Jiro comments on Stupid Questions May 2015 - Less Wrong

10 Post author: Gondolinian 01 May 2015 05:28PM

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Comment author: Jiro 04 May 2015 04:26:16PM 4 points [-]

Most common terms will, when used in a context that doesn't imply a specific meaning, be taken by the listener to imply a default meaning. Furthermore, some contexts do imply a meaning, but only weakly; if the context makes slightly more sense with meaning A, but you know that most people default to meaning B, and you are Bayseian, you should infer that the intended meaning was B.

Caring about the "original meaning of the word" is about this default meaning, and is not nonsensical. If I say that this person is female, without qualifiers such as "genetically female", what will others understand me as saying? Will what they understand me as saying be more or less accurate than if I refer to them as male?