On Apr 19, 6:54 am, Antoon Pardon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I don't know how you come to the conclusion that it is a mathematical
> absurdity but consider this: If you find that common usage propagates
> something that is incorrect, should we just shrug it off or should we
> attemp a correction?
a) In English, "learning curve" is not restricted to a mathematical
plot--Webster's also defines it as "the course of progress made in
learning something". In that context, adding the adjective steep
("extremely or excessively high...STEEP implies such sharpness of
pitch that ascent or descent is very difficult") makes sense.
Trying to apply a mathematical definition to an English-language
phrase is prone to incorrect outcomes.
b) The purpose of language is to communicate. In English, if a phrase
now means something in common usage, then that is (one of) its current
definition(s)--this is possibly different from some other languages
where there is an attempt to have an "officially sanctioned" set of
definitions and spellings that may differ from common usage. If you
find that everyone else means something when they say a phrase, you'd
best learn what they mean if you want to be speaking the same language
(and hence be able to communicate with them).
--
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
