Dictionary Argument Fail

[kiya]

Someone is attempting to argue from the dictionary by picking the definitions that can be twisted to suit his agenda. Various people have pointed out that taking words with meanings in a particular context and using entries that apply to different contexts produces invalid results.

I finally lost my willingness to argue straight-up with someone that mendacious and asked if he liked Communist apples, environmentally-friendly apples, or cowardly apples.


Meanwhile, other places I read are once again places I consider posting my thoughts and then decide I'm fucking unsafe having that conversation there and shut up in. Ah, internets, I love you so.

Comments

[3treekisser.livejournal.com]

I think he's autistic.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Do you have other evidence for this besides what Darkhawk wrote in this entry?

(I ask because I'm seeing "autistic" used more and more often as shorthand for "social interaction fail", and it bothers me, not least because I have an autistic nephew. On the other hand, if you know for sure the person being discussed is autistic, that's quite another thing.)

[3treekisser.livejournal.com]

I said it based on interacting with him online, and on interacting with someone else online who is a diagnosed autistic. Some similarities struck me.

Obviously I'm not making a diagnosis, although I recognize that making such a statement on the basis of some forum-ing and only one other encounter can come off as pretty insensitive, so I'm sorry if that caused offence.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the background info. I wasn't so much offended as... it seemed to come from out of the blue, is all.

If only others were to follow your example and not make diagnoses based on a limited interaction set.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry.

For what it's worth, I think that dictionary arguments are almost always fail, because they're almost always a way to ignore both connotation and context. And connotations and context, in the real world, are important.

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

I'd say he's a word geek, but that may be taken to mean a particular type of circus performer...

[brooksmoses]

What, he kills poor innocent words by biting their heads off, leaving them to run around with no control or sense of where they are? That actually sounds pretty accurate.

[sigerson.livejournal.com]

OM NOM NOM NOMINATIVE


...
There's no excuse for me, is there?

[zombie-dog.livejournal.com]

Anyone who reaches for a dictionary has already opted out of the privilege of discussion with me.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

Communist apples are red. Environmentally friendly apples are quick to decompose. Cowardly apples are all shrunk and crumpled and trying not to draw attention to themselves.

That should make the choice easier ;-)

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

I finally lost my willingness to argue straight-up with someone that mendacious and asked if he liked Communist apples, environmentally-friendly apples, or cowardly apples.

I think I shall have to file that trick away for future use (if you don't mind, of course.)

[kiya]

Go ahead, but I'll note that in this case it didn't work.