3 ms·

What's the implication of this comment?

woodruffw 2y ago
It's an abbreviation meaning roughly "with the help of God." GP is either saying something neutral with respect to Chomsky's age or being snide. I'm not sure which.
- relaunched 2y ago
  My first thought was snide / next level anti-Semitic trolling. But, then I reminded myself that you shouldn't infer tone to comments online.
  - skissane 2y ago
    > My first thought was snide / next level anti-Semitic trolling Chomsky has been very critical of Israel, and as a result there are many pro-Israel people who strongly dislike him. So, while it isn’t impossible for Hebrew language trolling to be from an antisemite, my first thought would be it is from one of his pro-Israel critics
- euW3EeBe 2y ago
  Take a look at their comment history, and keep in mind that Chomsky has been openly critical of Israel for a long time.
  - woodruffw 2y ago
    That's why I wasn't sure which. Without that context, I could read it purely innocently (if a slightly weird choice). With it, it's probably snide, but who knows.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
zer00eyz 2y ago
There is a group of people who see Chomsky and his "school" as Alchemy and not "science". Minisky is one of his critics. The comment isnt saying anything other than "there is an alternative point of view".
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- defrost 2y ago
  The comment in question was edited. The original comment was simply ב"ה or בס״ד https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besiyata_Dishmaya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besiyata_Dishmaya
  - graphe 2y ago
    Is it like inshallah? https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/إن_شاء_الله https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/إن_شاء_الله > if it is God’s will (literally, “if God has willed [it]” >In sarcastic contexts, it suggests that the speaker has no interest in making the future event occur (thus, it will only occur if God steps in and wills it). Unlike the Arabic usage, this seems to be more attested in English than the literal meaning. I've heard it used in terms of avoiding the evil eye.
    - nsguy 2y ago
      In religious circles it's not uncommon to prefix each and every writing with that. It's very generic sort of implying god is everywhere. So in writing, in that context, it has no real special significance other than to hint the writer is religious. In some contexts Inshallah and "Bae Ezarat Hashem" could I guess have similar meanings. E.g. in the Wikipedia example: "I will visit my relatives in Riyadh this summer, God willing." it can be used exactly the same way.
      - aebtebeten 2y ago
        In the context of https://xkcd.com/2904/ https://xkcd.com/2904/ : Some languages have a distinct grammatical mood[0] for expressing wishes, curses, etc.: things that the speaker would like to pass but may or may not. (here are the dynamics, I think I've set the right initial conditions, but let's integrate them forward...) Other languages have a distinct grammatical mood[1] for expressing things that, as day follows night, are certain to happen: (here's the Lagrangian, and there's the attractor) In these senses, בס״ד could be viewed as a syntactic marker for the optative, somewhat like, but much shorter than, "forward-looking statements are provided to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand management’s beliefs and opinions in respect of the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor in evaluating an investment." [I am bitterly disappointed that זב"שך is outmoded] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optative_mood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optative_mood [1] in HWC (alas, it has no wikipedia!), "bumbai" can be used for prophecy: "You stay X, bumbai Y" is IIUC: "if you continue to do X, Y shall come to pass." Lagniappe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin#/media/File:Hawaii_Pidgin_crop.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin#/media/File:Ha...
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

It's an abbreviation meaning roughly "with the help of God." GP is either saying something neutral with respect to Chomsky's age or being snide. I'm not sure which.

relaunched 2y ago
My first thought was snide / next level anti-Semitic trolling. But, then I reminded myself that you shouldn't infer tone to comments online.
- skissane 2y ago
  > My first thought was snide / next level anti-Semitic trolling Chomsky has been very critical of Israel, and as a result there are many pro-Israel people who strongly dislike him. So, while it isn’t impossible for Hebrew language trolling to be from an antisemite, my first thought would be it is from one of his pro-Israel critics
euW3EeBe 2y ago
Take a look at their comment history, and keep in mind that Chomsky has been openly critical of Israel for a long time.
- woodruffw 2y ago
  That's why I wasn't sure which. Without that context, I could read it purely innocently (if a slightly weird choice). With it, it's probably snide, but who knows.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

zer00eyz 2y ago

There is a group of people who see Chomsky and his "school" as Alchemy and not "science". Minisky is one of his critics. The comment isnt saying anything other than "there is an alternative point of view".

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
defrost 2y ago
The comment in question was edited. The original comment was simply ב"ה or בס״ד https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besiyata_Dishmaya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besiyata_Dishmaya
- graphe 2y ago
  Is it like inshallah? https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/إن_شاء_الله https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/إن_شاء_الله > if it is God’s will (literally, “if God has willed [it]” >In sarcastic contexts, it suggests that the speaker has no interest in making the future event occur (thus, it will only occur if God steps in and wills it). Unlike the Arabic usage, this seems to be more attested in English than the literal meaning. I've heard it used in terms of avoiding the evil eye.
  - nsguy 2y ago
    In religious circles it's not uncommon to prefix each and every writing with that. It's very generic sort of implying god is everywhere. So in writing, in that context, it has no real special significance other than to hint the writer is religious. In some contexts Inshallah and "Bae Ezarat Hashem" could I guess have similar meanings. E.g. in the Wikipedia example: "I will visit my relatives in Riyadh this summer, God willing." it can be used exactly the same way.
    - aebtebeten 2y ago
      In the context of https://xkcd.com/2904/ https://xkcd.com/2904/ : Some languages have a distinct grammatical mood[0] for expressing wishes, curses, etc.: things that the speaker would like to pass but may or may not. (here are the dynamics, I think I've set the right initial conditions, but let's integrate them forward...) Other languages have a distinct grammatical mood[1] for expressing things that, as day follows night, are certain to happen: (here's the Lagrangian, and there's the attractor) In these senses, בס״ד could be viewed as a syntactic marker for the optative, somewhat like, but much shorter than, "forward-looking statements are provided to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand management’s beliefs and opinions in respect of the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor in evaluating an investment." [I am bitterly disappointed that זב"שך is outmoded] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optative_mood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optative_mood [1] in HWC (alas, it has no wikipedia!), "bumbai" can be used for prophecy: "You stay X, bumbai Y" is IIUC: "if you continue to do X, Y shall come to pass." Lagniappe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin#/media/File:Hawaii_Pidgin_crop.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin#/media/File:Ha...

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]