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Technically words can have more than one meaning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb#Thumb_and_fingers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb#Thumb_and_fingers

Technically words can have more than one meaning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb#Thumb_and_fingers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb#Thumb_and_fingers Colloquially, for many (most?) English speakers, the thumb is a finger: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=4+fingers%2C5+fingers%2C8+fingers%2C10+fingers&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2C4%20fingers%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C5%20fingers%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C8%20fingers%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C10%20fingers%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=4+fingers%2C5+... A strawberry is a berry. I don't care if biologists or botanists or whoever use a narrower technical definition in their research papers. The colloquial definition is just as valid. Prescriptivism-by-authority can take a hike. Yes, I will die on this hill. https://imgur.com/gallery/pfEnXNT https://imgur.com/gallery/pfEnXNT

CyberRabbi 6y ago
Yes words can have any meaning at all. Also War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength. Edit: this is a 1984 reference for those who aren’t familiar with that book or haven’t read it.
- _Microft 6y ago
  From your user page: "My name is actually CyberRabbit. I made a typo when I made this account and HN won’t let me edit my user name." There is no user "CyberRabbit" by the way, maybe dang would rename your account if you ask him?
  - CyberRabbi 6y ago
    Yes he offered but I don’t use email and cannot contact him that way.
    - CyberRabbit 6y ago
      It's too late now anyway
      - jacquesm 6y ago
        hehe.
      - dotancohen 6y ago
        That was actually pretty mean.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
    - skinnymuch 6y ago
      I’m not sure which way your email joke is going. Is it poking fun at some HNers who go out of their way not to use common services or devices, or, are you joking that changing your username isn’t worth any effort? Edit: oh. Likely a 1984 reference. Never mind now. Leaving comment as it is though
      - CyberRabbi 6y ago
        I’m not sure why people in this thread keep thinking my comments are jokes. What is causing that? I literally do not use email.
        wtallis 6y ago
        A lot of what you're saying is hard to take seriously, because it's just plain bizarre. A complete refusal to use email for any purpose is pretty unusual to begin with, and even more so for a participant on a technical forum like this. Publicly complaining about the consequences of that decision is another layer of strange behavior. It seems like you're putting a lot of effort into not communicating effectively, so you really should expect people to have trouble taking your statements at face value.
        CyberRabbi 6y ago
        > A complete refusal to use email for any purpose is pretty unusual to begin with I don’t know if I would say I “refuse” to use email. I simply opt not to because I am privacy conscious. I also do not browse the web with cookies or JavaScript enabled. If that’s “bizarre” to you well then I guess I am a bizarre person but I deserve a bare minimum of respect just as all humans do. > Publicly complaining about the consequences of that decision is another layer of strange behavior. I literally never complained about anything. Someone else initiated a question at me about my communication with dang and I shared the results of that communication. I am not bothered at all by not being able to request a name change nor have I ever expressed resentment towards anyone for not being able to request a name change. My screen name is not very important to me. I feel like I am being unfairly judged here.
- greenshackle2 6y ago
  I get the reference, but it seems like either a non-sequitur or a joke I'm not getting.
  - CyberRabbi 6y ago
    It’s not a non-sequitor nor a joke, the point is to highlight the danger of linguistic relativism. If we dismiss the idea that words must follow some standard meanings, things we value can be gradually shifted into weapons of oppression.
    - greenshackle2 6y ago
      And who decides what these standard meanings are?
      - CyberRabbi 6y ago
        It doesn’t matter who decides, it only matters that a decision has been made and that is it respected and enforced. Generally academics and/or intellectuals edit dictionaries
    - soldehierro 6y ago
      You're seriously overthinking this. Descriptivism isn't some plot to twist our cherished language, it just describes the language as it is currently used by speakers.
      - CyberRabbi 6y ago
        I believe there needs to be serious limits on the ability of “descriptivists” to condone divergent meanings of words. Within reason it is fine to describe new slightly expanded uses of words but wholesale accepting that word meanings can change arbitrarily in principle seems harmful to the maintenance of the integrity and quality of our language. For example, many people dislike HOAs but neighborhoods with HOAs maintain a certain level of quality, while neighborhoods without HOAs have quality levels across the board, including very bad.

CyberRabbi 6y ago

Yes words can have any meaning at all. Also War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength. Edit: this is a 1984 reference for those who aren’t familiar with that book or haven’t read it.

_Microft 6y ago
From your user page: "My name is actually CyberRabbit. I made a typo when I made this account and HN won’t let me edit my user name." There is no user "CyberRabbit" by the way, maybe dang would rename your account if you ask him?
- CyberRabbi 6y ago
  Yes he offered but I don’t use email and cannot contact him that way.
  - CyberRabbit 6y ago
    It's too late now anyway
    - jacquesm 6y ago
      hehe.
    - dotancohen 6y ago
      That was actually pretty mean.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - skinnymuch 6y ago
    I’m not sure which way your email joke is going. Is it poking fun at some HNers who go out of their way not to use common services or devices, or, are you joking that changing your username isn’t worth any effort? Edit: oh. Likely a 1984 reference. Never mind now. Leaving comment as it is though
    - CyberRabbi 6y ago
      I’m not sure why people in this thread keep thinking my comments are jokes. What is causing that? I literally do not use email.
      - wtallis 6y ago
        A lot of what you're saying is hard to take seriously, because it's just plain bizarre. A complete refusal to use email for any purpose is pretty unusual to begin with, and even more so for a participant on a technical forum like this. Publicly complaining about the consequences of that decision is another layer of strange behavior. It seems like you're putting a lot of effort into not communicating effectively, so you really should expect people to have trouble taking your statements at face value.
        CyberRabbi 6y ago
        > A complete refusal to use email for any purpose is pretty unusual to begin with I don’t know if I would say I “refuse” to use email. I simply opt not to because I am privacy conscious. I also do not browse the web with cookies or JavaScript enabled. If that’s “bizarre” to you well then I guess I am a bizarre person but I deserve a bare minimum of respect just as all humans do. > Publicly complaining about the consequences of that decision is another layer of strange behavior. I literally never complained about anything. Someone else initiated a question at me about my communication with dang and I shared the results of that communication. I am not bothered at all by not being able to request a name change nor have I ever expressed resentment towards anyone for not being able to request a name change. My screen name is not very important to me. I feel like I am being unfairly judged here.
greenshackle2 6y ago
I get the reference, but it seems like either a non-sequitur or a joke I'm not getting.
- CyberRabbi 6y ago
  It’s not a non-sequitor nor a joke, the point is to highlight the danger of linguistic relativism. If we dismiss the idea that words must follow some standard meanings, things we value can be gradually shifted into weapons of oppression.
  - greenshackle2 6y ago
    And who decides what these standard meanings are?
    - CyberRabbi 6y ago
      It doesn’t matter who decides, it only matters that a decision has been made and that is it respected and enforced. Generally academics and/or intellectuals edit dictionaries
  - soldehierro 6y ago
    You're seriously overthinking this. Descriptivism isn't some plot to twist our cherished language, it just describes the language as it is currently used by speakers.
    - CyberRabbi 6y ago
      I believe there needs to be serious limits on the ability of “descriptivists” to condone divergent meanings of words. Within reason it is fine to describe new slightly expanded uses of words but wholesale accepting that word meanings can change arbitrarily in principle seems harmful to the maintenance of the integrity and quality of our language. For example, many people dislike HOAs but neighborhoods with HOAs maintain a certain level of quality, while neighborhoods without HOAs have quality levels across the board, including very bad.