Sometimes we are bugged by some commonplace behavior, belief, or attitude, but bringing it up will come off as obnoxious and elitist. We all have those. I will tell you two of mine, in hope I am not unknowingly a snide weirdo.
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.
If there was a valid case it should represent the logical structure of ‘AND’ OR ‘XOR’, but it is obvious that this is OR.
So, whenever we are tempted to say “and/or” it is kinda definitive that just OR should suffice.
2 - A ‘steep’ learning curve means the skill is quickly mastered : Just use ‘learning curve’
Apparently stemming from an embodied metaphor between the steepness of a hill and the difficulty of climbing it, this misnomer is annoyingly common.
I have yet to find a single source that does not yield to this erroneous, ubiquitous misconception.
Same goes for the fancier alternative ‘sharp’ learning curve.
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.
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.
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.
What are your mundane grievances?
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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.
I see, so you need way more knowledge to get a small increase in reward, hence the steepness. Point taken.
Edit: Wikipedia though
A learning curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between how proficient people are at a task and the amount of experience they have. Proficiency (measured on the vertical axis) usually increases with increased experience (the horizontal axis), that is to say, the more someone, groups, companies or industries perform a task, the better their performance at the task.[1]
The common expression “a steep learning curve” is a misnomer suggesting that an activity is difficult to learn and that expending much effort does not increase proficiency by much, although a learning curve with a steep start actually represents rapid progress.[2][3]
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.
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.
Except for making fun of people who write ‘should of/could of’. I want to strangle someone every time I see that.
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.
It would be weird to not acknowledge it. What should we say instead?
You only think it’d be weird not to acknowledge it because you’re used to it being acknowledged. There is no real necessary follow up.
It really bothers me when people walk on the cycling lane or the road while there’s a sidewalk.
It really bothers me when people cycle on the road or sidewalk when there is a dedicated cycling lane.
