Vernacular versus Learned Terminology

[Ratchit]

Roff,

This is much ado about nothing, as far as I'm concerned.
I never had a problem with Ohm's law before this thread.
I still don't.

And NASA has no problem walking around space either. But it still does not make it correct.

Ratch

 

[Ratchit]

DerStrom8,

I know that the formula itself isn't ohm's law. It only describes it--it shows what the law states. That's how I look at it.

The formula R=V/R defines resistance. It does not describe Ohm's law (which is resistive linearity). Ohm's law is a property of a material, as stated in the physics books I referenced and quoted.

Ratch

 

[DerStrom8]

And NASA has no problem walking around space either. But it still does not make it correct.

Wait....WHAT???

 

[Roff]

Roff,


And NASA has no problem walking around space either. But it still does not make it correct.

Ratch

That's funny!

 

[Ratchit]

DerStrom8,

Wait....WHAT???

You mean to say you never heard of NASA astronauts taking "space walks"? I mentioned it before. Everyone knows what they mean, but surely you cannot believe it is correct. No one walks in space. There just is not enough traction.

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[Ratchit]

Roff,

That's funny!

It's zany and incorrect.

Ratch

 

[DerStrom8]

DerStrom8,You mean to say you never heard of NASA astronauts taking "space walks"? I mentioned it before. Everyone knows what they mean, but surely you cannot believe it is correct. No one walks in space. There just is not enough traction.

Ratch

Ah, okay. That makes more sense. I thought you were saying that "going out to space" wasn't necessarily correct, and was wondering how that could be called "right" or "wrong". That was my mistake

"Space walk" is just a simplified characterization of what they actually do. It's the kind of thing we humans, who constantly experience gravity on earth, don't really have words for, so we use the best words we know to describe it. Out of curiosity, if you were given the opportunity to rename "space walks", what would you call them? Besides, sometimes "space walks" are used to make repairs to the outside of the shuttle, so the astronauts have the ship to "walk" on.

Sorry, I'm going off topic again....

 

[Roff]

Roff,



It's zany and incorrect.

Ratch

You are hopelessly pedantic. I love you for it.

 

[Ratchit]

DerStrom8,

Sorry, I'm going off topic again.... .

I don't have any problem with that.

"Space walk" is just a simplified characterization of what they actually do. It's the kind of thing we humans, who constantly experience gravity on earth, don't really have words for, so we use the best words we know to describe it.

Sure we do, it's called floating.

Out of curiosity, if you were given the opportunity to rename "space walks", what would you call them?

I would call them what NASA first called them when they first sent an astronaut outside while in orbit. They were called "extra-vehicular activity" or EVA for short. You can hear them use that term on archival records of their first flights.

Besides, sometimes "space walks" are used to make repairs to the outside of the shuttle, so the astronauts have the ship to "walk" on.

Not really. The shuttles are made with non-ferrous metals to save weight, so they cannot use magnetic boots. They have to crawl along using tethers, straps, and grab holds.

Ratch

 

[Ratchit]

Roff,

You are hopelessly pedantic. I love you for it.

Thank you.

Ratch

 

[Roff]

Ratch, idioms must drive you nuts.

 

[Ratchit]

Roff,

Ratch, idioms must drive you nuts.

Only if the meaning of the idiom is different from what actually happens. But there are plenty of examples where descriptions that are not idioms are wrong, too.

Ratch

 

[Roff]

DerStrom8,



You mean to say you never heard of NASA astronauts taking "space walks"? I mentioned it before. Everyone knows what they mean, but surely you cannot believe it is correct. No one walks in space. There just is not enough traction.

Ratch

Actually, Merriam-Webster has included that use of "walk" in their online dictionary.

 

[Ratchit]

Roff,

Actually, Merriam-Webster has included that use of "walk" in their online dictionary. .

The dictionary mimics public usage even if it doesn't make sense. I blame the lame stream media for not challenging NASA when that dopey phrase first came out.

Ratch

 

[MrAl]

Hi,

Cant be any worse than "moon walk" <chuckle>

Yeah the word 'walk' is used for a lot of things. In file system programming we can "walk" the directory structure. It gives the impression we are doing something one step at a time even if it is not truly strolling down the sidewalk.

Words often have multiple meanings and it just keeps getting worse and worse as time goes on. In Arduino programming they want to call a program a 'sketch'. A sketch is a drawing not a program, but now it's both so we'll need a context to know for sure what someone is talking about if they say they will go and make a sketch.

 

[Ratchit]

MrAl,

I call it language pollution.

Ratch

 

[DerStrom8]

I call it language pollution.

So do you expect the human race to create a new word for every single little idea, rather than assign existing words to it?

 

[MrAl]

Hi,

My point was that i hate to see something that has a very well known (and perfectly descriptive) word already called by another word which typically has another meaning. If i say i did a sketch last night nobody knows if i wrote a program or drew up a drawing. I know this isnt the worst thing in the world, but i hate to see it. If this practice persists, we'll eventually end up calling everything "marklar" AKA South Part (the alien Starvin' Marvin)
"You can marklar some of the marklars in your marklar and marklar the other marklars on this marklar" or something like that. The response was something like, "You understand our language very well".

 

[DerStrom8]

Hi,

My point was that i hate to see something that has a very well known (and perfectly descriptive) word already called by another word which typically has another meaning. If i say i did a sketch last night nobody knows if i wrote a program or drew up a drawing. I know this isnt the worst thing in the world, but i hate to see it. If this practice persists, we'll eventually end up calling everything "marklar" AKA South Part (Starvin' Marvin)
"You can take some of the marklars in your marklar and leave the other marklars here on this marklar" or something like that. The response was something like, "You understand our language very well".

Hahaha, I can definitely see your point

Personally, I don't have a problem with calling a program a "sketch". "Sketch", as we know it, means a quick drawing on paper, or perhaps a short play or routine. I can see how both of those can actually (in a way) describe a program. I think they call parts of programs by words we commonly use in order to make the use of the programmers easier. It describes a similar situation--a thought is depicted on paper in a sketch, so a thought depicted in a program is similar to a sketch. Also, if you run the program, it's like a routine, which fills the other definition we know.

I'm not trying to argue with you. In many ways, I agree, but I'm just trying to throw out some other ways to look at it.

I wonder if one of the moderators could move this part to another thread? Now I know we're not talking about Ohm's Law here, so it might be considerate for the OP if this last page or so is moved to a new one.

Regards

 

[DerStrom8]

I don't have any problem with that.

That is not your call. You have to remember that the OP created this thread with a specific topic in mind, and we're just adding on things that have nothing to do with what he actually asked. We are guests on this thread. Let's try not to be rude to our host.

Sure we do, it's called floating.

Heh, I think "space walks" are a bit more descriptive than that

I would call them what NASA first called them when they first sent an astronaut outside while in orbit. They were called "extra-vehicular activity" or EVA for short. You can hear them use that term on archival records of their first flights.

I'm sure they still call it that, but call them "space walks" for the heck of it. Admit it--"space walking" sounds more fun than doing "extra-vehicular activity"

Not really. The shuttles are made with non-ferrous metals to save weight, so they cannot use magnetic boots. They have to crawl along using tethers, straps, and grab holds.

I never said anything about magnetic boots. They still get their traction from the shuttle's surface. The grab holds, tethers, and straps keep them from floating off into space, but they still use the ship for traction.