En Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:33:19 -0300, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> escribió:
> 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.
I don't know if it's used in English, but my uncle says "open the light"
and "close the light". From an electrician point of view, that's wrong: to
turn the light on you have to close the circuit, and the light is off when
the circuit is open.
A biologyst won't aggree on the common usage of "crocodrile tears". Such
expressions should not be understood technically (I think they're known as
idioms).
As English is not my native language, I sometimes got puzzled by some
idioms. How much Python can be put in a nutshell? Almost nothing, so for
me, the famous book starts diminished from the title.
Or, I would not consider "sleepping tight" a good thing, I prefer big and
comfortable beds...
This is getting close to win the "longest off topic thread" award.
--
Gabriel Genellina
--
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