Re: Fields etc

[William Beaty <billb@ESKIMO.COM>]

On Mon, 15 Feb 1999, Van E. Neie wrote:

> In our communications with each other, we often say things that
> grammatically are incorrect, but for the sake of avoiding sounding awkward,
> we go ahead and say it anyway.  Well, "everybody does it," so what's the
> harm?  The harm is a degradation of the language, a loose playing with the
> rules.   I hear lots of complaints on this thread about incorrect physics,
> but rarely do I hear criticism regarding incorrect use of the language.

Some quotes (but I don't have the sources, and these are mostly stolen
from "sig" files, etc.)

  Many errors, of a truth, consist merely in the application of the wrong
  names of things. - Spinoza

  The ill and unfit choice of words wonderfully obstructs the
  understanding.  - Francis Bacon

  "Lest you think that I am quibbling over minor points of language, I
  note that in my experience many of the misconceptions people harbor have
  their origins in imprecise language... Precise language is needed in
  science, not to please pedants but to avoid absorbing nonsense that will
  take years, if ever, to purge from our minds."  - Dr. Craig F. Bohren,
  from his "Clouds in a Glass of Beer:  Simple experiments in atmospheric
  physics"

  "(language) becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are
  foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to
  have foolish thoughts." - George Orwell

  "The search for the MOT JUSTE is not a pedantic fad but a vital
  necessity.  Words are our precision tools. Imprecision engenders
  ambiguity and hours are wasted in removing verbal misunderstandings
  before the argument of substance can begin." - ANONYMOUS CIVIL SERVANT
  (from Roget's Thesaurus Webpage)


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