2 ms·
I do think they're both important, but it's more important to me to clear up inaccuracies based on what people are trying to communicate, rather than the specif
by kerkeslager 7y ago
I do think they're both important, but it's more important to me to clear up inaccuracies based on what people are trying to communicate, rather than the specific words people are using.
For example, if the narrative were, "The S strain and the L strain aren't meaningfully different", would that be a concern? Sure, but not a big one. Sure, it makes no sense to call them "strains" if they aren't meaningfully different--that's a misuse of the word "strain". But the layperson would have the correct impression of the situation from that statement.
- s1artibartfast 7y agoI tend to disagree. I think that the layperson has a generally accurate understanding of the word strain in this context, namely, they are materially different. News stories about new strains pull attention for exactly this reason. The layperson would have the correct impression of "The S strain and the L strain aren't meaningfully different", but the wrong impression of nearly every other sentence starting with "The S strain and the L strain..."