5 ms·

Hanlon's razor, or in Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774): "...misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and mali

Hanlon's razor, or in Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774): "...misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent." The same box, in dimensions, was used for the ASUS VivoTab Smart [0], Dell XPS 10 [1], HP ENVY x2 [2], and Microsoft Surface RT [3]. WTF lies!?!? Nay, the page designer was probably just neglectful -- eyeballed or baselined each iteration from a single, different model. Also, every screen manufacturer or advertising will speak towards the diagonal length, where the VivoTab has a lengthier, "bigger" screen. [0] http://res2.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/274c5367-1fbb-43b6-aada-fa24829ca97d_10.png http://res2.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/... [1] http://res1.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/8180388a-dfce-4a93-8097-d0b25852ea70_10.png http://res1.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/... [2] http://res2.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/3b34067b-7685-4fba-abfc-d93ed7aefb20_10.png http://res2.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/... [3] http://res2.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/4db5bb15-2b36-42f8-93d4-fd33e68323be_10.png http://res2.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/6.2/2012-win8ga/...

redblacktree 13y ago
However, they do flat-out lie in the text. > At the bottom, Microsoft writes, "The ASUS VivoTab Smart is lighter than the iPad, has a bigger touchscreen...". False. It does not have a "bigger touchscreen".
- recursive 13y ago
  It depends how you define "bigger". There is arguably some good-faith definition of "bigger" for which it's true. (like diagonal measurement)
  - redblacktree 13y ago
    I'm sure that their lawyers would argue that. I think that a reasonable person comparing screen sizes would be interested in area, not diagonal length.
    - jwoah12 13y ago
      I disagree. Screen sizes are always quoted in diagonal length. edit: Not to say that it is unreasonable to think of screen size as area, but I think it is also reasonable to think in diagonal length, since that is the way monitors and TVs are generally advertised.
      - milkshakes 13y ago
        The fact screen sizes are quoted in diagonal length does not contradict the assertion that reasonable people are more concerned with screen area.
        kenjackson 13y ago
        I disagree. I think people SHOULD be more concerned with screen area, but generally aren't. No one really reports screen area. I can tell you the diagonal off the top of my head of most hero phones, but I couldn't tell you the screen area. In general the same could be said for TVs and Monitors. It's a hard explanation to give to most people: "Yes, our diagonal is larger, but due to the aspect ratio, the total area available for the screen is actually smaller." We get this on HN, but I guarantee that this would not make things substantially less complex for most people. That said, they should have asterisk'ed it.
        pessimizer 13y ago
        You didn't disagree with the comment that you replied to, which said that the fact screen sizes are quoted in diagonal length does not contradict the assertion that reasonable people are more concerned with screen area. You're just making a different assertion.
        thezilch 13y ago
        Well, no one has asserted facts, only that "reasonable people" care about area, despite no screens being marketed that way. Nonetheless, MS has changed their imagery and copy, and reasonable people will buy these products no more or less than the previous revision -- probably more.
  - snogglethorpe 13y ago
    > It depends how you define "bigger" Hmm, it has bigger pixels ... :]
  - wtallis 13y ago
    The unambiguously correct term they could have used if they were truly trying to tout their product in good faith is "wider". Calling it "bigger" when only one dimension is bigger and the other dimension and the area and resolution are lower is stretching the limits of good-faith. It looks like a deliberate use of an ambiguity to imply something untrue, and no, the marketing people don't deserve the benefit of the doubt that they might not have understood the difference between diagonal measurement and area measurement.
- biot 13y ago
  So an 8 foot ladder which has rungs 24 inches wide is bigger than a 12 foot ladder which has rungs 15 inches wide?
  - Trapick 13y ago
    If ladders were commonly advertised by their width (as TVs are by the diagonal)? Yes, absolutely.
    - biot 13y ago
      My point may have been too subtle. The GP made the claim that it is false that the ASUS tablet is bigger. I used the same logic to show that an 8 foot ladder can be "bigger" than a 12 foot ladder. By reductio ad absurdum, the claim that bigger only applies to area is shown to be false as you'd be hard pressed to find someone who says "No, no... the 8 foot ladder is bigger than the 12 foot one". This is a concept of "bigger" which can be applied to tablets as well. Whether measured diagonally or by height while standing in portrait mode, the ASUS tablet is bigger in that particular dimension than the iPad. I'm sure that their marketing department steered well clear of the word "larger" because larger implies an overall size advantage whereas "bigger" can be construed as greater in one dimension.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- aaron695 13y ago
  No, I'd still go with Hanlon's razor, I'd guess whoever wrote it though it was true.
tvon 13y ago
I think you're right, but I think they should still be called out for it.

redblacktree 13y ago

However, they do flat-out lie in the text. > At the bottom, Microsoft writes, "The ASUS VivoTab Smart is lighter than the iPad, has a bigger touchscreen...". False. It does not have a "bigger touchscreen".

recursive 13y ago
It depends how you define "bigger". There is arguably some good-faith definition of "bigger" for which it's true. (like diagonal measurement)
- redblacktree 13y ago
  I'm sure that their lawyers would argue that. I think that a reasonable person comparing screen sizes would be interested in area, not diagonal length.
  - jwoah12 13y ago
    I disagree. Screen sizes are always quoted in diagonal length. edit: Not to say that it is unreasonable to think of screen size as area, but I think it is also reasonable to think in diagonal length, since that is the way monitors and TVs are generally advertised.
    - milkshakes 13y ago
      The fact screen sizes are quoted in diagonal length does not contradict the assertion that reasonable people are more concerned with screen area.
      - kenjackson 13y ago
        I disagree. I think people SHOULD be more concerned with screen area, but generally aren't. No one really reports screen area. I can tell you the diagonal off the top of my head of most hero phones, but I couldn't tell you the screen area. In general the same could be said for TVs and Monitors. It's a hard explanation to give to most people: "Yes, our diagonal is larger, but due to the aspect ratio, the total area available for the screen is actually smaller." We get this on HN, but I guarantee that this would not make things substantially less complex for most people. That said, they should have asterisk'ed it.
        pessimizer 13y ago
        You didn't disagree with the comment that you replied to, which said that the fact screen sizes are quoted in diagonal length does not contradict the assertion that reasonable people are more concerned with screen area. You're just making a different assertion.
        thezilch 13y ago
        Well, no one has asserted facts, only that "reasonable people" care about area, despite no screens being marketed that way. Nonetheless, MS has changed their imagery and copy, and reasonable people will buy these products no more or less than the previous revision -- probably more.
- snogglethorpe 13y ago
  > It depends how you define "bigger" Hmm, it has bigger pixels ... :]
- wtallis 13y ago
  The unambiguously correct term they could have used if they were truly trying to tout their product in good faith is "wider". Calling it "bigger" when only one dimension is bigger and the other dimension and the area and resolution are lower is stretching the limits of good-faith. It looks like a deliberate use of an ambiguity to imply something untrue, and no, the marketing people don't deserve the benefit of the doubt that they might not have understood the difference between diagonal measurement and area measurement.
biot 13y ago
So an 8 foot ladder which has rungs 24 inches wide is bigger than a 12 foot ladder which has rungs 15 inches wide?
- Trapick 13y ago
  If ladders were commonly advertised by their width (as TVs are by the diagonal)? Yes, absolutely.
  - biot 13y ago
    My point may have been too subtle. The GP made the claim that it is false that the ASUS tablet is bigger. I used the same logic to show that an 8 foot ladder can be "bigger" than a 12 foot ladder. By reductio ad absurdum, the claim that bigger only applies to area is shown to be false as you'd be hard pressed to find someone who says "No, no... the 8 foot ladder is bigger than the 12 foot one". This is a concept of "bigger" which can be applied to tablets as well. Whether measured diagonally or by height while standing in portrait mode, the ASUS tablet is bigger in that particular dimension than the iPad. I'm sure that their marketing department steered well clear of the word "larger" because larger implies an overall size advantage whereas "bigger" can be construed as greater in one dimension.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
aaron695 13y ago
No, I'd still go with Hanlon's razor, I'd guess whoever wrote it though it was true.

tvon 13y ago

I think you're right, but I think they should still be called out for it.