English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Robusto

1:31 AM

@RegDwigнt Funny that German uses Notenschlüssel the way English uses clef and Tonart the way we use key.

Cerberus

2:03 AM

Dutch: muzieksleutel or toonsleutel.

Færd

6:53 AM

Readable article on linguistic relativity.

> Our survey of the field suggests that at least two versions of the Whorfian hypothesis can be dismissed, namely those based on language as language-ofthought and linguistic determinism.
On the other hand, five other versions of the Whorfian hypothesis have garnered empirical support: those in which thinking occurs before language use (thinking for speaking), those in which linguistic and nonlinguistic codes compete with each other (language as meddler) or in which linguistic codes extend nonlinguistic thinking (language as augmenter), and those in which thinking is directed toward propert…

Linguistic relativity

The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, part of relativism, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis , or Whorfianism is a principle claiming that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition, and thus people's perceptions are relative to their spoken language. The principle is often defined in one of two versions: the strong hypothesis, which was held by some of the early linguists before World War II, and the weak hypothesis, mostly held by some of the modern linguists. The strong version says that language determines thought and that linguistic categories limit...

RegDwigнt

9:55 AM

@Robusto well, "clef" is also just "key". English just uses the additional opportunity to kowtow to its French master.

Gigili

10:32 AM

> at what point am I sick enough that I can stop assuming it's psychosomatic because everyone is talking about sickness?

Daniel Rigg

11:29 AM

what is formal matter or formal proposition?

RegDwigнt

12:04 PM

google.com/covid19/mobility

Aggregate smartphone data from Google. "See how your community is moving around differently due to COVID-19".

> These reports will be available for a limited time, so long as public health officials find them useful.

Quite interesting.

The charts for parks are crazy. Apparently everyone is jogging.

Except in California for some reason.

Robusto

1:37 PM

@RegDwigнt Ah, true. I forgot about that.

Robusto

1:50 PM

@Færd Well, of course. For example, Japanese calls blue (青い、あおい, aoi) not only what we in English would call blue but much of what we call green. A Japanese traffic light turns 青い when it's time to go, not green. (For the range of paler or yellower greens, like new foliage, they say midori.) But that brings up the question of which came first, the perception or the nomenclature? Certainly the perception must have come first, right?

@RegDwigнt: I've reached the conclusion that it is actually impossible to play the violin at the Vengerov level, and that there must be black arts involved.

It is also impossible to compose at the Tchaikovsky level, but that's another matter.

And, yes, I listened to that performance again today. The tab in my browser was still open, so why not?

Mitch

2 Gangs of Otters clash for territory in Singapore

►

Robusto

@Mitch That is otterworldly.

Mitch

Otterly amazing

Intermusteline warfare.

Robusto

2:08 PM

I also am very much impressed with how his double-stops breathe in the Mozart and, well, all the rest of it.

Mitch

Otters will fuck you up man

Robusto

Sounds like you're speaking from experience.

Mitch

haha

no

Robusto

2:22 PM

No need to be bitter.

Mitch

Better bitter than bad otter biter

Robusto

Bitter butter batter beats bad bot booters.

Ah, another attack on the passive voice.

Always use active voice if possible. — Decapitated Soul 1 hour ago

There is nothing wrong with using the passive voice. There is nothing wrong with using the active voice. These are tools in a writer's toolbox. Would you tell a carpenter always to use a hammer, never a level? — Robusto 5 mins ago

Cerberus

2:53 PM

That must be in our top 10 of most FAQ, perhaps even top 5.

Robusto

3:06 PM

@Cerberus We need better heuristics for sending questions to genuine answers before they are submitted.

Cerberus

3:19 PM

@Robusto Yes.

I have been arguing for displaying to askers some questions out of a hand-picked top 20 or so, whenever certain hand-picked words were present in their question to be.

Robusto

@Cerberus They already do that to some extent, but the result set is wildly off the mark.

Cerberus

@Robusto Yes, because those aren't hand-picked questions.

Robusto

3:41 PM

"Hack-picked"? Not sure what that means.

RegDwigнt

4:01 PM

@Robusto yes, if we look at the facts, that is a solid conclusion indeed.

Hilary Hahn may beg to differ, but then again she also studied black arts, so we can disregard her vote.

@Robusto nah, that one must be easy. I've actually heard there's only seven notes in total. That's like, lol.

Robusto

Black arts for black artists. /nod

RegDwigнt

@DecapitatedSoul I will join others in suggesting that you go ahead and reword the sentence using active voice. It is quite telling that you didn't even try. Why would that be. — RegDwigнt ♦ 5 secs ago

Robusto

@RegDwigнt BTW, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert yesterday, but today it was an even deeper experience. I was even-tempered (no pun intended) about the Schubert yesterday, but today it was just glorious.

RegDwigнt

Schubert is often like that.

Sometimes you're like WTF dude leave me alone. Other times, whoa.

Robusto

I've always loved the "Trout" quintet.

RegDwigнt

4:07 PM

That's the only Schubert song that I sing accompanying myself at the guitar.

It's, how did you put it, glorious.

The lyrics are only helping.

Robusto

And this:

Schubert "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen" Elly Ameling (Part I )

►

Someone wanted me to play a transcription for flute, but I refused. It just ain't the same.

RegDwigнt

> Put the name of the composer who you vote for in the comments, whoever gets the most wins composer of the month.

@Steven_Wan
@sudcles
@LeSpook
@ecpannyc
@Hazim Azlan
@Michael Dorin
@Unkown Writer
@Doctorjoshua

@Robin M. Butler
@(Fennel)
@Teodor Lontos
@Josue Quintero
@The_Mad_Duck
@RKrauth
@Skylighter
@IGitzdiz
@Obsolesce
@Mao Zhedong
@Buster_bluth
@Tchaikovsky_No1

Well damn, looks like Schubert isn't even an option. He must suck.

Robusto

Yeah, and Bach ain't even a patch on @The_Mad_Duck.

RegDwigнt

I was going to comment "Bach", but I'd have to join the group for that, and well. Would you join a group if this were its business card.

Robusto

I don't join groups as a matter of course, but especially not that one.

RegDwigнt

4:14 PM

Can you imagine Bach putting on his résumé, "I once won Composer of the Month on MuseScore".

Against The_Mad_Duck.

> So, I was scrolling through some old discussions, and I noticed there was an abortion debate. It seemed like most people tend to agree (In this group) - Abortion is morally abysmal. I'd like to revive this topic for debate.

If you are pro-life: Please try and keep your comments to a minimum until the pro-abortion people have a chance to state their position on the matter. The discussion will get clogged with pro-lifers and everyone will gang up on the pro-abortioners

Jesus Christ, that's even worse.

Robusto

That's on MuseScore?

RegDwigнt

It's like people don't even know that the Internet has more than one site.

They find one site, and that's the one they stick with for the rest of their pointless life.

19 hours ago, by RegDwigнt

> I am designing a video game, and i need characters for it from anyone who is good at graphic designing. This would be volunteer work, and i would need the characters in different positions. Attach a link to the picture in the comments section, if you would like to try. I want the character to look realistic, but still have a anime look on it.

Would you ask your baker to fix your car. Or your car mechanic to bake you a cake.

Robusto

Hahahaha.

M.A.R.

@RegDwigнt And I want to be as tall as Jaime, for all the good that it does. thought Tyrion

Robusto

Even worse, it's like "I need someone to build me a Panama Canal in my back yard. This would be volunteer work."

M.A.R.

4:19 PM

@RegDwigнt Does Unkown Writer write well

RegDwigнt

I'm not familiar with his work.

M.A.R.

@Robusto And they need the canal in different positions

Robusto

And the capper would be: The person making the request would badger whoever was dumb enough to furnish the characters to make all sorts of changes, and register disappointment in this or that feature.

RegDwigнt

I am familiar with that of some of the people on the list. But not Unknown Writer's.

M.A.R.

*Unkown

Robusto

4:20 PM

@M.A.R. Of course.

RegDwigнt

@Robusto never, ever, open the Community tab on MuseScore. It's all religion and politics and look what funny picture I found on the Internet.

And, like, not even politics politics, but what do you think about the new governor of Idaho.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a bagel.

@RegDwigнt I dunno. How did that one get past me?

RegDwigнt

@Robusto sorry, that answer is too-high quality for MuseScore. Try again. Ideally you should comment "Check out my score". Some people just comment "hi". Three times in a row.

Robusto

You need to get out more. Of MuseScore.

RegDwigнt

Most people on there are between the age of nine and fourteen.

And no, I'm not even joking. There's a "guess my age game" thread.

Cerberus

4:23 PM

@Robusto Argh! Why do I always typo with you.

Must be the wine this time.

Hand-picked.

Robusto

@Cerberus I practice the black arts. Only it doesn't improve my violin playing.

@Cerberus I figured. But I still wanted to give you shit about it.

RegDwigнt

Funny, I practice my violin playing and it doesn't improve my black arts.

Cerberus

@Robusto Understandable.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt Obviously you're doing it wrong. Ask your teacher.

Cerberus

I didn't know you were black, congratulations.

RegDwigнt

4:25 PM

I would, but school's out.

Robusto

Oh, right.

It always seems to come back to COVID-19 these days, doesn't it?

BTW, @Reg, we do call Allen wrenches "hex keys" sometimes.

RegDwigнt

4:47 PM

Sorry, was just reading up on that paper they released about the first 50 patients in the first major COVID outbreak in Germany.

Spiegel has a good summary, if you care for reading German.

spiegel.de/wissenschaft/medizin/…

Average age 65. All with chronic illnesses. Respiratory diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure.

Two thirds are men, only one third women.

35 out of the 50 are still in the hospital after two months.

8 were released, 7 died. Out of those, 4 died because intensive care was declined either by themselves or the family.

> Die Patienten waren im Schnitt 65 Jahre alt. Das ist älter als der Durchschnitt der Covid-19-Klinikpatienten im chinesischen Wuhan.
Männer stellen zwei Drittel der Betroffenen, Frauen nur ein Drittel.
Alle 50 Patienten hatten bereits eine Vorerkrankung. 35 von ihnen hatten Bluthochdruck, 29 Diabetes, 25 eine Atemwegserkrankung, darunter das chronische Lungenleiden COPD, Schlafapnoe und Asthma. Auch Herz-, Nieren- und Leberleiden sowie Krebserkrankungen werden von den Ärzten genannt.

> Mehr als 80 Prozent hatten zunächst Fieber, knapp die Hälfte hatte Husten oder bereits früh Atembeschwerden. Nur je ein Patient hatte Schnupfen beziehungsweise Kopfschmerzen, lediglich zwei Halsweh. Magen-Darm-Beschwerden in Form von Erbrechen, Durchfall oder Übelkeit betrafen zu Beginn der Erkrankung immerhin sechs Patientinnen und Patienten.

> Zwischen dem Einsetzen der ersten Symptome und der Einlieferung ins Krankenhaus lagen im Schnitt nur vier Tage. Die Zeit ist kürzer als in den Berichten aus Wuhan.

> Knapp die Hälfte der beschriebenen Patienten, nämlich 24, hatten ein schweres Lungenversagen. Sie benötigten Beatmung. In acht Fällen sogar die sogenannte extrakorporale Membranoxygenierung (ECMO). Das aufwendige Verfahren kann die Atmung für eine Weile ersetzen, indem Blut über eine Kanüle aus dem Körper in ein Gerät geleitet wird, das der Flüssigkeit Kohlendioxid entzieht und sie mit Sauerstoff anreichert - beides geschieht normalerweise, während das Blut die Lunge passiert.

> Alle Patienten ohne schweres Lungenversagen benötigten eine Sauerstofftherapie.
Patienten mit einem Lungenversagen hatten häufiger bereits eine chronische Atemwegserkrankung und waren häufiger übergewichtig als die Covid-19-Patienten in der Klinik, deren Lunge nicht versagte. Bei den anderen Begleiterkrankungen zeigte sich in dieser Gruppe kein Unterschied.

> Die Viruslast unterschied sich bei den Patienten mit und ohne Lungenversagen nicht. Die Daten aus China legten dagegen nahe, dass eine höhere Viruslast mit einem schwereren Verlauf der Krankheit einhergeht.

That's the summary.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt So they all required oxygen therapy, or is that just a routine procedure in hospitals? If you ever go in to the ER complaining of chest pains, they automatically hook you up with oxygen before they start diagnosing.

At least here.

And yes, reading German is much easier for me nowadays than speaking it.

Cerberus

5:21 PM

@RegDwigнt Interesting.

RegDwigнt

6:11 PM

@Robusto no, what the text is saying they got to the point where the therapy was absolutely required.

Whether that was after a week in the hospital or for some patients immediately as they arrived, is not part of the summary. It only points out that every last person needed it whose lungs hadn't just failed outright.

"Therapy" is more than just hooking you up with a mask once.

Robusto

6:50 PM

@RegDwigнt I kinda figured that, but didn't really want to believe it.

That is totally scary.

> The Trump administration has hinted it might somehow use Medicaid to expand access to health coverage for the uninsured during the crisis. But these feints have been extremely vague, and President Trump — along with many Republicans — continues to support a lawsuit that could wipe out the ACA [Affordable Care Act, i.e., "Obajacare"] entirely.

From These two coronavirus maps provide a terrifying glimpse of what’s coming

RegDwigнt

7:07 PM

Ugh. You with your paywalls.

I'll just take your word for it.

Would have loved to see them maps tho.

Mr Robusto, tear down this wall!

RegDwigнt

7:45 PM

Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine

►

Bill Withers - Lean On Me (1973 live)

►

Robusto

@RegDwigнt twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/…

RegDwigнt

Bill Withers - Just The Two Of Us (HQ) with Lyrics

►

Bill Withers - Lovely Day (Audio)

►

@Robusto thank you.

Robusto

Do you get NYT?

nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/02/us/…

Here's the other one on Twitter:

twitter.com/LaurenLeatherby/status/…

RegDwigнt

I also heard on the German news just now that your horrific unemployment figures right now don't even include the last two weeks.

Robusto

Of course.

Do you wonder why?

RegDwigнt

7:51 PM

I wonder about nothing no more.

@Robusto that one works but not in this browser. Will check from work some time next week.

Robusto

kk

RegDwigнt

NYT generally works better. The Post is just always behind a paywall all the time.

Robusto

This song seems strangely appropriate just now:

Elvis Costello - Brilliant Mistake

►

RegDwigнt

Will be there in a minute. Still listening to Bill Withers.

The funeral homes in NYC have no space left.

Just watched a report from one, they have room for 50 people, 60 max. Currently 185 there alone.

Robusto

The very definition of a nightmare scenario.

A Perspicaciously Curious Mind

7:57 PM

Mar 25 at 14:22, by tchrist

Spain is out of morgues. They're stacking up bodies at ice rinks.

RegDwigнt

tagesschau 20:00 Uhr, 03.04.2020

►

Robusto

@RegDwigнt OIC. You only link videos when performers die.

RegDwigнt

Not only, no. But we're losing them at great speed, yes.

At least they leave something behind.

Robusto

Life is cheap here in 2020. And apt to get cheaper.

That bass part in "Lean On Me" is so simple, but perfect.

RegDwigнt

I remember I was shocked when James Brown passed away. Then once again when Michael Jackson died.

These days I can barely keep up.

A day, a name.

Robusto

8:03 PM

When Michael Jackson died my younger said, "Did that rock your world?" I was quite taken aback.

I wasn't a Michael Jackson fan, but I recognized his contribution to pop music.

Like saying "Did that rock your world?" when the Berlin Wall fell, as if it doesn't matter if you didn't live in Germany.

RegDwigнt

@Robusto the melody is very simple, too. Especially in that particular video that I linked. All the parallel fifths. Completely hollow. And his voice is like, the guy next door. But then the refrain kicks in and it's like holy shit, where's that coming from. Shivers down the spine.

Robusto

Simple songs can be powerful.

RegDwigнt

It's not about being simple. It's about being deceptively so.

And it's about telling a story. The notes, anyone can sing. Your story, only you can tell.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt Well, maybe.

Simple Song

►

I don't care for the religious sentiment, but this song is utterly captivating.

RegDwigнt

Bernstein is a great master of deceptive simplicity.

Robusto

8:09 PM

I love the modulations. Very simple, but ~~straightforward~~ fresh and invigorating.

RegDwigнt

Easy for amateurs, hard for professionals.

Robusto

Don't know why I typed "straightforward" there. I think you interrupted me while I was typing. Shame on you.

RegDwigнt

I hang my head.

Robusto

You know, for me all music has a religious dimension. And I mean "religious" in a very non-religious way. Not sure I can explain it.

8:11 PM

Bach wouldn't have been what he was if he hadn't been moved by his religion.

He would have been amazing, but not in the same way.

RegDwigнt

Well half the art in the world wouldn't be there. Paintings, books, sculptures, architecture.

Robusto

True. But there's cheap religious art & music, and then that which is transcendent.

RegDwigнt

Oh don't reminds me of contemporary Christian rock.

Robusto

Bach, in his mind, was merely holding up a mirror to the Almighty. I really believe that.

RegDwigнt

Well you can play every single piece of his and still not understand how the fuck he did it.

Robusto

8:15 PM

The biggest irony in Bach is the Goldberg Variations. He wrote them to put some rich fuck to sleep, but I don't understand how anyone could sleep through that.

RegDwigнt

It's like reading your favorite book. You can read it over and over again and fifty years later still discover something new.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt: Can someone put a video up on YouTube but restrict access to certain people only?

RegDwigнt

You can set videos to private, yes. Then you can send the link to people.

Robusto

Ah, cool.

My pedestrian reason for asking is that I have a bunch of videos of my kids when they were little and I want to get them somewhere the family can view them.

What format do you use to export video files to YouTube?

RegDwigнt

Why not Google Drive.

Robusto

8:28 PM

@RegDwigнt Uh, because I don't know what that is or why I would use it? Besides, isn't there a filesize and bandwith limit to that?

RegDwigнt

YouTube automatically scans all videos for appearances of children and then asks you all kinds of nasty questions and never stops after you've answered them ten times over.

@Robusto 15GB storage for free.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt This is decidedly not kiddie porn. Kids opening presents on Christmas, that sort of thing.

RegDwigнt

For every person on this planet. If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google Drive.

Robusto

Yeah, I've just never used it.

RegDwigнt

Well then you have the full 15GB.

@Robusto don't tell that to me. Tell that to YouTube. Ten times over. And then ten more times.

Robusto

8:30 PM

@RegDwigнt Less a few GB. "2.89 GB (19%) of 15 GB used"

RegDwigнt

See. You don't even know all the stuff you're using (@_@)

Robusto

I don't know how to delete things without spending too much time at it.

RegDwigнt

You move it to your Trash.

Robusto

When you click "Manage" it gives you disappointingly few options.

RegDwigнt

Then you can delete it there permanently.

Or resurrect it again.

Just like Windows anno 1990.

Robusto

8:31 PM

@RegDwigнt I want something that is a little more automated than that.

RegDwigнt

You can mark many things at once.

Alas, nobody can guess for you what you want to delete. Again, same as with computers.

How many videos are those, anyway.

Robusto

Probably about a couple hours' worth.

RegDwigнt

You can put them all in a folder, or several folders sorted by years or whatever.

Then you can nuke entire folders rather than individual files.

Uploading to YouTube is much more manual labour. And deleting from YouTube only more so.

Robusto

But then I have to give everyone access to my Google Drive, right?

RegDwigнt

No, you only share individual files.

Again, just like on YouTube. You'd have to send everyone the secret link for each individual video either way.

Robusto

8:35 PM

Ah.

RegDwigнt

Maybe on Drive you can actually share entire folders. I've never tried.

Robusto

So what format do you use for web streaming these days.

RegDwigнt

YouTube automatically converts it into a gajillion formats and resolutions. No matter what format you upload it in.

So people can watch it on any device with any kind of connection.

On Drive, what you upload is what you get.

Which is why the YouTube audio has all its quirks. They convert it back and forth and back again, and you never even know which version you're getting served until you're served it.

Robusto

Weird.

May 19 '15 at 12:03, by Robusto

When YouTube started, in 2007, in its first year it accounted for more web bandwidth than the entire Internet did in 2000.

I'm sure it's way beyond that already.

RegDwigнt

Well. And now the corona.

Plus even before that, they started the whole subscription business where you can watch entire TV series and films. In HD.

They want to be Netflix, too.

Robusto

8:43 PM

@RegDwigнt They want to be Your Internet Company. The AT&T before there was any alternative to AT&T.

RegDwigнt

Well Google and Amazon are the Internet now. What else is even there. Do people even remember eBay?

And no, I'm not counting Facebook.

They're going the way of the eBay.

Non sequitur: what's that stupid saying, I'm looking for it for something else right now. Something along the lines of "it takes very little to satisfy a tiny mind" or "a narrow mind is easily pleased". I'm on tilt right now.

Robusto

Dunno. "An empty wagon makes the most noise" doesn't apply.

Maybe you're accessing your po-russky side.

RegDwigнt

Yeah no, you've actually said it before, maybe even to myself. It's more like a stab when someone laughs at something really stupid. That you say to them, well you're easily entertained.

Robusto

"Easily amused"?

As in "You're easily amused."

I say that fairly frequently.

RegDwigнt

Yes along those lines.

Robusto

8:51 PM

Jul 2 '12 at 14:47, by Robusto

Some people are easily amused.

RegDwigнt

But actually, never mind, I can actually just use that.

Robusto

Mar 21 '12 at 21:50, by Robusto

You are easily amused. Also, go nuts.

Feb 10 '12 at 12:41, by Robusto

@RegDwightѬſ道 You are easily amused.

“Great minds find beauties and appreciate it. Average minds find commonalities and compare. Small minds find the problems and criticize.”

RegDwigнt

Maybe one day a palaeontologist will find it.

Robusto

That's a good one. Not mine.

RegDwigнt

Yeah I've been googling for five minutes to no avail. Found a lot of those.

Great mind discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.

Robusto

8:55 PM

@RegDwigнt Which is why there's Facebook.

RegDwigнt

But anyway, I've stopped now and so can you. I've used your thingie in the end, so thank you.

Robusto

YW

RegDwigнt

@Robusto just give it time and it won't be.

It will all be on MuseScore instead. It already is.

When your mom starts using Facebook, you go and look for some other place to highjack.

It's the treadmill of life.

Robusto

Doesn't Facebook have some kind of purdah for parents now?

RegDwigнt

They certainly think they do.

Facebook thinks they have something for everyone. While in reality they have nothing for anyone.

Anyway, I'll go play Animal Crossing for a while. Thanks for the company. Maybe I'll drop by again after buying all the furniture, catching all the fish, and watering every flower.

Robusto

9:34 PM

@RegDwigнt Good luck with that.

Daniel Rigg

11:29 PM

hello? someone please answer my questions I asked what formal matter or formal proposition mean

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…