3 ms·

I wish people stopped using disparaging terms, especially in titles. I skimmed through the presentation and initially felt overwhelmed by the amount of heavy l

I wish people stopped using disparaging terms, especially in titles. I skimmed through the presentation and initially felt overwhelmed by the amount of heavy linear algebra going on in there. Now, that's not a criticism of the document itself – there's probably no way around that – but if I were to give up because of failing to understand the content, the corollary would be "I'm not even an idiot", and that really doesn't help anyone. If the title were "A guide to SVMs", it would be just as descriptive, while avoiding calling people names.

mayankkaizen 6y ago
OTOH, these kind of titles actually attract me to the articles in the areas I have very little clue about. They give me the impression that authors have introduced the subject matter in the most accessible ELI5 style.
therealcamino 6y ago
I had the same reaction, and then I remembered that series of books "The Complete Idiot's Guide To..." that was popular at the time. It's probably a reference to that, and intended as a joke given the background needed to understand the presentation. https://apnews.com/dd0d4d10c6ce8f698cb325a72ee82b97 https://apnews.com/dd0d4d10c6ce8f698cb325a72ee82b97
mumblemumble 6y ago
I've never liked the "idiot's guide" or "for dummies" thing, either. But, FWIW, keep in mind that this is a slide deck taken out of context. In context, it was probably being presented to an audience where a certain level of background knowledge could be more safely assumed. And, in context, it was probably being presented by a real live human. That means that there was a whole lot of more detailed explanation that is not available if you're just reading the deck. And also a human face to make any tongue-in-cheek bits (I'm guessing the title was meant to be at least a little bit irreverent) more apparent.

3 ms·

I wish people stopped using disparaging terms, especially in titles. I skimmed through the presentation and initially felt overwhelmed by the amount of heavy l

by nathell 6y ago

mayankkaizen 6y ago
OTOH, these kind of titles actually attract me to the articles in the areas I have very little clue about. They give me the impression that authors have introduced the subject matter in the most accessible ELI5 style.
therealcamino 6y ago
I had the same reaction, and then I remembered that series of books "The Complete Idiot's Guide To..." that was popular at the time. It's probably a reference to that, and intended as a joke given the background needed to understand the presentation. https://apnews.com/dd0d4d10c6ce8f698cb325a72ee82b97 https://apnews.com/dd0d4d10c6ce8f698cb325a72ee82b97
mumblemumble 6y ago
I've never liked the "idiot's guide" or "for dummies" thing, either. But, FWIW, keep in mind that this is a slide deck taken out of context. In context, it was probably being presented to an audience where a certain level of background knowledge could be more safely assumed. And, in context, it was probably being presented by a real live human. That means that there was a whole lot of more detailed explanation that is not available if you're just reading the deck. And also a human face to make any tongue-in-cheek bits (I'm guessing the title was meant to be at least a little bit irreverent) more apparent.