards absolutists. I'm not sure how exactly the simple use of the words "always", "never" and "all" indicate to you that a speaker hasn't fully understood their subject. I'd bet that you hear these words all the time without them even registering. There must be something more to it - Is there a certain setting where you hear these words or a certain type of conversation? Surely, you're not talking about simple phrases such as "When I dropped the bag of groceries, all of the eggs fell out and broke." Likewise, I doubt that you're nit-picking on the fact that "always" and "never" are not technically observable by any human. My best guess is that you're using some other unstated conversational cues that have gone unmentioned here.

jpfed 9y ago
>It seems like you're taking an absolutist position towards absolutists. Nope, parent said they "tend to" and "of course there are exceptions".
- hungerstrike 9y ago
  The definition of "tend to" is regularly or frequently behave in a particular way or have a certain characteristic, which is why I said "it seems like..." instead of "you are". Anyway, it was kind of tongue in cheek and the main bit of my comment is the set of questions about how these conversational cues actually work.
  - prepend 9y ago
    I understood you were trying to be wry, but you were still incorrect. OP avoided absolute terms in their statement. The example of “I broke all the eggs” is best used to describe when they all broke and had to be thrown away. I think it’s harder to understand than “I broke most of the eggs.” Etc etc If it’s any consolation, I thought your expansion of the comment was interesting and your curiosity helps me better understand the overall thread.

anigbrowl 9y ago

I tend to tune out or take the remainder of the conversation less seriously Wise if someone is attempting to influence your life choices, not so wise if they're having a problem and you're studiously ignoring their requests for help, however clumsily articulated.

upvotinglurker 9y ago

The recently popular "worst X ever!" idiom, and its variations, pretty much end my ability to take the person who uses them seriously.