Ask Lemmy

You misunderstand what a learning curve means. The x-axis is the desired level of productivity/proficiency, and the y-axis is necessary knowledge/skill. A steep learning curve means you need a lot of knowledge/skill to even be slightly productive/proficient, making the learning process daunting for new users. A gentle learning curve means you get rewarded throughout the learning process with frequent productivity/proficiency gains. A "cliff" means there will be a long period of learning with little to show for it until the end.

People attempting to apply the rules of one field to another, even though it makes no sense. Say, applying rules of formal logic to everyday language, and/or expecting others to do the same.

Formal logic is separate from natural language and the term "or" has a different meaning in each place.

Driving into the intersection when the light is green, even though you can’t get all the way through, and then when the light changes and you’re in everyone’s way delaying 30 people by 2 minutes because you wanted to be able to wait stationary in one location instead of a different location… looking helpless like what do you mean, it’s not MY fault, there’s a car in my way I can’t go anywhere

I for serious fantasize about just plowing into the side of the person’s car and then getting out like what do you mean, it’s not MY fault, my light was green means I have the right of way and it’s your responsibility not to be in my way, you fuckin toad, do better next time, anyway here’s my insurance information

This could sound like a dig on op but it's not, it's a different bugbear from elsewhere:

Thinking Linguistic Pedantry makes you a cool guy.

It doesn't.

Anyone who points out minor spelling mistakes as some manner of gotcha should be made fun of aggressively.

I have two off the top of my head. First, inappropriate apostrophe usage. Far too often I see people writing things like tea's, hot dog's, bagel's, and so on. They're not just there to alert the reader that an s is coming!

My other gripe is people standing in a grocery aisle to ponder products or chat with someone while parking their cart horizontally so that nobody can get past them. It really marascinos my cherries when I need to either go down another aisle to go around them, or worse, I need to talk to someone to ask them to please scoot a little.

I love this post, but I need to pick up on your first grievance. In general English, when people say "or", they actually mean XOR most of the time

Cider means a fermented apple beverage. It's not a class of beverage. So the phrase apple cider is redundant. My nit pick is that I think cider should be ANY fruit fermented beverage. Beer isn't only barley, it's any grain. Wheat beer, gf beer has no barley. Etc etc. But a fermented pear drink isn't pear cider, it's perry.

I think cider should be a group of fermented fruit beverages with no added sugar and usually carbonated. Alcohol under 10%.

I strongly dislike when, in traffic, someone comes to a full stop to give the right of way to another person who should not have had it. It is very unexpected and will cause accidents. Secondly, not getting up to speed, especially on the higher speed roads/highways/freeways.

Using "Next" to refer to the one after the literal next when speaking in terms of time. "Next weekend" does not mean in 5 days it means in 12 days. But "Next Friday" could be in 4 days. It seems to vary dependent on the time of the week as to whether or not people will skip the truly "Next" point in time they are referring to.

I can understand why for much of what I mentioned, that does not mean I agree or enjoy it. Nor will I likely ever.

When people ask a question in the title and then answer it as text on the post instead of a reply to the post. If you answer it as a reply to the post then any comments stay in one thread instead of littering the entire post.

This isn't a specific dig against you OP, tons of people on lemmy do it. I think /r/askreddit had a rule against it.

My minor grievance? People framing arguments specifically to complain about things. Your second example about the learning curve is perfect.

In fact, in a diagram where the vertical axis is the skill mastery and the horizontal is time, a steep curve would mean that the task is quick or easy to master, since it reaches the higher level quickly, hence the steepness.

If you literally flip the axis labels it makes perfect sense. If vertical axis is time and the horizontal axis is skill, it takes exponentially longer to increase your skill mastery the more you understand it, much like many real world tasks.

This one baffles me: leaving a huge gap when stopping a vehicle at a traffic signal. Ordinary intersection in flat terrain, I'll pull right up to the marker/crosswalk/vehicle ahead:

|=|[::]

Sometimes see other drivers a bit back. OK fine, maybe it's alright. Suppose it's good in the event of a stopped rear-end collision, to protect pedestrians/vehicles in front:

|=| [::]

But what's with this nonsense? Is it just me? I don't remember seeing this earlier than the last ten years or so. Not a sensible safety gap, no. I'm talking two, three or more car lengths of space! Nowhere near the inductive loop sensor:

|=|<---------->[::]

This is without any property entrances on either side, mind you. That I could understand since it leaves a space for traffic to pull out, or in from the oncoming lane. This just seems to occupy space for no purpose other than to reduce traffic density on one block and increase it in the trailing block (?).

Completely baffled; what am I missing? Where did this come from? Is it just me? Even worse is when I stop my vehicle behind theirs and then they creep forward a car length or two, making me look like a dummy.

Dippin' Dots have been the ice cream of the future for over 30 years, when is the rest of the ice cream going to catch up?

When a meal you order has cilantro, but cilantro isn't mentioned in the menu. Even worse when it's finely chopped so I can't just pick it out.

Shit tastes like bugs. Surprise me with that nastiness and I'm sending it back... and that's coming from someone who will usually just shut up and take whatever they serve me even if it's the completely wrong entree.

Not linguistic but culinary, mainly burgers, no, the chicken sandwich in a round bun isn't a burger, same with pulled pork, it's not a bun that defines a burger, it's the patty, might be a pork, chicken or even vegan, it might even be a patty wrapped in a piece of lettuce for that matter, it's s burger

1 - And/Or is redundant: Just use OR

At some point it was funny in context (like "the OP is stupid and/or crazy). I can hardly find a context that is not similar to this (arguably) ableist template.

In formal logic there is no use case for saying 'and' OR 'or', because simply OR entails AND.

I disagree with you about your assessment.

1. and means all items in a list
2. or means any items in a list
3. and/or can mean all items must be true, or any one item can be true.

So let’s keep it simple, and use the example of receiving a drink and/or a bag of pretzels on a flight. You can choose to have both, or you can choose either the drink or the pretzels. Focusing on the or condition here, you’re only choosing one of the items. In your logic, always using or would imply you’re only ever choosing one, when in reality you also have the choice of choosing both.

2 - A 'steep' learning curve means the skill is quickly mastered : Just use 'learning curve' … I have yet to find a single source that does not yield to this erroneous, ubiquitous misconception.

Maybe we’re using two different search engines, but when I DDG “steep learning curve”, the results agree with you that it means the speed (fast) of learning a task or skill.

Since the literal alternative ('Rust has a smooth learning curve') will be counter-intuitive and confusing, and I bet nobody will adopt it, I suggest the following solution.

You’re looking for shallow learning curve, and is already commonly used.

Almost every time you feel the need to reach for this phrase, YSK that probably just using 'learning curve' should suffice. For example 'This language has a learning curve'. It gets the message across, without making others question your position in the graph interpretation learning curve.

Again, I disagree with you. The use of steep or sharp or no qualifier at all is a subtle, yet important, distinction for the type of learning curve something has.

Everything new has a learning curve. Some thing are easier or more difficult than others. If someone does not understand the correct usage for steep or shallow, then take the few moments to teach them; they’ll in turn learn something and go on to teach other people too.

There is a time and a place to simplify your language; especially if it helps the person(s) you’re talking to better understand you. But I believe that in these two cases, the uses are warranted, as they can and will change the meaning of what you’re saying dramatically.

My first grievance is people who always use “I” when sometimes they should be using “me”. e.g., It’s difficult for my son and I to talk to each other when he’s very upset.

The rule of thumb is that if you remove the other person in the sentence, does it make sense? As in the example above, no one would say “It’s difficult for I to talk…,” instead you’d say, “It’s difficult for me to talk….”

Also, while “I” comes after the other person, “me” comes before. So the correct sentence would be, “It’s difficult for me and my son to talk to each other when he’s very upset.”

I believe this problem occurs because, at least for me, English teachers were lazy and didn’t teach us the differences. They would drill into us to never use “me” and always use “I”.

Another mundane grievance is when people go to correct somebody over a simple mistake in wording. My thought process is that if everyone understands the speaker’s meaning, correcting them right then and there only detracts from the conversation; and, it makes the speaker look (and probably feel) dumb. It adds very little, if any, value. Just let it go. If you genuinely need to correct someone, wait until later and do it in private. But be prepared to be ignored or scoffed at.

My biggest one, and it's absolutely irrational, is that I wasn't asked for permission to exist.

Inappropriate stop signs.

If there's plenty of visibility in both directions, a give way sign is fine.

Changing it to a stop sign later because people don't give way occasionally is just punishing the rest of us.

It really bothers me when people walk on the cycling lane or the road while there's a sidewalk.

Anybody else get irked that people increasingly seem to not know the proper distinction between worse and worst? I see people frequently using the wrong one in the context of what they are trying to say. I just don't understand because bad/worse/worst is as simple of a concept as good/better/best which people don't tend to ever get wrong.

Also, the custom of saying 'bless you' after somebody sneezes. That can go away now. It's utterly useless. Somebody sneezed, that doesn't deserve any special acknowledgement. If there's a want to be polite offer them a tissue if they need it and you can accommodate.