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I have to say: It's really annoying that some idiot who wrote a book in the 90's has resulted in everyone redefining "nice", when they should have invented a ne
by BeetleB 2y ago
I have to say: It's really annoying that some idiot who wrote a book in the 90's has resulted in everyone redefining "nice", when they should have invented a new word.
As far as the English language goes, what you define as "kind" is also "nice".
- olddustytrail 2y agoConsidering how many different things "nice" has meant over the past few hundred years, I doubt one more meaning will make a difference!
- codelikeawolf 2y agoWell, unfortunately nobody did invent a new word. Considering a cursory search of the definitions of both words: Kind: of a sympathetic or helpful nature Nice: pleasing, agreeable I would argue that they are actually different.
- ffsm8 2y agoI think you're misunderstanding the point they were making. The given example for nice > nice would be to let the person working for you continue to perform poorly without feedback, being "nice" to them, but privately considering them incompetent. Is actually being hypocritical, not nice. The nice person would still tell the under performing person what's what, they'd just not be rude about it. You can also create a scenario in which being kind becomes detrimental if taken to the extreme. However, the author of that book decided that being nice was bad, and being kind was good. This understandably continues to annoy people when this frankly dumb definition is brought up.
- mgh2 2y agoMost people are nice (convention, norm, culture, etc.) to conform to a set of rules, being kind is the exception to the rule.
- BeetleB 2y agoYet another faulty categorization and coopting - this time of both words. Kind is only the exception to the norm if you're in a crappy culture. In some places the ethic is such that kindness is the norm.
- dingnuts 2y agothere's already a word for using a specific type of soft language regardless as to intent, and it's "polite" don't know why we need to quibble about the meaning of "nice" or invent a new word when polite will do politeness, unlike kindness or niceness, has no implication of intent, only tone, which is what's trying to be conveyed
- BeetleB 2y agoMerriam Webster literally lists "kind" as one of the definitions of nice. The point is that nice is a pretty broad term. It can mean agreeable but that's merely one use of the word. You can be nice and not agreeable.
- ThrowawayR2 2y agoThe comment above and a recollection of the sub-title of Pratchett & Gaiman's Good Omens prompted me to look up the etymology of "nice" and it seems that it has had a surprising number of unrelated meanings: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/nice-multiple-meanings https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/nice-multiple-meani.... Maybe that's not the right word to object to regarding changes in its meaning.
- BeetleB 2y agoI get that it has multiple meanings. And others should get that if someone is a nice guy he's probably not like the archetype in that book.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]