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1. nixpul+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-02-04 02:16:58
That's a terribly nihilistic outlook on language.

We agree to meaning to communicate and progress without endless debate and confusion.

SI is pretty clear for a reason.

replies(2): >>tomber+U6 >>tuyiow+Tz
2. tomber+U6[view] [source] 2026-02-04 03:15:45
>>nixpul+(OP)
> We agree to meaning to communicate and progress without endless debate and confusion.

We decidedly do not do that. There's a whole term for new terms that arbitrarily get injected or redefined by new people: "slang". I don't understand a lot of the terms teenagers say now, because there's lots of slang that I don't know because I don't use TikTok and I'm thirty-something without kids so I don't hang out with teenagers.

I'm sure it was the same when I was a teenager, and I suspect this has been going on since antiquity.

New terms are made up all the time, but there's plenty of times existing words get redefined. An easy one, I say "cool" all the time, but generally I'm not talking about temperature when I say it. If I said "cool" to refer to something that I like in 1920's America, they would say that's not the correct use of the word.

SI units are useful, but ultimately colloquialisms exist and will always exist. If I say kilobyte and mean 1024 bytes, and if the person on the other end knows that I mean 1024 bytes, that's fine and I don't think it's "nihilistic".

replies(2): >>schoen+57 >>nixpul+Rp1
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3. schoen+57[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 03:17:10
>>tomber+U6
You could think of the SI as a form of language planning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_planning

(Then you could decide what you think about language planning.)

4. tuyiow+Tz[view] [source] 2026-02-04 07:55:05
>>nixpul+(OP)
> That's a terribly nihilistic outlook on language.

I'm pretty sure any linguist will agree with this definition. All language normalisation is an afterthought.

replies(2): >>nixpul+Up1 >>xigoi+B73
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5. nixpul+Rp1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 14:13:38
>>tomber+U6
I didn't say all language is planned and agreed on. But we absolutely do plan and agree on things.
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6. nixpul+Up1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 14:13:59
>>tuyiow+Tz
Incorrect.
replies(1): >>Alexey+mo4
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7. xigoi+B73[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 22:13:11
>>tuyiow+Tz
Technical terms need to be more precise about their definition than regular words.
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8. Alexey+mo4[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-05 09:04:13
>>nixpul+Up1
Can you elaborate on what's not correct, and what's the correct way to think about it?
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