3 ms·

Anything you can already easily do is easy. You are correct. It’s a pointless statement, which is my point, but it is correct.

• jacobolus 4y ago
  For someone who is fluent, an “easier” learner’s tool is often more cumbersome and less pleasant to use than the original tool. For example, instead of learning to use general-purpose kitchen knives you could buy a bunch of specialized kitchen gadgets: scallion-cutting scissors, a garlic peeler, a garlic dicer, an asparagus peeler, a strawberry stem remover, a bell pepper seed remover, a tomato slicer, a bread guillotine, an egg slicer, a banana slicer, etc. (these are real devices, not jokes). For a total novice or someone with a severe disability, these might be “easier” than just using a knife or two for the same job. But for someone who is fluent with 2–3 basic knives, these jobs are all faster, easier, and more effective to do with a knife than with the purpose-built tool; each gadget also has very limited utility and wastes space when not in use. Can you see how the unqualified statement “a banana slicer is easier to use than a chef’s knife” could also be considered misleading?