English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

"Whenever you learn one thing, you will realize that there are ten things you did not know.": it happen to me also!

user19161

There are things you think you may know, but then 9000 years later you realize you have been wrong.

user19161

So we must always keep an open mind.

Therefore you do not never realize that! @WillHunting

awe

10:45 AM

@Carlo_R It happens to me too...

@Gigili If this technique worked for Cerberus, I would thoroughly recommend it. Cerberus is one of the very few people I have encountered whose English vocabulary exceeds mine. The fact that he is not a native speaker makes it all the more impressive. So if you want to learn vocabulary, do whatever Cerberus recommends.

Oh crap, she's not even here.

Chris

'Please respond at your convenience' is an okay thing to say, right? Or is it only acceptable to use the slightly more pushing 'Please respond at your EARLIEST convenience'?

Depends on the context really.

"Please respond at your convenience" means "whenever you feel like it".

"Please respond at your earliest convenience" means "I want you to answer me now, but I'm trying (and failing) not to appear too pushy".

Chris

11:04 AM

Ah, I am in no hurry so I should probably be using the first form.

Thank you very much for your help, much appreciated!

@Chris No problem.

user19161

@DavidWallace Did you take the test at testyourvocab.com?

user19161

I just took the test there and got a score of 18,000.

user19161

11:19 AM

I remember everyone else beat me the last time.

user19161

Wait, 18000 is twice of 9000!

Matt Эллен

you scored OVER 9000!!!!

user19161

@MattЭллен Boo!

Matt Эллен

hi!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Jul 17 '11 at 18:54, by Jasper Loy

I retook the test, and got 14, 800. So I hereby declare that my score, taking the average, is 14, 600!

user19161

11:22 AM

@RegDwightѬſ道 I was more liberal with the check marks today.

user19161

Let me take it again and be very strict.

user19161

OK this time I got 14,200.

user19161

So taking the average I have 16,100.

@WillHunting I did take it. I can't remember my score. I think it was around 23000.

Feb 20 at 11:14, by David Wallace

That site that Vitaly gave the link of estimates my vocabulary to be 32900. I feel cheated.

11:30 AM

Thank you, I just found that and was about to post it.

Anytime!

Oh well, I was off by less than 10000, so it really doesn't matter.

But Cerberus allegedly scored 34400. So I was correct in saying that his vocabulary exceeds mine. Damned three-headed canine pineapple.

in War Metal Tyrant, Jul 17 '11 at 17:45, by RegDwight

So we have Vitaly at 25k+, myself at 30k+, z7sg at 33k, Cerberus at 34k+ and Rob at 42k+.

Rob == Robust0 ?

Jul 17 '11 at 16:49, by RegDwight

Hey pips, everyone please take this test. For science!

@DavidWallace No, Robusto

user19161

11:33 AM

@Vitaly Hahaha.

i ken haz kofee?

@Vitaly Yeah, private joke. Also prevents him from finding me backstabbing him if he ever searches for his name.

user19161

@KitFox There you go, one full pot!

@WillHunting thx

@Vitaly Do you happen to remember my score? I think it was around yours.

getin kofee brb

ug! cup iz grosses!

mus needs washin

@KitFox I wouldn't have expected you to grow a mus!

@Vitaly Why am I suddenly thinking of Gladys Knight?

11:41 AM

@Vit New chapter today, right?

Jul 17 '11 at 17:37, by z7sg

@RegDwight I got 32,900. What do I win?

Freaky coincidence!

Is that what you got?

Yes.

Maybe the purple unicorn and I know all the same words.

Must be.

@KitFox Actually, no, I don't. My first 5 months (or so) of continuous interaction with anyone are almost invariably blurred.

11:45 AM

I am looking, but haven't found it.

Maybe I never said.

OK so this is what the search engine gives me:

in War Metal Tyrant, Aug 17 '11 at 20:23, by KitΘδς

@Cerberus I think so. I think I was around 25,000.

Oh, I was looking in the wrong room.

But you seemed not to be sure whether you've actually taken it.

Maybe I should take it now.

pokes brain Are you awake, brain?

Oww, don't poke me!

11:48 AM

spins ratchet on vocab center You charged up, vocab center?

In any case, I'm not awake, and I'm going to bed. 'Night all.

Night.

@awe Ahhrg...! I always confuse 'too' with 'also'! For an Italian speaker it is difficult to understand the difference.

@DavidWallace Night!

@Carlo_R They are the same in that context though.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

11:57 AM

@RegDwightѬſ道 I prefer the latter!

Hmm. 39,500. Not what I expected, and really not what I remembered.

Probably skewed by our discussion of the vocabulary words after the initial fervor.

@Will This was a good call, and also really funny.

0

Q: "I will" or "I shall"

I have learnt in school we should use shall with I, you and we. But I often see people saying I will, you will or we will. Is this correct?

Dupe.

@KitFox so do you have an internal "generic human" concept that is invoked whenever you interact with someone unfamiliar? if you do, what's it look like? genderless? mid-30s?

@Vitaly When I am interacting online without any useful cues, I tend to default to someone with my approximate statistics.

Usually male, though.

And offline?

Well, it depends on their appearance.

12:06 PM

Hm. So no for offline, I guess. Thanks.

No, because I have an instance in front of me.

Well, if you were at the negative end of the sociality spectrum, your "generic human" model would still be put to use: you'd lack the circuits to process the clues in front of you, unless you were trying to do so consciously.

Oh, I generally do so consciously. It is helpful.

I think most people actually default to something like a "generic human" when they are in a crowd, there are just too many clues to process.

Hmm. I hadn't thought of that.

Interesting.

12:12 PM

That would explain some of their behavior...

So here is an approximation of my generic representation of @Reg (except he is younger and wears glasses). And here is my approximate representation of you, except you are quite a lot younger in my head.

:D

Those are just physical representations, of course.

But I am sidetracking from your actual exploration.

Well, this isn't helpful because I don't see what's so special about them (and neither looks like any of us :P)

Well, in my head, they do.

Those are generic Russians.