4 ms·

There are a couple that I use pretty regularly even outside of tech that result in weird looks from people because I didn't realize it's not part of the common

There are a couple that I use pretty regularly even outside of tech that result in weird looks from people because I didn't realize it's not part of the common vernacular: 1. orthogonal - "Well, this issue is orthogonal to that issue" 2. impedance mismatch - "I think we have a bit of an impedance mismatch here. We want this but all we have is that."

elwell 5y ago
"orthogonal" to me is HN-speak. I always feel annoying when I use it.
jmfldn 5y ago
Orthogonal often seems to be used in place of "unrelated" but deployed by the person to make what they're saying sound cleverer than it really is since they've used maths terminology!
- Spivak 5y ago
  I use orthogonal specifically to say that two or more things can be changed independently without affecting the others. I don't think unrelated carries that connotation with how people actually use it. I've never actually met someone who uses unrelated to mean "the absence of relations" literally. Maybe it should but I won't get too broken up about it as a language descriptivist.
  - jmfldn 5y ago
    Perhaps, that's just been my impression at least in some cases I've seen. It has its valid usages I'm sure.
- BeetleB 5y ago
  Not really. It's a culture thing. In certain tech fields, (in academia), the concept of orthogonality is important. Hang out with those crowds and they'll use "orthogonal" in their day to day usage all the time. To them it's not a fancier version of "unrelated". It's at the same level.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- jozvolskyef 5y ago
  I just tried searching HN for occurrences of "is orthogonal", and it does seem that most uses would be better served with "unrelated". In some cases, however, orthogonal sounds more appropriate, and the reason are the geometric associations that it evokes. For example in the sentence "Having chip/pin is orthogonal to the card being a credit or debit card", orthogonal evokes the image of a contingency table where all the cells are non-zero. The word "unrelated" doesn't have the same effect despite being synonymous.
- dilyevsky 5y ago
  Kind of like people using big-O notation when talking about constant numbers
- brianmcc 5y ago
  This may well be true, but it can also be an accurate and succinct word for "related to the bigger picture but a separate conversation". E.g. performance and security of the system both relate to that system but each dimension can be worked on or discussed without necessarily impacting the other. Our team uses it quite organically and humbly (and not excessively) but yes it absolutely is a candidate for use in an affected manner rather than a genuine one.
pattisapu 5y ago
At the Supreme Court a lawyer once said something was "entirely orthogonal" to the main issue. Chief Justice Roberts: “I’m sorry. Entirely what?” “Orthogonal,” the lawyer replied. “Right angle. Unrelated. Irrelevant.” Justice Scalia: “What was that adjective? I liked that." “I think we should use that in the opinion,” Scalia later added. “Or the dissent,” said Roberts. https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_word_of_the_day_orthogonal https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_word_o...
lordgrenville 5y ago
A related one I've heard lately (from VC "thought leader" types) is modulo in non-numeric contexts.
- dctoedt 5y ago
  "Modulo" is itself part of the techie idiom, no?
- a9h74j 5y ago
  I remember years ago, probably in physics circles, hearing modulo [this or that other consideration] . Disregarding. Edit: Live quote. Most recent Scott Locklin: A friend of mine tested positive for ‘rona antibodies; he felt a bit run down and wondered if he had been exposed. He had been (modulo false positives).
BrandoElFollito 5y ago
I use orthogonal in a negative sense "what you do is orthogonal to the strategy". Looks like everyone has their own interpretation of these tells.
BeetleB 5y ago
It's interesting how I've heard "impedance mismatch" used much more often than "orthogonal" - even though the latter has much wider applicability in various disciplines. Impedance mismatch is a very specific term in high frequency circuits. Orthogonality is relevant anywhere you use vector spaces (including linear algebra, real analysis, PDEs, etc).
denton-scratch 5y ago
I've tried to use "orthogonal" in a vernacular context a few times, on each occasion causing wrinkled brows. It's not tech jargon, it's a perfectly good word. OK, maybe it's really maths jargon?

elwell 5y ago

"orthogonal" to me is HN-speak. I always feel annoying when I use it.

jmfldn 5y ago

Orthogonal often seems to be used in place of "unrelated" but deployed by the person to make what they're saying sound cleverer than it really is since they've used maths terminology!

Spivak 5y ago
I use orthogonal specifically to say that two or more things can be changed independently without affecting the others. I don't think unrelated carries that connotation with how people actually use it. I've never actually met someone who uses unrelated to mean "the absence of relations" literally. Maybe it should but I won't get too broken up about it as a language descriptivist.
- jmfldn 5y ago
  Perhaps, that's just been my impression at least in some cases I've seen. It has its valid usages I'm sure.
BeetleB 5y ago
Not really. It's a culture thing. In certain tech fields, (in academia), the concept of orthogonality is important. Hang out with those crowds and they'll use "orthogonal" in their day to day usage all the time. To them it's not a fancier version of "unrelated". It's at the same level.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
jozvolskyef 5y ago
I just tried searching HN for occurrences of "is orthogonal", and it does seem that most uses would be better served with "unrelated". In some cases, however, orthogonal sounds more appropriate, and the reason are the geometric associations that it evokes. For example in the sentence "Having chip/pin is orthogonal to the card being a credit or debit card", orthogonal evokes the image of a contingency table where all the cells are non-zero. The word "unrelated" doesn't have the same effect despite being synonymous.
dilyevsky 5y ago
Kind of like people using big-O notation when talking about constant numbers
brianmcc 5y ago
This may well be true, but it can also be an accurate and succinct word for "related to the bigger picture but a separate conversation". E.g. performance and security of the system both relate to that system but each dimension can be worked on or discussed without necessarily impacting the other. Our team uses it quite organically and humbly (and not excessively) but yes it absolutely is a candidate for use in an affected manner rather than a genuine one.

pattisapu 5y ago

At the Supreme Court a lawyer once said something was "entirely orthogonal" to the main issue. Chief Justice Roberts: “I’m sorry. Entirely what?” “Orthogonal,” the lawyer replied. “Right angle. Unrelated. Irrelevant.” Justice Scalia: “What was that adjective? I liked that." “I think we should use that in the opinion,” Scalia later added. “Or the dissent,” said Roberts. https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_word_of_the_day_orthogonal https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_word_o...

lordgrenville 5y ago

A related one I've heard lately (from VC "thought leader" types) is modulo in non-numeric contexts.

dctoedt 5y ago
"Modulo" is itself part of the techie idiom, no?
a9h74j 5y ago
I remember years ago, probably in physics circles, hearing modulo [this or that other consideration] . Disregarding. Edit: Live quote. Most recent Scott Locklin: A friend of mine tested positive for ‘rona antibodies; he felt a bit run down and wondered if he had been exposed. He had been (modulo false positives).

BrandoElFollito 5y ago

I use orthogonal in a negative sense "what you do is orthogonal to the strategy". Looks like everyone has their own interpretation of these tells.

BeetleB 5y ago

It's interesting how I've heard "impedance mismatch" used much more often than "orthogonal" - even though the latter has much wider applicability in various disciplines. Impedance mismatch is a very specific term in high frequency circuits. Orthogonality is relevant anywhere you use vector spaces (including linear algebra, real analysis, PDEs, etc).

denton-scratch 5y ago

I've tried to use "orthogonal" in a vernacular context a few times, on each occasion causing wrinkled brows. It's not tech jargon, it's a perfectly good word. OK, maybe it's really maths jargon?