4 ms·

"_Among_ the most important..."

by cjrp 2y ago

wussboy 2y ago
I’ll come in again…
Cheer2171 2y ago
well by that logic, every HN poster is _among_ the most important people in tech
- BadHumans 2y ago
  No, we really aren't.
  - Cheer2171 2y ago
    Of course not, that's my point. Phrasing it as "among the most important" is marketing doublespeak.
    - some_random 2y ago
      It can be, but that doesn't seem like a reasonable interpretation here at all. There can be (and is) a category of "most important" drug breakthroughs, which is one step above "important", two steps above "notable" etc. Ranking the breakthroughs within their category may be possible but would require a lot of arguing and term definitions, so instead we just say "among the most important".
    - arcticfox 2y ago
      It does seem like it's among the top 10-20 most important classes of drugs. Different than one among millions.
  - speed_spread 2y ago
    You say that, but the level of discussion here is much higher than most workplaces. It really helps to be able to make sense of what we do, to make the right choices not just technically but ethically. As a community-minded technologist, HN is among the most important resources _I_ have.
throwCursive 2y ago
You gotta love a hedge that removes all meaning from a sentence.
- some_random 2y ago
  It doesn't though, it's a common english expression to state that the object has extremely high value.
  - throwCursive 2y ago
    No, it's a common english expression to imply that while avoiding any accountability.
    - some_random 2y ago
      That's even more absurd. It's not about "avoiding accountability" it's about putting superlatives into proportion. Is it "avoiding accountability" for your friend to say that he's going to take you to one of his favorite restaurants in the city? Is it "avoiding accountability" for your boss to say that this is one of the most important applications to the business? Also, marketing departments don't usually do this, they just say "we're the best product in the market" and define best in some ambiguous way.

"_Among_ the most important..."

by cjrp 2y ago

"_Among_ the most important..."

wussboy 2y ago

I’ll come in again…

Cheer2171 2y ago

well by that logic, every HN poster is _among_ the most important people in tech

BadHumans 2y ago
No, we really aren't.
- Cheer2171 2y ago
  Of course not, that's my point. Phrasing it as "among the most important" is marketing doublespeak.
  - some_random 2y ago
    It can be, but that doesn't seem like a reasonable interpretation here at all. There can be (and is) a category of "most important" drug breakthroughs, which is one step above "important", two steps above "notable" etc. Ranking the breakthroughs within their category may be possible but would require a lot of arguing and term definitions, so instead we just say "among the most important".
  - arcticfox 2y ago
    It does seem like it's among the top 10-20 most important classes of drugs. Different than one among millions.
- speed_spread 2y ago
  You say that, but the level of discussion here is much higher than most workplaces. It really helps to be able to make sense of what we do, to make the right choices not just technically but ethically. As a community-minded technologist, HN is among the most important resources _I_ have.

throwCursive 2y ago

You gotta love a hedge that removes all meaning from a sentence.

some_random 2y ago
It doesn't though, it's a common english expression to state that the object has extremely high value.
- throwCursive 2y ago
  No, it's a common english expression to imply that while avoiding any accountability.
  - some_random 2y ago
    That's even more absurd. It's not about "avoiding accountability" it's about putting superlatives into proportion. Is it "avoiding accountability" for your friend to say that he's going to take you to one of his favorite restaurants in the city? Is it "avoiding accountability" for your boss to say that this is one of the most important applications to the business? Also, marketing departments don't usually do this, they just say "we're the best product in the market" and define best in some ambiguous way.