14 ms·

> exponentially more expensive Just a pet peeve, but is it a trend that people like to use “exponentially” to just mean “way more”? Exponentially doesn’t mean

> exponentially more expensive Just a pet peeve, but is it a trend that people like to use “exponentially” to just mean “way more”? Exponentially doesn’t mean what you just wrote here.. Exponential implies a rate of growth, the cost of tesla’s isn’t doubling every N years compared to other EVs..

misterprime 8y ago
I'm guessing they meant "an order of magnitude higher".
whatshisface 8y ago
A suitable interpretation would be to say that "exponentially more" means a bigger number in the floating point/scientific notation exponent, so that it's a synonym of "order of magnitude."
sandworm101 8y ago
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/exponential https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/exponent... exponential definition: 1. An exponential rate of increase becomes quicker and quicker as the thing that increases becomes larger: So, ya. Tesla's product line is exponentially more expensive. Graph them together according to range/size etc, and you will see the exponential rise in the delta between the prices, the line representing chinese product line will diverge from that of the tesla product line exponentially.
da_chicken 8y ago
It's a rhetorical device like using "literal" even when something is meant in figurative terms. Specifically, it's hyperbole or exaggeration. It's one of the strengths of human language that we can infer meaning from context -- from connotation -- rather than purely relying on denotative meaning. By exaggerating factual reality of our statements, we imply the strength of our belief or emphasize the degree of the description we're making. Further, it's important to recognize that jargon does not supercede the vernacular meaning of a word. Just because you know what "exponential" is and how it differs from, say, "geometric" when referring to mathematics, this doesn't mean that the vernacular meanings of these words don't apply any longer. No, it doesn't matter that mathematics is the origin of the terms. There are still valid, accepted, vernacular meanings. Understanding jargon means you need to understand the context that the speaker is using to determine what meaning they're using. Here, since "exponential" in the mathematic sense is clearly nonsense, you should conclude that that meaning is not the intended literal meaning. Human communication is about conveying the overall meaning in spite of the meaning of individual words. Language is imprecise because thoughts, opinions, and arguments are more complex and nuanced than the individual words we're forced to express them in can ever be. After all, think of diversity of the range of devices that can accurately be described as a "computer". Or how many different types of objects you could describe as a "cup" or a "table". These are common nouns for real, physical objects, and their meaning is fuzzy enough to cover dissimilar objects made of dissimilar materials that serve dissimilar purposes. And yet if I say to you "I put the cup on the table" you have sufficient information to know what has happened even though you and I have never met in person, we've never shared a conversation, and you've never seen my cup or my table (and, indeed, the cup and table you're imagining in your head almost certainly look nothing like my actual cup and table). So, yeah, that isn't what "exponential" means, but that sentence is not meaningless because of it.
- landryraccoon 8y ago
  That would be a reasonable assumption BUT if you read the OP’s reply below he explicitly gave a meaning that’s not what you inferred. So I think my observation was still fair.
- thfuran 8y ago
  >Human communication is about conveying the overall meaning in spite of the meaning of individual words. That really ought not be your goal.
  - Arbalest 8y ago
    All the poets, songwriters and comedians would have a collective heart attack if they were told they needed to use language like that.
- zaroth 8y ago
  “If da_chicken had more time, they would have written a shorter reply.”
  - da_chicken 8y ago
    Brevity may be the soul of wit, but wit alone is a poor teacher.
xkcd-sucks 8y ago
But when I say "supralinear" people call me a weenie

misterprime 8y ago

I'm guessing they meant "an order of magnitude higher".

whatshisface 8y ago

A suitable interpretation would be to say that "exponentially more" means a bigger number in the floating point/scientific notation exponent, so that it's a synonym of "order of magnitude."

sandworm101 8y ago

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/exponential https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/exponent... exponential definition: 1. An exponential rate of increase becomes quicker and quicker as the thing that increases becomes larger: So, ya. Tesla's product line is exponentially more expensive. Graph them together according to range/size etc, and you will see the exponential rise in the delta between the prices, the line representing chinese product line will diverge from that of the tesla product line exponentially.

da_chicken 8y ago

It's a rhetorical device like using "literal" even when something is meant in figurative terms. Specifically, it's hyperbole or exaggeration. It's one of the strengths of human language that we can infer meaning from context -- from connotation -- rather than purely relying on denotative meaning. By exaggerating factual reality of our statements, we imply the strength of our belief or emphasize the degree of the description we're making. Further, it's important to recognize that jargon does not supercede the vernacular meaning of a word. Just because you know what "exponential" is and how it differs from, say, "geometric" when referring to mathematics, this doesn't mean that the vernacular meanings of these words don't apply any longer. No, it doesn't matter that mathematics is the origin of the terms. There are still valid, accepted, vernacular meanings. Understanding jargon means you need to understand the context that the speaker is using to determine what meaning they're using. Here, since "exponential" in the mathematic sense is clearly nonsense, you should conclude that that meaning is not the intended literal meaning. Human communication is about conveying the overall meaning in spite of the meaning of individual words. Language is imprecise because thoughts, opinions, and arguments are more complex and nuanced than the individual words we're forced to express them in can ever be. After all, think of diversity of the range of devices that can accurately be described as a "computer". Or how many different types of objects you could describe as a "cup" or a "table". These are common nouns for real, physical objects, and their meaning is fuzzy enough to cover dissimilar objects made of dissimilar materials that serve dissimilar purposes. And yet if I say to you "I put the cup on the table" you have sufficient information to know what has happened even though you and I have never met in person, we've never shared a conversation, and you've never seen my cup or my table (and, indeed, the cup and table you're imagining in your head almost certainly look nothing like my actual cup and table). So, yeah, that isn't what "exponential" means, but that sentence is not meaningless because of it.

landryraccoon 8y ago
That would be a reasonable assumption BUT if you read the OP’s reply below he explicitly gave a meaning that’s not what you inferred. So I think my observation was still fair.
thfuran 8y ago
>Human communication is about conveying the overall meaning in spite of the meaning of individual words. That really ought not be your goal.
- Arbalest 8y ago
  All the poets, songwriters and comedians would have a collective heart attack if they were told they needed to use language like that.
zaroth 8y ago
“If da_chicken had more time, they would have written a shorter reply.”
- da_chicken 8y ago
  Brevity may be the soul of wit, but wit alone is a poor teacher.

xkcd-sucks 8y ago

But when I say "supralinear" people call me a weenie