Quote:
Originally Posted by NShep98
I understand that precision and accuracy are important, but there are times and places to enforce (not) wording something a specific way, which I personally reserve for tools, measurements, and the like, and not for general speech.
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No one is trying to "enforce" anything, but for a lot of us nerds, seeing people willfully do/say something wrong, is frankly kind of annoying. We aren't trying to act superior or be pedantic, we are simply asking everyone to consider the words they say and what they mean. Words only have the power and meaning we give them. Using commonly agreed upon definitions keeps our speech robust and accurate and makes sure everyone can understand each other.
An example: the difference between nauseated and nauseous. Consider this situation: someone in the pits forgot to put on deodorant and is standing right next to me. I want to tell them they are nauseous, but when I do, they think I mean they are nauseated, and they are rightly confused.
Of course, it is the responsibility of the speaker to make sure his point is conveyed accurately, but wouldn't it be so much easier if we could all be concise and precise.
Using words sloppily like this isn't the end of the world, but at the end of the day, it makes it that much harder to convey what you want in the way you want to.
I leave you with a relevant xkcd:
