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This is a really fascinating case of words having a venacular meaning that become fuzzy out of their normal domain. Could the astronauts have gone back to Earth

This is a really fascinating case of words having a venacular meaning that become fuzzy out of their normal domain. Could the astronauts have gone back to Earth in an emergency? Yes. Did they have the freedom to leave earlier? Sortof but not really. Could NASA have paid SpaceX another $200 million for an extra mission to pick up in December/January? Probably. If your car breaks down a couple of miles from home and you call a friend and tell him you're stranded, are you lying? What if it's 20 miles away? But uber exists? What if uber is extremely expensive right now at $2000? But there's a guy next to you offering to sell you a bicycle? In the end, to ask the question "were they stranded?" we have to unpack "stranded" and figure out what is the question we actually want answered. Is it about the feelings of the astronauts? Their preferences? The danger level they're in? Is it about Boeing's culpability? Is it about whether we can safely call Trump a liar? Musk? The classic: https://www.readthesequences.com/Disguised-Queries https://www.readthesequences.com/Disguised-Queries

esskay 2y ago
This has the same flaw as the other person who replied to me. Using the car anology only works if you also say you've got another car following you at all times, fully fuled and capable of getting you home, in which case, no, you are not stranded. Stranded implies they cant get home. Not that it costs more, or is inconvenient. The litteral definition is "left without the means to move from somewhere".
- concordDance 2y ago
  I'm afraid you'll find far more non-literal uses of "stranded" than you will find literal ones if you looked at how humans actually use words. In fact, I'd be surprised if even 1 in 100 actual uses of the word in, say, 2023 matched the definition you've given. "Left by your friends in an empty car park? Well, there's technically an unlocked bicycle over there..."
  - esskay 2y ago
    I see this is a pointless conversation if we're now saying words don't mean what they mean. You do you.
    - concordDance 2y ago
      Words mean what people think they mean. People often mean slightly different (or very different!) things when using the same word. Often words are used non-literally. This all seemed too obvious to mention before now.

esskay 2y ago

This has the same flaw as the other person who replied to me. Using the car anology only works if you also say you've got another car following you at all times, fully fuled and capable of getting you home, in which case, no, you are not stranded. Stranded implies they cant get home. Not that it costs more, or is inconvenient. The litteral definition is "left without the means to move from somewhere".

concordDance 2y ago
I'm afraid you'll find far more non-literal uses of "stranded" than you will find literal ones if you looked at how humans actually use words. In fact, I'd be surprised if even 1 in 100 actual uses of the word in, say, 2023 matched the definition you've given. "Left by your friends in an empty car park? Well, there's technically an unlocked bicycle over there..."
- esskay 2y ago
  I see this is a pointless conversation if we're now saying words don't mean what they mean. You do you.
  - concordDance 2y ago
    Words mean what people think they mean. People often mean slightly different (or very different!) things when using the same word. Often words are used non-literally. This all seemed too obvious to mention before now.