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> put a midget in the machine Please don't use this phrase. I'm sure you don't mean it badly, just a reminder.
by flerovium 5y ago
> put a midget in the machine
Please don't use this phrase.
I'm sure you don't mean it badly, just a reminder.
- burnished 5y agoI got less than I would have expected searching on that phrase. Is 'midget' the problem word here?
- marricks 5y agoI've known a few people less than 5' high and it is never an appreciated word.
- 8note 5y agoThe whole phrase is the problem. Impyig that it's okay to put a "midget" in a bad situation to cover your own failings
- burnished 5y agoI thought the point of the phrase was that you had fucked up?
- throwaway2037 5y agoZero trolling. I'm not here to start a Wokeness Holy War. I understand and appreciate the sentiment of your post. Would it be OK to say "put a little/small person in the machine"? If not, please kindly suggest a better replacement so that we can learn. :)
- denton-scratch 5y agoA demon? Nobody ever accused Maxwell of being unwoke (yet).
- flerovium 5y agoNow that's technical debt!
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- ssully 5y agoI think the solution is to find an analogy that doesn't hinge on using a person with a disability.
- tshaddox 5y agoI’ve personally never heard the phrase before, so I would question whether it’s so crucial to the conversation that it needs a replacement. It’s not even clear what it means. From context I can gather that it means “do something desperate to try to complete a software development task before a deadline.”
- ianmcgowan 5y agoI took it as a reference to the Mechanical Turk, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_Turk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_Turk, cheating by including a clever human literally inside your machine in that case...
- 8note 5y agoExplicitly referencing the mechanical Turk would be better, and a bit more explicit on the approach. I think the actual reference might be to a Calvin and Hobbes strip, but adding that it's a little person in the atm vs just a person -- an unnecessary addition.
- marricks 5y ago> The word “midget” was never coined as the official term to identify people with dwarfism, but was created as a label used to refer to people of short stature who were on public display for curiosity and sport. Today, the word “midget” is considered a derogatory slur. The dwarfism community has voiced that they prefer to be referred to as dwarfs, little people, people of short stature or having dwarfism, or simply, and most preferably, by their given name. > When we surveyed our community about the usage and overall impact of the word “midget”, over 90% of our members surveyed stated that the word should never be used in reference to a person with dwarfism. From https://www.lpaonline.org/the-m-word https://www.lpaonline.org/the-m-word which is a dwarfism organization. But as other comments stated it's best to not hinge your metaphors on ridiculing others. For many people there is one characteristic that strangers always notice or call them out on and seeing that trait brought up in odd metaphors or jokes would likely feel off.
- delecti 5y agoI don't think any meaning or impact of your post is lost if you just swap in "hamster wheel".
- soledades 5y agoGoblin?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- crispyambulance 5y agoYes, I did not intend to be offensive, but you're right. I regret that now.