No Stupid Questions

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Does blowing on our hot food before we put it into our mouths actually make a difference to how hot it is? (feddit.uk)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

30 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm thinking that no, it doesn't. Which begs the question of why we do it? Is it a psychological thing?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

I'm thinking that no, it doesn't.

You can literally see the difference (not to mention feel it). The amount of steam coming off the food after blowing on it is less.

Also, you're misusing the phrase "begs the question." It doesn't mean "leads me to a question."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

You're right. But in the interest of no stupid questions I thought I'd ask anyway, because...you know, what if?.

And thanks for the grammar lesson, I didn't ask for that one but I'll take it on board.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

It doesn’t mean “leads me to a question."

It does, though. In fact, that's considered the primary definition, per Merriam-Webster.

Begging the question means "to elicit a specific question as a reaction or response," and can often be replaced with "a question that begs to be answered." However, a lesser used and more formal definition is "to ignore a question under the assumption it has already been answered." The phrase itself comes from a translation of an Aristotelian phrase rendered as "beg the question" but meaning "assume the conclusion."

It's literally a moot point, all over again.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That's a case of a dictionary caving to a misuse being so common that it becomes the new norm. If a dictionary claimed "supposively" was an acceptable spelling of supposedly, would that make it correct?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yes. That’s exactly what dictionaries do. Where else would we go for DEFINITIVE answers?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So, someone could release their own dictionary and thus become a DEFINITIVE authority on language?

Dictionaries are supposed to reflect the official lexicon.

At what point does slang enter the official lexicon?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Wow. I’m not sure if you’re serious or trolling.

But to answer your question, someone did release their own dictionary… and, thus, became a definitive authority on language… in 1847. That someone (actually someones) were the Merriam brothers. They then bought a license from another someone named Webster. Maybe you’ve heard of them.

If you are serious, you are digging pretty damn deep trying to make your point. If you’re not careful, you might come out on the other side of the world.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So anyone with standards is a troll now? Jesus fuck.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive; when meanings get changed by popular usage, so too do dictionaries follow.

Terribly sorry you're learning this so late in life. Might have saved yourself some frustration otherwise.