Dreaded_Anomaly comments on A Problem with Abbreviations and Acronyms - Less Wrong

5 Post author: billswift 12 August 2011 08:41PM

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Comment author: JoshuaZ 12 August 2011 09:14:51PM *  4 points [-]

Extensive use of abbreviations and acronyms was primarily a convenience for writers, when writing was done by hand and then by typewriter, there is less justification for it now when most writing is done by computer.

This is a claim I don't understand. Most people with computers can't type much faster than they can write.

Incidentally, there are much worse examples than RMS. For example, FLT is Fermat's Last Theorem, Fermat's Little Theorem, and Faster Than Light Travel. Note that the first two of these are in the same area of study and only have a one word difference.

All of that said, I don't think this is really a big deal. Humans do context recognition really well. A lot of language is much more ambiguous than it would seem at first glance. It is very rare that acronyms create actual confusion.

Comment author: Dreaded_Anomaly 12 August 2011 10:57:43PM 3 points [-]

Faster Than Light is FTL, not FLT. Of course, that can also be For The Loss, colloquially.

In general, I agree with you about context recognition. LEO can be Low Earth Orbit or Law Enforcement Officer, but we rarely find ourselves in a situation that seriously confuses the two.

Comment author: gershom 13 August 2011 04:12:55AM 0 points [-]

I believe FLT, Faster than Light Travel, is the more common of the two. Never actually seen FTL in that context.

Comment author: Dreaded_Anomaly 13 August 2011 04:58:12AM 6 points [-]

I've only ever seen FTL, at least in science fiction (books, TV, etc.).

Comment author: Endovior 13 August 2011 06:08:21AM 4 points [-]

I also haven't ever seen FLT anywhere; whenever people are discussing speeds in excess of c, it's always FTL. What books are you reading, that use that apparently nonstandard abbreviation?

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 13 August 2011 02:31:49PM 1 point [-]

FLT stands for "faster-than-light travel" specifically, while FTL is used in other sentences involving "faster-than-light", like FTL drive, or even FTL travel.

Comment author: Dreaded_Anomaly 13 August 2011 07:55:44PM 2 points [-]

I've really never (until this thread, at least) seen FLT used instead of FTL travel. Usually, the context is clear enough that the "travel" part can be omitted anyway.

Comment author: JoshuaZ 13 August 2011 02:31:19PM 0 points [-]

For what it is worth, Wikipedia lists Faster Than Light Travel or variations thereof under both FTLand FLT.

Comment author: Dreaded_Anomaly 13 August 2011 08:01:50PM 1 point [-]

It does, but I notice that the FLT acronym is not found anywhere on the actual faster than light page.

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