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From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Terminology.
Message-ID: <0P9AQE3@xds13.ferranti.com>
Date: 26 Mar 91 13:37:09 GMT
References: <1991Mar21.123512.22876@daffy.cs.wisc.edu> <16060:Mar2515:41:5691@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <22144@yunexus.YorkU.CA> <21189:Mar2521:55:0691@kramden.acf.nyu.edu>
Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
Lines: 32

In article <21189:Mar2521:55:0691@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein) writes:
>                                                              The problem
> in this group is the failure of people to try to see past differences in
> terminology and stick to technical issues.

Difference in terminology *is* a technical issue, and when you're trying
to communicate with someone... particularly when you're trying to convince them
of something, you need to adapt to *their* terminology.

I was just cruising through this message not paying much attention (at least
not any more than it deserved) when I noticed this sentence. It's key. Now I'm
in the process of re-reading "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman" and I was
reminded of something. When in high school, Feynman taught himself a lot of math
and invented his own symbols for trig functions. I'll let him take over now:

	"I thought my own symbols were just as good, if not better,
	 than the regular symbols - it doesn't make any difference
	 *what* symbols you use - but I discovered later that it *does*
	 make a difference. Once, when I was explaining something to
	 another kid in high school, without thinking I started to make
	 these symbols, and he said ``What the hell are those?'' I
	 realized then if I'm going to talk to anybody else I'll have
	 to use the standard symbols, so I eventually gave up my own
	 symbols."

		-- Richard Feynman, "Surely you're Joking, Mr. Feynman".
		   Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-25649-1

I would gladly recommend this book to anyone.
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter@ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"