4 ms·
I suspect there is more at play here than activism. In many 3rd World places you must conceal/hide surveillance cameras because they are a valuable asset worth
by diego_moita 2mo ago
I suspect there is more at play here than activism.
In many 3rd World places you must conceal/hide surveillance cameras because they are a valuable asset worth stealing.
- mohamedkoubaa 2mo agoPSA: third world means non-aligned in the cold war. It's use in 2026 is meaningless at best.
- funvill 2mo agoToday I learned something new. Thank you
- Eueudhsbsj32 2mo agoThe use and meaning of words shift over time. Today, third world just means less developed.
- mohamedkoubaa 2mo agoIn 1995 it meant that. Today it is meaningless
- john_strinlai 2mo ago>It's use in 2026 is meaningless at best. not really. the word has evolved enough that dictionaries and wikipedia acknowledge the common-day usage of "underdeveloped"
- mohamedkoubaa 2mo agoWikipedia and dictionaries are wrong. It has a different usage than "underdeveloped" and that usage at best doesn't have a clear meaning, and at worst does have a clear derogatory meaning
- john_strinlai 2mo ago>Wikipedia and dictionaries are wrong. sorry, but no one is taking some random HN user's definition over established dictionaries on what a word means. perhaps you can convince enough people that the word will evolve into whatever you imagine it to mean, and then the dictionaries will be updated to match.
- mohamedkoubaa 2mo agoThe dictionary is an attempt at systematically defining the semantic meaning of language subject to cultural constraints in the same way that a writing system is an attempt at visually rendering a spoken language subject to technological constraints. I know from personal experience that the people who work on dictionaries have a less authoritative view about them than you do.
- john_strinlai 2mo agodictionaries and common usage (e.g. wikipedia, forums, news, etc.) are certainly more authoritative than a random person unilaterally deciding that a word has no meaning and declaring "dictionaries and wikipedia are wrong" if you poll 100 random english speakers and the majority come back saying that they have no idea what "third world" means, or say that the term is meaningless, i will concede and donate $1,000 to a charity of your choice.
- mohamedkoubaa 2mo agoI stated what is very obviously an opinion and never claimed to be an authority
- john_strinlai 2mo agoit is very unusual to share an opinion by starting with 'public service announcement' and despite not explicitly claiming authority, when you declare normal authorities (dictionaries, wikipedia) as well as other commenters unequivocally wrong, you are implicitly claiming authority