faetal on 6/8/2014 at 23:11
Damned if I'm saying gamma interferon inducible lysosomal thiol reductase when I could say GILT. And that's not even the worst example.
Pyrian on 6/8/2014 at 23:20
Do you think that's in context with this discussion, though? I mean, sure, if you're discussing things with your coworkers, they'll know what you mean, and maybe even in a journal (but even then you'll probably define it once up front?), but on a public forum with a wide variety of people, people will probably think you're talking about gold leaf unless you're more specific.
Gryzemuis on 7/8/2014 at 00:02
Quote Posted by faetal
Damned if I'm saying gamma interferon inducible lysosomal thiol reductase when I could say GILT. And that's not even the worst example.
I'm sure that is fine.
But what if someone tells you to go get a flask of GILT from the KS. And then it turns out that he's used to saying KS when he means Kitchen Sink. Because his kindergarten teacher used to say KS, or whatever. There are people like that. Who say "e.g." literally, in stead of "for example". People like that drive me nuts. Trying to sound smart ? I don't know. The endresult is that they make themselves a lot less understandable than then could.
SubJeff on 7/8/2014 at 06:10
What Pyrian said.
faetal on 7/8/2014 at 08:44
Quote Posted by Gryzemuis
I'm sure that is fine.
But what if someone tells you to go get a flask of GILT from the KS. And then it turns out that he's used to saying KS when he means Kitchen Sink. Because his kindergarten teacher used to say KS, or whatever. There are people like that. Who say "e.g." literally, in stead of "for example". People like that drive me nuts. Trying to sound smart ? I don't know. The endresult is that they make themselves a lot less understandable than then could.
Then surely you just mean unnecessary acronyms. Acronyms have their uses and greater use of them might just correlate with greater need of them rather than people being less smart. All I'm saying is you need to refine your point.
Gryzemuis on 7/8/2014 at 12:53
I didn't know there was a difference between abbreviation and acronym. (There is, (
http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/abbreviations/abbreviations-acronyms-and-initialisms-revisited/) I just found out). In my language we use the same word for both ("afkorting"). Is that what your are hinting at ?
What it boils down to maybe: some people try to make sure the listener will understand what they are saying. Some people don't even think about that when they say something. I have lower respect for that second type of person.
Speaking in a language which is not your first language is a severe handicap here. When I lived and worked in the US, I always felt like a toddler when I tried to say something. I could get a point across. But it was always obvious to me that I lacked any form of subtlety. When I was working in Belgium, with a mix of people from all over Europe, it was much better. Because everybody there had English as their 2nd language. Except the Brits of course, but nobody could understand their accents anyway, so they didn't really count. :)
faetal on 7/8/2014 at 16:04
I just thought your statement that those who use acronyms (or abbreviations, it doesn't matter) the most tend to be more stupid is a little too broad spectrum. Just that it would be more precise to maybe say that those who use abbreviations / acronyms without necessity tend to be more stupid. Even then, it's a contentious point to make without further reasoning.
ZylonBane on 7/8/2014 at 20:38
Quote Posted by Gryzemuis
I think it's because dumber people have a harder time putting themselves in someone else's position.
(
http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_goleman_on_compassion) "There is zero correlation between IQ and emotional empathy. They're controlled by different parts of the brain."
Kolya on 7/8/2014 at 20:41
Sure, but what about the connection of intelligence and emotional empathy?
Tony_Tarantula on 7/8/2014 at 20:42
Quote Posted by faetal
I just thought your statement that those who use acronyms (or abbreviations, it doesn't matter) the most tend to be more stupid is a little too broad spectrum. Just that it would be more precise to maybe say that those who use abbreviations / acronyms without necessity tend to be more stupid. Even then, it's a contentious point to make without further reasoning.
Or it's a point of habit. A lot of new sales guys run into that issue. They're well versed on the technical capabilities of the products they're selling but they forget that prospects are usually not. So you get guys going into a meeting pitching, for example, "SEO services"....when most people have no idea what that means (Search Engine Optimization). The correct thing to say would be to describe that you know how to make their business's page be the first thing people see when they do an internet search.
