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Similarly, one should never state that something is "obvious". I catch myself sometimes starting a sentence with "Obviously," and usually stop myself at that p

by wdfx 3y ago

Similarly, one should never state that something is "obvious". I catch myself sometimes starting a sentence with "Obviously," and usually stop myself at that point and restart.

BiteCode_dev 3y ago
True, there is no such thing as a concept been obvious to everybody. Feyman has this great bit in his biography where he tackles mathematicians that keep saying in their demonstration that a step is trivial.
Fnoord 3y ago
Clearly, there are other words which sound condescending. Reading text (documentation, for example) is more enjoyable when it inspires one's curiosity instead of belittling them on things which are simple, easy, obvious, clear, etc. Although humor helps, makes it stick.
- wongarsu 3y ago
  > Clearly, there are other words which sound condescending. Well played. You start with a synonym for obviously, but pointing that out just proves your point. Maybe there are some sentences that can justifiably start with obviously, clearly, etc after all
opan 3y ago
I often reply back quietly or in my head "obviously" with a bit of a laugh when I hear it used. It usually sounds absurd and unnecessary and takes me out of what was being said.
Semaphor 3y ago
"Obviously" will always remind me of math classes in university. Sometimes the professor would use it as a joke, sometimes they used it normally while still stumping everyone else.
adolph 3y ago
At first I agreed with you in that my spouse had a negative response to me referring to a particular person, method, place or thing as “famous” when she was not aware of the person. I’ve learned to omit it or say “well known in some circles” or the like. On the other hand, maybe these phrases like “simply” or “obviously”are less-than-consciously used on the part of the speaker/writer to acknowledge that this reference may already be known to the listener/reader. In that it reminds me of various England-Englishisms that mean the opposite of their plain definitions.
runeks 3y ago
> Similarly, one should never state that something is "obvious". Agreed. Logically speaking, if something is obvious, why are you wasting time stating it? Either you've wasted everyone's time or it wasn't obvious.

by wdfx 3y ago

Similarly, one should never state that something is "obvious". I catch myself sometimes starting a sentence with "Obviously," and usually stop myself at that point and restart.

BiteCode_dev 3y ago

True, there is no such thing as a concept been obvious to everybody. Feyman has this great bit in his biography where he tackles mathematicians that keep saying in their demonstration that a step is trivial.

Fnoord 3y ago

Clearly, there are other words which sound condescending. Reading text (documentation, for example) is more enjoyable when it inspires one's curiosity instead of belittling them on things which are simple, easy, obvious, clear, etc. Although humor helps, makes it stick.

wongarsu 3y ago
> Clearly, there are other words which sound condescending. Well played. You start with a synonym for obviously, but pointing that out just proves your point. Maybe there are some sentences that can justifiably start with obviously, clearly, etc after all

opan 3y ago

I often reply back quietly or in my head "obviously" with a bit of a laugh when I hear it used. It usually sounds absurd and unnecessary and takes me out of what was being said.

Semaphor 3y ago

"Obviously" will always remind me of math classes in university. Sometimes the professor would use it as a joke, sometimes they used it normally while still stumping everyone else.

adolph 3y ago

At first I agreed with you in that my spouse had a negative response to me referring to a particular person, method, place or thing as “famous” when she was not aware of the person. I’ve learned to omit it or say “well known in some circles” or the like. On the other hand, maybe these phrases like “simply” or “obviously”are less-than-consciously used on the part of the speaker/writer to acknowledge that this reference may already be known to the listener/reader. In that it reminds me of various England-Englishisms that mean the opposite of their plain definitions.

runeks 3y ago

> Similarly, one should never state that something is "obvious". Agreed. Logically speaking, if something is obvious, why are you wasting time stating it? Either you've wasted everyone's time or it wasn't obvious.