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So you mean "overestimate" in the second paragraph right? Because the rest of it reads that way.
by jamesaguilar 13y ago
So you mean "overestimate" in the second paragraph right? Because the rest of it reads that way.
- jasallen 13y agospecifically the first "underestimate" is wrong, the second is correct. :-)
- JunkDNA 13y agoYes, thanks, edited.
- jamesaguilar 13y agoThe first one is still wrong. "Underestimate the technical feasibility" means, "They think it is less feasible (harder) than it actually is." I think you mean the opposite: they think it is easier than it actually is. I.e. you're trying to say it's harder than we think. You can say instead: "underestimates the difficulty" or "overestimates the feasibility."
- nswanberg 13y agoJames, you are correct but I think JunkDNA's point is still being made effectively. In fact this was likely an intentional statement meant to illustrate the difficulty involved in intentionally creating a thing--if an error could be easily introduced in a handful of words, how likely is it that a malicious DNA creator will get their supervirus working exactly right?
- jamesaguilar 13y agoThat is very optimistic of you. Personally I think it was more likely that it was simply a typing error, as he has acknowledged. That's fine, we all make them. I had some difficulty parsing what he was trying to say, which is the only reason I brought it up. The rest of your argument is very far fetched. One person's difficulty formulating a sentence could not be less related to biologists' collective capabilities in tailoring viruses.
- nswanberg 13y ago"The rest of your argument is very far fetched." I have apparently underestimated my ability to craft a joke.
- jamesaguilar 13y agoBrevity is the soul of wit.
- JunkDNA 13y agoYou are right. I chose my words poorly. This is what I get for trying to make a complex point in a quick post between meetings.