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Quite true, and sometimes in a very literal[1] sense![2] [1] Literal in the classic sense, not the contranymical nonsense that has been thrust upon it thanks t

Quite true, and sometimes in a very literal[1] sense![2] [1] Literal in the classic sense, not the contranymical nonsense that has been thrust upon it thanks to teenagers who "can't even"...read a dictionary. [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Philip_K._Dick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by...

cbd1984 12y ago
Wow. You know nothing about English. Dickens used "literally" in a figurative sense: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 Looks like you literally can't even read a dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally > 2 : in effect : virtually <will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins> It's fun to take illiterate pedants down a peg. Everyone should try it for themselves.
- FlailFast 12y ago
  Okay, so I came across a bit strong there, and I apologize for that. Yes, language is fluid, and meanings "flip polarity" all the time ("nonplussed" comes to mind). Yes, there is ample evidence that it was used to mean "with emphasis, but not in reality" for some time. I was wrong. I was attempting to make a glib remark without much consideration for facts...next time I'll endeavor to either keep my snide commentary to myself, or at least do a bit of fact checking. ...but in the mean time/back to the parent topic, people really should read Phillip K. Dick. He's a fantastic writer and visionary, and uses language far better than I can.
  - irremediable 12y ago
    Haha, good on you for recognising where you came across badly and backing down. And yeah, I'm completely in agreement: PKD is amazing.
brownbat 12y ago
Though I've often found if you want a sense of the original, mostly imagine a book based on the complete opposite message of the film. Spoilers... In Minority Report (film), the protagonist does everything to save one innocent abused by the state. In the book, well, let's just say if you want a perfect society you've got to break a few eggs. In Paycheck (film), he sides with government regulators to stop a corrupt corporation. In Paycheck (book) he sides with a corrupt corporation to take down the government. In The Golden Man, the government hunts a powerful and dangerous mutant. In Next, the powerful mutant sides with the government to stop terrorists. I know Dick wasn't in favor of killing cops or corrupt corporations or hunting down people who are different, but the best thing about all of those stories is that they put the protagonists in these sort of awful lifeboat ethics dilemmas, dilemmas that are apparently far too interesting to waste on film audiences.

cbd1984 12y ago

Wow. You know nothing about English. Dickens used "literally" in a figurative sense: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 Looks like you literally can't even read a dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally > 2 : in effect : virtually <will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins> It's fun to take illiterate pedants down a peg. Everyone should try it for themselves.

FlailFast 12y ago
Okay, so I came across a bit strong there, and I apologize for that. Yes, language is fluid, and meanings "flip polarity" all the time ("nonplussed" comes to mind). Yes, there is ample evidence that it was used to mean "with emphasis, but not in reality" for some time. I was wrong. I was attempting to make a glib remark without much consideration for facts...next time I'll endeavor to either keep my snide commentary to myself, or at least do a bit of fact checking. ...but in the mean time/back to the parent topic, people really should read Phillip K. Dick. He's a fantastic writer and visionary, and uses language far better than I can.
- irremediable 12y ago
  Haha, good on you for recognising where you came across badly and backing down. And yeah, I'm completely in agreement: PKD is amazing.

brownbat 12y ago

Though I've often found if you want a sense of the original, mostly imagine a book based on the complete opposite message of the film. Spoilers... In Minority Report (film), the protagonist does everything to save one innocent abused by the state. In the book, well, let's just say if you want a perfect society you've got to break a few eggs. In Paycheck (film), he sides with government regulators to stop a corrupt corporation. In Paycheck (book) he sides with a corrupt corporation to take down the government. In The Golden Man, the government hunts a powerful and dangerous mutant. In Next, the powerful mutant sides with the government to stop terrorists. I know Dick wasn't in favor of killing cops or corrupt corporations or hunting down people who are different, but the best thing about all of those stories is that they put the protagonists in these sort of awful lifeboat ethics dilemmas, dilemmas that are apparently far too interesting to waste on film audiences.