4 ms·

If it weren't for pedants, we wouldn't have computers.

• tinco 13y ago
  Yes, because the introduction of the computer was a minor change to the world that only a pedant would have bothered with?
  • foobarbazqux 13y ago
    Good point, it wasn't a minor change. I meant to specify working computers.
    • philh 13y ago
      That doesn't seem relevant. If it wasn't for hunter-gatherers, we wouldn't have much of anything; but that doesn't mean hunter-gatherers have much to contribute to particle physics. There are times when it's important to be pedantic, like when you're writing software. (I don't think we normally use the word "pedantic" in these cases, but I'm not going to argue the matter.) And there are times when it's not important, like when an article mixes up the order in which two pieces of software were released.
      • foobarbazqux 13y ago
        A cornerstone of writing any kind of history is establishing an accurate chronology of events. In peer-reviewed articles the details of who came first in related work sections are critical. At any rate, I think many of us simply find it interesting to hear the real story. It's not like the guy was correcting a grammatical mistake, and it's not like he was impolite about it.