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0 pointsAlchemistCamp6y ago0 comments

> That's how language works, and it's a losing battle to fight against it.

The very name of this site is a powerful argument to the contrary. Slashdotters initially dissed it, saying the word "hacker" (as in coder or builder as opposed to criminal) should be retired. Now the older sense of the word is widespread enough that people halfway around the world are aware of hackers in the sense that PG named this forum. Indie Hackers is only further cementing the reversal of the trend that once appeared inevitable.

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10 comments · 5 top-level

monocasa6y ago· 5 in thread

I've got a linguistics minor. The concept here is prescriptivism versus descriptivism. The linguistics community overall has a huge emphasis on descriptivism. Trying to enforce consistency of language is a Sisyphean task, and in a lot of ways is an element of imperialism. Words change, grow, gain and lose definitions and shades over time. Document the new uses, and let people live their lives.

ChrisSD6y ago

I don't see things in such absolutist terms as that. For everyday language, sure, I'm more than happy to go with the flow. For technical language we need a relatively stable, agreed upon terminology.

Terms that flow and change too freely makes communication very difficult and often leads to people having pointless arguments due to fundamentally misunderstanding what each person is saying. And I do disagree that it's Sisyphean. Raising awareness can and does influence how words are used (especially within a group).

anoncake6y ago

The meaning of a term depends on its usage. That is not a matter of opinion, it's how language, including technical language, works.

Currently "OOP" roughly means [Alan Kay's vision] or [Java-like]. That is an imprecise and mostly useless definition but it's the one it has, whether we like it or not. A stable terminology is desirable and that's why we shouldn't redefine "OOP".

Think of it like an API. What's more backwards-compatible: changing the behavior of oop() or deprecating it in favor of javaLikeProgramming() and kayProgramming() ?

hombre_fatal6y ago

fwiw, a minor (so, ~4 uni classes) is not what I would flex as credentialization in a subject. Especially when you go on to bring up such an elementary part of linguistics.

It's kind of like introducing yourself as a compsci minor and then explaining OOP vs FP. I'd just leave off the creds, there's no need.

klyrs6y ago

> fwiw, a minor (so, ~4 uni classes) is not what I would flex as credentialization in a subject.

It's not a "flex," it's an honest contextualization of an anecdote. They certainly studied more linguistics than I did. I, uh... had a minor... crush on a linguistics major I met through the teaching union, and we had a few casual conversations about their thesis? Now that's a weird flex.

The point of their comment was not to introduce the well-known concept; it was to relay their impression of the culture that they experienced. Please be more charitable with folks' contributions here.

monocasa6y ago

The concept has historically gets an order of magnitude more push back without the tiny amount of creds to go along with it. People really latch on to the English teacher style prescriptivist view and assume that linguistics in general takes that view too.

And for me it was eight classes, ~1 a semester.

goto116y ago

It is futile to rail against other people using words "wrong". But that doesn't mean you can't use words in the "correct way" yourself. If you are influential enough it may even have an effect.

In the case of "hacker" it has a different meaning in the media and the general population, but this is not a problem because the audience of HN understands the intended meaning.

solipsism6y ago

Hackers don't have the need to convince anyone else of what the word hacker means. It is of no consequence what "regular people" think we mean when we say hacker. We have our forums and our and we all know what it means.

But if we were in a situation where it mattered what other people I thought the word meant, then we would be fucked. And that is evident by just talking with regular folk and asking them what they think about hackers.

The situation with OOP is different. It is our community itself that uses the word incorrectly (according to some people, including the original commenter).

mwcampbell6y ago

> The very name of this site is a powerful argument to the contrary.

In our little bubble, perhaps. But I'm pretty sure that to my family and non-techie friends, "hacker" has only the negative meaning. That's why, when I tell them in general terms about what I'm doing during a hackathon at work, I don't use that word.

js86y ago

Bernie Sanders calling himself "socialist" (although he could also use social democrat) is a very similar example.

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