Misused Terms You're Sick of Seeing

[Thaluikhain]

Oh, bit of an odd one, but when people say "alternate dimension", when they mean "alternative reality" of something.

Alternative and alternate and different words, and dimension...well, I can imagine (ish) a length and width square talking about a length and depth one, this is not usually the sort of thing that people mean.

 

[Foolery]

As someone who is going to be working in the field of criminology, anti-social means against society and is typically in reference those who commit criminal offences. If you want to describe someone who doesn't like being around people or socializing, the term to use, is asocial. Bothers me every time. Anti-social gets misused quite frequently.

 

[Thaluikhain]

As someone who is going to be working in the field of criminology, anti-social means against society and is typically in reference those who commit criminal offences. If you want to describe someone who doesn't like being around people or socializing, the term to use, is asocial. Bothers me every time. Anti-social gets misused quite frequently.

But, so many not very funny jokes to be made about crackdowns on "anti-social behaviour".

 

[Foolery]

As someone who is going to be working in the field of criminology, anti-social means against society and is typically in reference those who commit criminal offencet simus. If you want to describe someone who doesn't like being around people or socializing, the term to use, is asocial. Bothers me every time. Anti-social gets misused quite frequently.

But, so many not very funny jokes to be made about crackdowns on "anti-social behaviour".

Eh, true enough.

Oh, bit of an odd one, but when people say "alternate dimension", when they mean "alternative reality" of something.

Alternative and alternate and different words, and dimension...well, I can imagine (ish) a length and width square talking about a length and depth one, this is not usually the sort of thing that people mean.

Hah, yeah dimensions as in measurements and dimensions as in well, actually it's still measurements even if you're talking about a 3D space. Of course there's also the many-worlds interpretation of reality by Hugh Everett, where parallel worlds exist simultaneously.

 

[Rattja]

This one is actually not mine, it's something that drives someone I work with up the wall each time he sees it, and I sort of agree with him.

The term GG, (good game, not gamergate).
It's used at the end of just about every single game regardless if it was actually a good game or not, it's a bit silly.

I know that by now it has gotten the status of "the game is over", but it does not make much sense if like someone wins because of people being afk or something.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Hah, yeah dimensions as in measurements and dimensions as in well, actually it's still measurements even if you're talking about a 3D space. Of course there's also the many-worlds interpretation of reality by Hugh Everett, where parallel worlds exist simultaneously.

Certainly, and you could say that where the parallel worlds in relation to each other is measured in new dimensions, but you'd not really say "from another dimension" if something came from there, same as someone in a surface vessel wouln't say a surfacing submarine isn't coming from another dimension.

 

[SOCIALCONSTRUCT]

When someone uses the phrase "begs the question" to mean "presents the question". Begging the question is circular reasoning.

 

[dreng3]

"Agnostic". No, it doesn't mean a fence-sitter between an atheist and a theist. Stop saying "I don't believe in god, but I'm not an atheist", that doesn't make you agnostic, it makes you a moron.

A Theist believes in God or gods, an Atheist disbelieves in God or gods, and an Agnostic believes there is no evidence to support either theism or atheism.

The question is not "does god exist" it's "do YOU believe in god" and there are only two possible answers. Agnostics say it is not possible to know whether god exists or not, but you can still believe or not believe in one. Agnostic and atheist/theist are not mutually exclusive terms.

It is actually an answer in itself, the answer being; "there isn't sufficient proof to establish whether there is a god or gods so i'm not willing to give a definite statement to either effect."

 

[And Man]

The word "peruse" got the "'literally' treatment" (it now has a dictionary entry with the exact opposite definition of the original meaning) years before anyone did it with literally

 

[Bad Jim]

[/QUOTE]

You got the #@*# quote wrong! Inconceivable!

 

[The Lunatic]

I think "Cis-gendered" is a bit of a dumb term.

I mean, sure, use it if you want to, but, it does make you look a bit daft. And then there's the element of insult being attached to it, which, often requires explanation that "It's not actually an insult", which makes the whole term rather awkward to use due to the stigma attached to it via the worst parts of the trans community.

 

[Loonyyy]

W
"Herteronormative". You mean straight you pompous ****.

The idea wasn't to misuse the term yourself. Massive own goal there.

 

[Major_Tom]

It is actually an answer in itself, the answer being; "there isn't sufficient proof to establish whether there is a god or gods so i'm not willing to give a definite statement to either effect."

Yes, an answer to "does god exist" which, like I said, wasn't the question. The question was "do you believe in god" to which the answer can be either 'yes' or 'no'. Agnosticism deals with knowledge, atheism and theism deal with belief. Most atheists are agnostic atheists (it's not possible to know that god exists, but I live like there isn't one, i.e. I don't believe in god), while most theists are gnostic theists (It is possible to know that god exists and I know it does and I believe in it).

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The use of "freedom of speech" as something other than the right of not getting persecuted by the government for things you've said.

People using "literally" as a synonym for "really" or "a lot". It's maddening, and English isn't even my first language.

The word literally can now literally mean "a lot", or any other kind of exaggeration. It's called hyperbole. The word has multiple meanings now, and all that can be done is really to deal with it.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/literally
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/literally
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally

On the plus side this only applies to English as far as I know. Shame the language is a little more broken now though.

 

[IOwnTheSpire]

It is actually an answer in itself, the answer being; "there isn't sufficient proof to establish whether there is a god or gods so i'm not willing to give a definite statement to either effect."

Yes, an answer to "does god exist" which, like I said, wasn't the question. The question was "do you believe in god" to which the answer can be either 'yes' or 'no'. Agnosticism deals with knowledge, atheism and theism deal with belief. Most atheists are agnostic atheists (it's not possible to know that god exists, but I live like there isn't one, i.e. I don't believe in god), while most theists are gnostic theists (It is possible to know that god exists and I know it does and I believe in it).

Keep in mind, agnostics believe in neither the positive or negative. When people say 'I'm an atheist', it's generally assumed that they believe in the negative, rather just lack belief in the positive, and most atheists I've encountered do reject theism, they don't just lack it, so that's why agnostics prefer to have a term that separates themselves from those who actively disbelieve, which I don't know if there's a word for.

I myself prefer to use Dawkins' scale of theistic probability (I'm a 4) instead of terms like agnostic or atheist, since it makes it easier to explain my actual stance on theism and I'd rather not have labels applied to me that will make others assume things about me.

 

[Major_Tom]

Keep in mind, agnostics believe in neither the positive or negative. When people say 'I'm an atheist', it's generally assumed that they believe in the negative, rather just lack belief in the positive, and most atheists I've encountered do reject theism, they don't just lack it, so that's why agnostics prefer to have a term that separates themselves from those who actively disbelieve, which I don't know if there's a word for.

I noticed a lot of people try to avoid label 'atheist' because they don't know what it actually means. Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. That's it.

 

[T8B95]

Censorship. A private corporation choosing to not sell or provide something is not censorship. An artist choosing to change something they've created is not censorship (okay, maybe it could be self-censorship, but that's a pretty meaningless phrase). Even a group asking an artist to change something isn't censorship. Censorship is a government or similar legislative body suppressing free speech or public communication.

 

[IOwnTheSpire]

I noticed a lot of people try to avoid label 'atheist' because they don't know what it actually means. Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. That's it.

If all it is a lack of belief, why do atheists wear something they lack on their sleeve? Why do they form groups and organizations based around something they lack? Why is there a symbol (the red A) for something they lack? We don't have a word for someone who isn't a golfer or a geologist or a lawyer other than attaching non- to it, but many atheists behave like an organized movement.

The root of the word atheism derives from lack of belief, but its usage in society has evolved to mean something beyond its original form. Attaching the label of atheism to someone by splitting hairs over technicalities only creates stigmas and biases.

 

[Janaschi]

It frustrates me that people expect for blacks to be referred to as "...African Americans..." - even if they were not born in, and/or do not have citizenship in Africa. Guess what? I am white, and if I was born in Africa and then gained citizenship in America, I would be "...African American..." too. It is simply asinine, and what cracks me up, is that it is typically white people that insist on the use of that terminology.

Cannot tell you how many times I have had a teacher/boss pull me aside, for referring to my black friends as "...Black..." xD

 

[Zen Bard]

"Conservative" = "Republican" and "Liberal" = "Democrat" (at least in the USA).

Every party has a conservative wing (which adheres more closely to the principles on which it was founded) and a liberal wing (which has a freer, looser interpretation of those principles).

Americans, unfortunately, only see things in the above duality and those words have lost all meaning here.

It WAS funny, however, to read the comments when the newsites announced the Conservative Party won the election in Great Britain. All the right wing Republican supporters were cheering simply because of the name without really understanding what the British party stood for. British Conservatives, for example, actually advocated Socialized Healthcare.