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Why do people use this tired old cliche. Surely it's not heisenberg debugging to come up with something other than rocket science (or brain surgery?)

• kiiski 16y ago
  Because people don't know what "heisenberg debugging" (or whatever you use) is? After all, your primary objective is not to be original, but to be understood.
  • zecho 16y ago
    Right, it's a figurative expression for a reason. There's a balance where the listener/reader must understand the literal sense of the phrase to understanding the rhetorical meaning. If the listener/reader doesn't understand "heisenberg debugging" in any relevant context, they can't easily find the second meaning in the figure of speech. I'd go so far as arguing that figures of speech need to approach cliche entirely because of this necessity. It's not rocket science.
  • VB6_Foreverr 16y ago
    Point taken. What people should say is "it's easy" or "it's not difficult".
    • burgerbrain 16y ago
      Continue with that line of reasoning very far at all and you'll be left with something that lacks any flavor or passion. Something very close to Newspeak. What people should say is what they already say. English doesn't have a central authority, it's defined by common usage.