tcpkac comments on Arguing "By Definition" - Less Wrong

44 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 20 February 2008 11:37PM

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Comment author: tcpkac 21 February 2008 11:58:26AM 1 point [-]

I'll second Frank Hirsch's comment and add one point. I don't get this obsession with 'dictionary definitions' either. An etymological dictionary is endlessly fascinating precisely because it shows you the evolution of thought processes, concepts, and word usages, in action. Very much the opposite of the sort of table thumping that dictionaries are here supposed to give rise to. Eliezer's examples seem to be taken from a pretty toxic discussion environment