English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room - 2012-04-28 (page 1 of 2)

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12:00 AM

See you.

12:44 AM

They're a crazy lot over at SO. I just answered a question, and saw that someone else posted an IDENTICAL answer a few seconds before I did. So I deleted mine; but not before the other answer got an upvote, and mine got a downvote. The only explanation I can think of is that somebody awards downvotes for not typing as fast as the other person.

Meanwhile, English.SE awards three upvotes for knowing what to call a winged unicorn. Pfft.

3

1:18 AM

ParentalAdvisory

@AdvisoryGuide

Excerpts from the parental guide of IMDB

226 tweets, 2.3k followers, following 1 users

^ it's my new favorite twitter feed

What better way to decide what to watch.

1:36 AM

@DavidWallace Well, don't feel too bad. Look at this jackpot:

41

A: What's a gender-neutral way of referring to a nurse?

The word nurse is gender-neutral in modern English.

that's probably the most votes per word that I've ever seen on ELU

Yeah, I found that one hysterical.

Maybe I should ask if there's a gender-neutral word for person.

2:00 AM

You can just see him setting his chin as he delivers the final word on that sentence. There. [nods]

2 hours later…

4:00 AM

@Robusto And you were told to think about it.

Hi kids.

4:45 AM

Why are you all away?

Am I "calling in the desert", as we would say it in Dutch?

No fun.

A "lone voice crying in the wilderness" is the English expression.

@DavidWallace Right!

That was what I was.

I believe it's John 1:23, but I don't know which translation.

But now I have an audiencette.

How are you today!

Now there's something I've never been called.

4:48 AM

Oh, it's nothing.

Don't even mention it.

Good. Reffed a U11 soccer game this morning, and I've just been blobbing out this afternoon.

Blobbing, as in doing nothing?

Yeah.

And what is U11?

Under 11 years of age. Like my son.

4:49 AM

Ah OK.

Nice of you to do that.

The least of many things one does for one's offspring.

Too bad your Dutch is so-so or I would have a funny video for you.

My Dutch is completely non-existent. But I believe I CAN say Johan Cruyff.

At last!

Record it!

And I will listen critically.

I'm not sure whether I want to :-)

I know five words fewer of Dutch than I do of Russian

4:53 AM

But I want you to!

You'd get lots of points for trying.

Hmm, I have to decide whether that is sufficient motivation for me.

I spoke mostly English and French tonight.

Apr 9 at 0:28, by David Wallace

My problem with Russian is that the only things I know how to say are "yes", "no", "thank you", "good-bye" and "I'm fucking your mother". There's a limit to the conversational usefulness of this collection.

Haha.

Were you briefly out of the country, or were you trying to impress somebody?

4:55 AM

Partly the latter.

Where was she from?

I was talking to some Canadians, one of whom I was also flirting with.

They were Québecois.

Fair enough. Are you as convincing when you speak English as you are when you write it?

I don't know.

You probably speak French better than I do too.

4:57 AM

I rarely speak English, and it gets worse when I speak with non-native speakers.

My French kind of sucks.

Fsloomic?

Quoi?

See one of the starred comments to your right, for a translation.

The opposite of gemlike...right.

Hello!

4:59 AM

My French is certainly not gemlike—but the opposite?

French was compulsory at my primary school. But I haven't had cause to use it in anger for very many years.

Hello!

I talked to your fellow countrymen all night.

@DavidWallace Only primary school?

But a Francophone Belgian woman did instruct me to switch to English so that she could understand me, once.

Haha.

Yes, I didn't see much point with continuing with French at secondary school. I was really quite fluent in it when I was 12.

5:01 AM

No offence, but many speakers of English have a horrible accent in French, even worse than the other way around.

Secondary school French would have meant going right back to the beginning.

Even some Oxford professors.

Okay, well, I'm glad you perfected your French at age 12.

@Cerberus Yeah, I understand that. In fact, I have a NZer friend who (many years ago, when NZ had many more sheep and many fewer people than now) told a class of Quebecois schoolkids that "In NZ, there are 3 million people and 70 million mutants", to the shock of all of them.

But I, myself, am well past the "thank you, nice arse" phase that so amuses the French.

@Cerberus Oh, fun!

Most of my French teachers were from France, so when I speak it, I don't have a horrible English accent.

5:03 AM

@DavidWallace Oh, moutons?

Yes.

Haha.

The whole ou / u dichotomy that so confuses the English.

Nice arse? Hmm...

@DavidWallace Oh, good!

As in "beau cul" instead of "beaucoup".

5:04 AM

@DavidWallace You just don't have u (/y/).

Ugh, French in the English chat? Again?

@DavidWallace Ohh... is cul pronounced luke /ky/?

@Cerberus That may be true, but I can pronounce beaucoup and mouton correctly.

@Mahnax Look who's talking.

@Cerberus Qui, moi?

5:05 AM

Umm, yeah, /ky/ or something close to it.

Oui, mon cher, toi.

@DavidWallace Then we shall speak French if ever we meet!

Bien sur.

Hey Cerb, when I come to the Netherlands in a couple years, would you put up with a houseguest?

Haha.

My vocabulary kind of sucks.

@Mahnax Um for a couple of days, sure!

If you don't mind being sold to the pimps on the weekend.

Woah, never mind.

5:08 AM

Hehe.

I'll just stay at that sketchy "hotel" across the road.

Seriously, you would be welcome, but I don't have an extra room, so more than a couple of days would probably be a bit too crowded.

Anyone know what language / platform the SE network is developed in?

Zulu maybe?

@Cerberus I would plan to stay in the Netherlands no more than five days and probably no more than two in your area.

5:09 AM

@Mahnax Oh, then absolutely!

But you must promise to say "a boot" a few times.

@Cerberus sighs

I could really go for a boot on my left foot right about now.

Sigh all you like.

Like that?

Hmm I suspect foul play.

Fine, I'll say aboot.

5:11 AM

The zebra pillow pal is called Zulu.

Although that's not how I pronounce it.

Too bad the Canadians I talked to weren't English speakers. But I did learn a bit more a boot the Québecois accent.

sighs more because Cerb permitted it

Heh.

imgur.com/F59FO

Just came across that on Reddit.

5:13 AM

Haha, nice.

I think that they are being too critical.

It does address some of the problems people seriously have with religions.

Yes, it does.

1. Injustice in the world. 2. Inconsistency.

If people want free will, there's going to be injustice in the world.

5:14 AM

People don't choose be get diseases...

Yes, I know.

But let's not go there at this hour!

Later then.

I'm trying to sober up.

Aha.

5:16 AM

I didn't drink too much or anything.

But still.

Just a couple beers, right?

You know, five or six?

Something like that.

It was free.

Right, free beer.

Birthday party.

So the birthday boys picked up the tab.

Oh, that's better.

5:19 AM

Yeah.

And you were flirting with them?

With some of their guests.

Oh, fun fun.

I played laser tag with some friends.

Yeah it was nice.

Oh!

Which is pretty childish, but hey. Nostalgia.

5:20 AM

I love it.

Me too.

Haven't done it in ages.

But it is by no means childish!

Today was my first time in four years.

Fifteen years ago, it was almost unknown here. Then my mother's office organized a laser-tag game, and she told us about it. Then we wanted to do it too, and a trend emerged.

Cool!

5:21 AM

Oh, that's long. Did you fare well?

I got 7th of out 29 people both times.

There were strangers in with us, I was with four friends.

Wowie.

So the 1st quartile.

Not bad at all.

I agree, not bad.

Lotta fun.

@Cerb What else did you do at the party?

Oh, chatted with various people. Amongst whom a girl (well, she was 42) who is bad at recognizing faces.

Huh.

5:29 AM

She said she wouldn't recognize me if she bumped into me in a supermarket tomorrow.

There's a guy on reddit who does quick paintings of comments that people have done.

He's done over 1000 paintings now.

A painting of a comment?

Of a situation portrayed in a comment.

His username is Shitty_Watercolour.

Pardon the word.

user image

All of his paintings.

user image

Can someone shoo that animal away please?

Goes to:

user image

5:31 AM

@Mahnax Looks very nice. And nice cat.

@Cerberus Yeah. Definitely one of the better Redditors out there, like lulzcakes and POTATO_IN_MY_ANUS.

Haha what?

I'm not very familiar with Reddit.

But P.i.m.A doesn't sound very pleasant.

I spend a fair amount of time just browsing.

@Cerberus He's pretty funny.

Cool.

Yep.

I should really do more constructive things.

5:34 AM

Such as?

Like beat M76 on Tyrant.

Ah, of course.

Killing mutant monsters.

With Latin/Greek names.

That's right!

I presume Cerberus is your favourite card?

No offence, but no.

5:35 AM

What!?

Although I did use the code name Cerberus for our games of laser tag.

But I have 0 wait!

I wanted to sound fierce.

Haha I am honoured.

@Cerberus True, but…

5:36 AM

I heal people! I'm a nice guy.

Haha.

I have four of you.

Not three?

Maybe sell one.

Ah, sure.

They're saying that you're only worth 10 gold.

What!?

They're fools.

5:38 AM

Thanks.

I can easily earn € 200 a night.

Oh…?

Well, perhaps male hookers are cheaper.

I really wouldn't know.

headdesk

Hey, you started about how much I was worth.

I suppose.

But you said I should sell one of you.

5:40 AM

You got me there.

Ha.

wins

brooding

Haha. BRB.

Well, you guys were busy while I was gone.

We're beasts.

> I can browse the Internet and navigate and call and text and e-mail... — Really? All of them?

Eh?

5:50 AM

How does this sound to you?

The dash represents a change of speaker.

I would say "all of that", but I understand her just fine.

Yeah, "All of that?"

Yeah I understood her all right.

Just considering the idiom: would you say "all of them" in this situation, and can you explain why (not)?

Yeah, OK, do you want me to explain it here or in the other room, where your beautiful buddy can receive the benefit of my wisdom?

Oh, y'all are in Linguistics, too.

5:55 AM

I don't know any more. Whatever your sober mind thinks best.

Who says I'm sober?

Oh, dear.

How unsober are you?

I haven't been drunk since I was about Mahnax's age.

Really?

How about a little bit tipsy?

No, I gave up drinking when I was 18.

So, not quite Mahnax's age, I guess.

5:59 AM

Not quite.

2.5 years away.

When I go to Europe I won't quite be 18, but I'll be able to drink in Cerb's country, at least.

@DavidWallace Why exactly?

Never stopped me. When I gave up drinking, the legal age in NZ was 20.

I value my brain cells and my dignity. Also, I'm really obnoxious when I'm drunk.

Nobody wants that.

user image

user image

Italy and Portugal it is!

Hehe.

6:02 AM

Anyway, my better half just brought me dinner, so I'm going to be AFK for a wee while.

Yay I want a dinner-bringer too!

I might be disconnected from das Interneht soon.

Have fun.

We shall see.

If I stop talking, you know what happened.

Ow, is it the upstairs department again?

6:03 AM

Peut-être.

I see.

They are still awake, but I might get shut down.

What time is it? 1?

Midnight.

Ah.

But no school on the morrow.

6:05 AM

Oh boy, I can have cognac with my grandfather when I visit them in Finland.

That'll be an experience.

Hmm...

That will be fun male bonding.

He's a very happy drunk.

Haha.

I don't know what I am, but most Finns [that I've seen drunk] are happy drunks, so I hope that's what I am too.

I'm sure you will be.

6:07 AM

Good good.

But David is right, it really isn't very healthy.

No, it isn't.

Moderation.

Yes.

Finns are notorious for drinking too much, too often, unfortunately.

And I believe it is unhealthier if you are younger.

6:08 AM

Yeah.

Yes, Scandinavians are the worst lot.

So I won't have too much.

Good.

Scots and Irishmen are pretty bad too.

Hmm, my parents are being noisy.

Maybe they're drunk.

Hmm.

Haha.

Probably.

6:09 AM

It's possible.

user image

What is it?

Can you guess?

Lemme see…

Population density?

Nope.

6:15 AM

Figured, but had to ask.

No idea.

It's closer to the other maps.

Alcohol use in minors?

Cats p.a.?

Haha no.

Only one country is green.

What could that be?

Marijuana usage?

Well, the country is the Netherlands.

6:17 AM

Close!

Oh, weed could be it.

Legal status of weed?

Ding!

interesting

user image

But Portugal…

Oh.

Do you smoke marijuana, Cerb?

6:18 AM

No.

That's what I thought.

I won't try it while I'm in Europe.

Well, I highly doubt I will.

@Cameron By the way, I believe the use of marijuana is actually lower in the Netherlands than in neighbouring countries.

@Mahnax I've never tried it either, but why not?

@Cerberus Even if you include tourists?

@Cerberus IDK. I'm not sure that I would enjoy it.

@DavidWallace Probably not.

6:20 AM

@Cerberus also interesting

Thanks.

@Mahnax People react to it in different ways.

@DavidWallace OK.

Adult lifetime cannabis use by country

:See also: Annual cannabis use by country (as opposed to lifetime use). Adult lifetime cannabis use by country refers to the lifetime prevalence of cannabis use among all adults in surveys among the general population. [http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050141 "Toward a Global View of Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis, and Cocaine Use: Findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys"]. July 2008, Volume 5, Issue 7, e141. PLoS Medicine (Public Library of Science). In the [http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/5/7/pdf/10.1371_j...

@Mahnax There are people whom it barely affects at all, and others who get really happy.

6:22 AM

@DavidWallace Oh, interesting.

So guys, is your eigengrau a true grey or does it have a tinge of red or some other colour?

I knew a kid who got really agitated every time he had it.

Then why did he take it?

He ~~was~~ is ~~a "rebel"~~ an idiot.

I'm not saying that all people who smoke are stupid, but many of them are. Especially the minors.

@Vitaly Impossible to measure, I'd say.

6:26 AM

Well, if you have been trained to recognize colours (at an art school, for instance), you'd be able to either reproduce it or select from a colour palette or something

@Mahnax One boy I went to school with smoked a joint every day. He was very clever in the first year of secondary school; like same league as me. But in adult life, he's a no-hoper junkie with no chance of meaningful employment.

So at least partially measurable

user image

@Vitaly All sorts of things are wrong with that assertion.

@DavidWallace That's a shame.

6:27 AM

@DavidWallace Yeah we had a guy like that too.

@Vitaly I've never heard of that word until just now, but I looked it up and turned off my lights and I would say it's got gray and a little red, but I think there was still lots of after-image from looking at my computer screen

@DavidWallace Like what?

@Cameron Yeah, I have red in my eigengrau, too

@Vitaly Hard to tell.

Well, a colour palette doesn't take account of variations in perception due to ambient light, or other nearby objects and so on.

@Cameron Not to mention the fact that imperfect darkness causes some redness from the blood in your eye lids.

6:29 AM

A red-tinged eigengrau is likely to be a psychological effect as much as an optical one.

@Cerberus good point, I definitely don't have perfect darkness here

I'll make a note to check my eigengrau later tonight, after my family are all asleep, and I'll let you know. The tinging may be obvious.

But don't forget, I'm the type to hallucinate the growing and shrinking of foxes.

My darkness isn't perfect either. There might be some light going through concrete walls. :P

@Vitaly Concrete? Are you in prison?

Anyway, I'm going to disappear for another little while. Son requiring attention.

6:32 AM

@Mahnax What else are buildings in cities like Moscow are made of?

It's Reg.

@Vitaly I don't know, never been to Moscow.

Well, if you want to try building a skyscraper from wood, be my guest, by all means!

@Mahnax Aww just as I imagine him.

@Cerberus Haha.

@Vitaly There are no doubt older houses in Moscow.

6:33 AM

@Vitaly Eh, no thanks, but I really do appreciate the offer.

@DavidWallace La'er!

By the way @Vit, you should do that synaesthesia test.

esquire.ru/clock

@Cerberus Oh, and about that pollen, when I try to look at exposed surfaces at my balcony from a very sharp angle, they have a noticeable light olive drab colour.

@Vitaly Ah, very nice.

If the angle is larger than about 20 degrees, it's just white, or close to white.

6:43 AM

I see.

I wish I had a balcony with a wide view like yours.

Well, I'm out of here fo'while.

Be back later, bye.

CU.

Bai.

Jove almighty, how can CogSci.SE be so inactive?

2

Q: How to temporarily induce low latent inhibition?

As the Wikipedia article says, High levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine (or its agonists) in the ventral tegmental area of the brain have been shown to decrease latent inhibition. Certain dysfunctions of the neurotransmitters glutamate, serotonin and acetylcholine have also been implicate...

perception psychopharmacology

2 days, 22 views, 0 answers…

7:24 AM

No idea, sorry...

I don't know what kind of questions people at CS like.

And it's bed time.

Bye!

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