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   webbureaucrat (webbureaucrat@floss.social)'s status on Sunday, 15-Dec-2024 02:38:42 JST webbureaucrat

   Grammarians and linguists should be descriptivist about language, but I believe strongly that domain experts should still be allowed to proscribe word usages that promote confusion and common misconceptions.

   This is to say I will absolutely die mad about the popular misuse of the word "algorithm".

   • alcinnz repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     webbureaucrat (webbureaucrat@floss.social)'s status on Sunday, 15-Dec-2024 02:38:41 JST webbureaucrat

     in reply to

     "Oh I was using the common meaning of the word algorithm, not the technical one."

     Gonna blow your mind here: as a person who knows what an algorithm actually is I couldn't reliably give you a definition of the "common" meaning of the word "algorithm" because as far as I can tell it just means "bad".

     Besides, the technical definition is the one you were introduced to in elementary school when your teacher introduced story problems, so you can use the word correctly. I believe in you.

   • Embed this notice
     alcinnz (alcinnz@floss.social)'s status on Sunday, 15-Dec-2024 02:41:40 JST alcinnz

     in reply to

     @webbureaucrat The news to use the word "algorithm" the same way I hear too many people use the words "chemical" or "EMF". To exclusively refer to the harmful instances of these aspects of reality.

     I consider it anti-intellectual!

   • Embed this notice
     Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br) (lxo@gnusocial.jp)'s status on Monday, 16-Dec-2024 07:17:01 JST Alexandre Oliva (moving to @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br)

     in reply to

     • alcinnz
     @alcinnz @webbureaucrat what would big media's word twisting victims think of algorithm-designing hackers against piracy? :-)
     alcinnz likes this.