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The word makes you upset only because you assign to it an overly positive meaning it doesn't have. Iconic is close in meaning to recognizable. This sound—just l

by micampe 13y ago

The word makes you upset only because you assign to it an overly positive meaning it doesn't have. Iconic is close in meaning to recognizable. This sound—just like the Nokia one ten years ago, the Windows or Mac startup sounds, the Intel jingle, even the modem dial sequence—is iconic because when you hear it you associate it with a specific product, so it serves as an icon, a representation of something else.

graeme 13y ago
>The word makes you upset only because you assign to it an overly positive meaning it doesn't have. Well said. In situations like this, I always refer to Oxford dictionary. It's included in spotlight on Macs. Iconic: of, relating to, or of the nature of an icon Icon: a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something ----------- "Time goes by, and this sound becomes iconic, showing up in TV shows and movies, and becoming international short-hand for "you have a text message"..." ------------ That's from the article. Seems like a very appropriate use of iconic to me.
- jfarmer 13y ago
  100%! What I try to do is give folks the benefit of the doubt. Charity über Alles. Rather than read "iconic" and jump to the first conclusion I have, I might try in earnest to read and understand what someone wrote as they intended it to be read. In this case, if he meant "iconic" in the sense that The Beatles or the Rolling Stones or Elis Presley are iconic then, the tone of the article is off. It's very humble. There were no sour grapes, but rather a kind of happy surprise when he heard that a sound he made years ago was used on the iPhone. It sure doesn't seem like he was puffing himself up. What's more likely, then? That he meant "iconic" in the Beatles sense or that it didn't occur to him that some folks reading this article might take "iconic" in a way he didn't intend? My money is on the latter.
ianterrell 13y ago
Oh man, that Nokia sound. I remember in 2002 I was watching a movie in a London theater, and the lights went dark, and the movie was just about to start, and... that Nokia sound went off. The entire theater groaned, "AWWWWWW". And then, another went off, and another, and several more, until it was an absolute cacophony of Nokia sounds. Then the Nokia logo came on screen, accompanied by the words, "Please silence your cell phones." The groans turned into sincere chuckles. That was one of the earliest pre-movie reminders, and still one of the best. And it only worked (full circle here), because that Nokia sound was so iconic.
tmuir 13y ago
It seems a lot of posters in this thread share that same positive meaning, which lends creedence to the definition. There are several posts that interpret this sound as the optimal sound for its associated task, as if it would have been less recognizeable if it had not been a marimba, or that particular group of intervals. My point is that this is a conflation of correlation and causation.
- micampe 13y ago
  I don't see anyone in this thread saying that that is the archetipal text message sound.

by micampe 13y ago

graeme 13y ago

>The word makes you upset only because you assign to it an overly positive meaning it doesn't have. Well said. In situations like this, I always refer to Oxford dictionary. It's included in spotlight on Macs. Iconic: of, relating to, or of the nature of an icon Icon: a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something ----------- "Time goes by, and this sound becomes iconic, showing up in TV shows and movies, and becoming international short-hand for "you have a text message"..." ------------ That's from the article. Seems like a very appropriate use of iconic to me.

jfarmer 13y ago
100%! What I try to do is give folks the benefit of the doubt. Charity über Alles. Rather than read "iconic" and jump to the first conclusion I have, I might try in earnest to read and understand what someone wrote as they intended it to be read. In this case, if he meant "iconic" in the sense that The Beatles or the Rolling Stones or Elis Presley are iconic then, the tone of the article is off. It's very humble. There were no sour grapes, but rather a kind of happy surprise when he heard that a sound he made years ago was used on the iPhone. It sure doesn't seem like he was puffing himself up. What's more likely, then? That he meant "iconic" in the Beatles sense or that it didn't occur to him that some folks reading this article might take "iconic" in a way he didn't intend? My money is on the latter.

ianterrell 13y ago

Oh man, that Nokia sound. I remember in 2002 I was watching a movie in a London theater, and the lights went dark, and the movie was just about to start, and... that Nokia sound went off. The entire theater groaned, "AWWWWWW". And then, another went off, and another, and several more, until it was an absolute cacophony of Nokia sounds. Then the Nokia logo came on screen, accompanied by the words, "Please silence your cell phones." The groans turned into sincere chuckles. That was one of the earliest pre-movie reminders, and still one of the best. And it only worked (full circle here), because that Nokia sound was so iconic.

tmuir 13y ago

It seems a lot of posters in this thread share that same positive meaning, which lends creedence to the definition. There are several posts that interpret this sound as the optimal sound for its associated task, as if it would have been less recognizeable if it had not been a marimba, or that particular group of intervals. My point is that this is a conflation of correlation and causation.

micampe 13y ago
I don't see anyone in this thread saying that that is the archetipal text message sound.