[extropy-chat] Depressing Thought. -Mapping words to

[rick]

Score this post as one vote in support of Brett's position on the "b"
word. 

><Brett> Referents

>I have some half-baked (perhaps) notion that using the
word "belief" endorses it as a meme and that that is not
helpful to reasoning.
/>

>"I reckon ... I infer ... I conclude   [know, understand, can see, ...]
/></Brett>

Now there's an old friend -- an old pet peeve of mine: the word "belief"
having the power to cause me nausea; just as much as that other word
"faith." I think I had been studying -- bathing in -- all of Ayn Rand's
non-fiction books. I tried to swear off the "b" word and even tried to
show others the error of their ways. But people are just so damn stupid,
nobody sees any reason to change their old patterns of speech -- they
claim that it is nearly always clear, to the speaker and to the
listener, from context etcetera what the meaning of the "b" word is. I
doubt I'll try really getting on the "b" bandwagon again, but on this
list hence forth I side with the "B" man. (B)rett. Yup, I reckon so. 

And there's another word that could stand being avoided: percentage.
What a clumsy fuck way of saying hundreds. Just scrambles the brains of
folk whose IQ is any less than 93. Or so I'm told. 

And another one: Rights. When what we really mean to say is: special
privileges asserted by some authority that promises to use force if
necessary to secure said rights, wups, I mean privileges. When people
use the term 'rights' it gets em thinkn bout God givn em out see. And
then they get real hot right off see. Some start a thinkn bout
IN-ALEINABLE rights, and that's pure fantasy. When used in this context
'rights' puts on such a righteous robe that people get in a fightn mood
damn quick out of frustration that the other dumb bastard cant see the
holy garment attached to their disrespected privilege. Rights talk is
always fightn words.