3 ms·
The word may is such a powerful tool for writing headlines, not to mention making consequence-free predictions. You're not saying something will or won't happen
by karaterobot 4y ago
The word may is such a powerful tool for writing headlines, not to mention making consequence-free predictions. You're not saying something will or won't happen, and the universe is a strange place — hey, you never know!
Another powerful technology is the phrase up to when describing levels of service ("kills up to 99.9% of germs", "speeds of up to 200 Mbps"). Just means you are guaranteed not to get 201 megabits, or kill all the germs.
- 3d3456 4y ago> The word may is such a powerful tool for writing headlines It's the sneaky workaround to betteridge's law. "Will Humanity Reach Singularity Within 7 Years?" becomes "Humanity may reach...". "Will an asteroid destroy humanity in 2023?" becomes "Asteroid may destroy ..." I can't decide which I hate more.
- AnimalMuppet 4y agoThere's one thing even worse: "Up to X, or even more!" Yeah, thanks for telling me exactly nothing - not even a hard upper limit.