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> Why would an irrelevant over-statement discredit the other points? It's a literary device. As someone who doesn't use Photoshop or Gimp, I can't comment dire
by req2 17y ago
> Why would an irrelevant over-statement discredit the other points? It's a literary device.
As someone who doesn't use Photoshop or Gimp, I can't comment directly on how hyperbolic the comment is. That said, overblown hyperbole sometimes indicates the writer is willing to take liberties when writing about more substantive things. The validity of this here depends on how much blindness you think Gimp actually induces.
(Soccer is so boring! It's like watching a slower version of paint drying! Cricket is the sport of kings! <- Here, the hyperbole may indicate that this is argument from [rationalized] fanboyism, as opposed to argument from a more reasoned opinion.)
- gdp 17y agoInteresting. All I get from that statement is that you enjoy cricket more than soccer. By over-stating the point, you've just shown that you emphatically hold that view. It conveys nothing about why you hold that opinion. Also, the fact that it is so obviously over-stated makes it reasonably clear that your tongue is most likely in your cheek, and you don't actually believe soccer to be more boring than paint drying slowly. Perhaps I'm just defending the original post because I personally am inclined towards hyperbole as a literary device, just like everybody else in the entire universe is.
- req2 17y agoI think I view the emphasis as a substitute for reason. I (perhaps unnecessarily) reason that a reasoned opinion would substitute that reason for the emphasis, e.g., "soccer is boring because of [example of slow play], although [concession to artistry], [example of cricket's intriguing batplay in relation to soccer] makes cricket a more interesting game". In the article, hyperbole (and presumed common experience with the presumed bad Gimp UI) was a substitute for reason. In your final line, your hyperbole supplements your reasoning without supplanting it. (If I were to call a 'confirm password' dialog an onerous, Herculean task before talking about an otherwise unrelated part of the user experience you might expect I am poorly calibrated with the real world.)
- nollidge 17y ago> The validity of this here depends on how much blindness you think Gimp actually induces. Perhaps you've mistyped, but how much blindness do you actually think it may induce? Perhaps you could specify a range of blindness which you find plausible.
- req2 17y agoUI friendliness on the scale of perfect vision to blind. The more unfriendly Gimp seems, the more natural the hyperbole.
- nollidge 17y agoI see what you're saying, but that's not the point of hyperbole. He's just saying it's terrible, not trying to quantify it. If I said that some band "sounds worse than a dying giraffe", are you going to ask me how much worse it sounds, or what the giraffe is dying of?
- req2 17y agoAh, oops. That's not what I'm saying. If you disagree with the basis of the hyperbole (i.e., that Gimp's UI is bad), the rest of the conversation derails, as seen with a few comments posted here. If you agree, then it fits and nothing goes wrong. If you recommended listening to new band A instead of my preferred band B, I might listen to new band A. If you recommend new band A after saying my preferred band B sounds worse than a dying giraffe, I will probably be okay presuming I wouldn't enjoy new band A. (I would, however, say that band C sounds like two dying giraffes, band D like a sick weasel, and band E like a happy songbird with bronchitis.)
- nollidge 17y agoAh, OK. I do see what you're saying. At the same time, it's not really possible to come with an example that everyone's going to agree with. The author's point should still stand - regardless of how you feel about GIMP specifically, surely you've felt the same about some other app before.