English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Tonepoet

00:14

@terdon I think this is where I got that notion, I did post a comment underneath that post before

and it is an official F.A.Q. post now.

Wait, that's not what you were objecting to perhaps. So sleepy.

SmokeDetector

08:08

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Manually reported question: Which best spoken English class in Aundh Pune? by prashant surgude on english.SE

deostroll

09:06

I used the word weary to mean 'to be aware of' ...and I don't know why... ~(-.-)/~

terdon

@deostroll Thinking of wary, perhaps? Or ware?

Neither means aware of, exactly, but they are closer.

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Mostly dots in answer: Single word to denote date and time by harshan on english.SE

deostroll

09:21

@terdon aah!

Mitch

13:30

@terdon I'm weary of the misuse of weary.

It's wierd to mispell wierd.

Also mispell.

Also pasttime

terdon

Two troo.

Mitch

Hey man, other languages had successful writing reform. We should just bite the bullet, and fix it all now.

Wait... did they really?

terdon

@Mitch Just don't tell @Tonepoet :P

Mitch

He's a counter-spelling reform agent?

Spelling reform would make English an acceptable world language

terdon

@Mitch Of course. If Webster don't do it dis way, it's wrong.

Tonepoet

13:35

Oh how interesting. I'm writing about that subject right now. Noah Webster was a reformist and quite a successful one. However I think the language has come to a standstill. Spelling reform is doomed to failure at this point unless aolspeak, 1337, tumblurisms and engrish takes the world by storm....

terdon

Ha! Knew it :P

M.A.R.

Now I'm Deja Vu'ing

Mitch

@terdon Oh...good point. Get rid of 'th'. That would also shave years off of English instruction.

@Tonepoet world english, as annoying as some of it is, isn't much improvement.

@Tonepoet we should just communicate with emojis. and if that is too complex, 1 second gifs of people shrugging or blinking or pointing.

M.A.R.

terdon

@Mitch Argh! Don't start that argument again.

M.A.R.

13:38

(┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻

Mitch

@M.A.R. nice

@terdon I've made that argument before?

terdon

@Mitch the emoji/emoticon thang.

Mitch

@terdon oh

I have no dog in that fight

Literally.

I don't have a dog for that fight

dogs aren't that bright.

cats would take it as a slight

Tonepoet

@terdon Oh no, I'm quite serious. I really think those sorts of things are the only way a spelling reform will be fully successful. Webster's spelling reform had every advantage going for it, but it was only partially adopted, and subsequent efforts to finish the job were complete failures by comparison.

Mitch

@Tonepoet oh. It feels like I stepped into a long conversation, like walking into a biker bar wearing a tutu and an fake arrow through the head.

M.A.R.

13:42

New idea to add to Mitch's wonderful idea: Communicate with linking to YouTube links

Mitch

@M.A.R. you just described twitter

If it weren't for atrocious spelling non-rules, English would be the easiest language in the world...next to chinese.

hm...maybe there's another.

M.A.R.

@Mitch Should've been some years earlier then, huh

Mitch

toki pona?

M.A.R.

@Mitch Some Papua Guinean language beats them all

How many languages don't have a writing system?

Mitch

@M.A.R. You know what's funny? A joke. That's it. Get it? Because a joke is funny.

Hm...that's not exactly what I expected to say.

M.A.R.

13:45

Do you expect anything you say? o.o

Mitch

@M.A.R. well, I think a good writing system is a great part of the success of a language.

(in addition to an army)

@M.A.R. Zing!

Tonepoet

@Mitch Don't worry. The question I want to answer is still open, so I don't need to try to make my point here in a piecemeal fashion.

M.A.R.

@Mitch Ping!

Mitch

@Tonepoet no worries. also, that's what blogs are for, to make judicious convincing arguments for esoteric positions that are not digestible to single sentences.

or rants.

or both. at the same time. whichever works.

M.A.R.

Or judicious convincing rants

Or Trump

Mitch

13:49

@M.A.R. That's tok pisin. an english/PNG pidgin/creole. I mix it up with toki pona, a conlang, because of obvious reasons.

@M.A.R. We're all learning so much about the world because of that.

M.A.R.

@Mitch Wat

Mitch

It's where the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' was intended.

I used to be so happy.

M.A.R.

Because of . . . Oh I get it

Mitch

because haha war is a way of teaching americans geography

M.A.R.

-5

Q: Do moderators have too much power?

Lewis Namier once remarked: Although we know that most men's actions are conditioned by factors other than reason, in practice we have to assume their rational character. Does Namier’s assumption of the ‘rational character’ of action hold for the moderators of SE forums? My impression is th...

Mitch

13:51

I know so much more about how the government (is supposed to) work(s) now.

M.A.R.

Haha what lengths do people go to make a point . . .

Mitch

@M.A.R. is it a judicious convincing rant?

M.A.R.

Nah, that's not meta.SE

Mitch

@M.A.R. haha. obviously that dude got his answer converted to a comment by a mod.

and THAT CANNOT STAND

M.A.R.

@Mitch What? Nah. I'm thinking they got their rude comments flagged

And subsequently removed

Mitch

13:59

@M.A.R. there's a place for rudeness

such a well-spoken rant though.

but I couldn't get exactly what was being asked for. just well-spoken disgruntlement.

articulate but unclear if that's the way to say it.

Tonepoet

Empty rhetoric, you could say.

terdon

@M.A.R. Yay! Another happy customer!

M.A.R.

@Mitch YouTube comments

terdon

Anyone who reads YouTube comments deserves what they get.

M.A.R.

Meh, I only read ones about movies and music

"Keeenu Reves sucks" 342 likes "Keanu Reeves is hot" 1672 likes

terdon

14:13

Keanu Reeves is hot but can't act?

M.A.R.

John Wick is awesome tho'

terdon

@M.A.R. Does he go around wearing the same, slightly bewildered expression all the time?

M.A.R.

I haven't watched the second installment

But it's in my list

. . . which has exceeded over 100 films

terdon

@M.A.R. But in the one you watched? Does he ever actually act? He tends to just sort of repeat his lines and look good. That's not acting.

M.A.R.

independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/…

@terdon a lot of modern actors are like that

They have a specific set of gestures

And are very recognizable in every movie

terdon

14:26

@M.A.R. No, a lot of bad actors are like that. Others, while they may have trademark movements etc, actually act. Keanu doesn't even seem to be trying.

My theory is that some director told him not to bother, his job is to look good and he can leave the acting to the extras.

M.A.R.

Aaand there we go -- Another lunatic who associates themselves with Islam, and another series of jokes poking at Islam

Cerberus

Yeah, it's bad.

Then again, many more people die in traffic accidents.

terdon

@M.A.R. ??

Cerberus

Even in countries with "safe" traffic like Sweden.

terdon

Oh, Sweden. Damn, hadn't seen that.

Cerberus

14:34

And violence against Muslims in Sweden is also not very common, very few deaths.

So it's not like a civil war or something.

Just a terrible incident.

terdon

Do we know this had anything to do with Muslims?

Cerberus

I don't.

There is a small chance that it would be right-wingers.

Lefties, probably no chance at all.

terdon

At this point, from what little I read, it might even be an accident (although, sadly, that seems very unlikely)

Cerberus

A completely crazy person: possible, but it seems unlikely.

terdon

But let's not jump to conclusions before the evidence comes in.

Cerberus

14:36

Yes, possible, but unlikely.

terdon

There will be plenty of time to jump to them after.

Cerberus

I would be in favour of banning all motorised vehicles from the inner city in the intermediate term.

Except perhaps electrical bikes for the elderly.

And vehicles for cripples.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus How would that work?

Cerberus

And when it's absolutely necessary, you can get an exceptional permit.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Well, just as it works now in zones where they aren't allowed?

You just make the zone bigger.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus But surely anyone intent on driving a vehicle into a crowd of people would just disregard the rules

Cerberus

14:39

There would be blocks.

terdon

How would that help? There are too many easy workarounds. Not to mention that even if banned, if my plan is to go and kill people, I'd just drive my truck through the roadblocks.

Cerberus

But anyway, I was mainly concerned with traffic and pollution, rather than attacks.

terdon

Also, that plan is nice but clearly shows you are lucky enough to live in one of the few cities with decent public transportation.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Don't stores need deliveries, buses need to carry people, etc?

Cerberus

@terdon But you can make the blocks strong enough. And that act would give the city time to warn people and disable you.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

14:40

As a congestion-control mechanism, to solve a totally different problem, sure, there might be possibilities.

Cerberus

@terdon There should be public transportation, yes; but actually, we use bikes.

terdon

Dunno. I tend to be in favor of treating the cause rather than the symptom.

It's like that orange-skinned moron whom I shall not name who claimed that the Bataclan tragedy could have been avoided if people had guns.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Trams would still be allowed, yes. And stores can maybe get permits for electrical vehicles that can't go very fast.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus That simply wouldn't work at all in any Canadian city for any sizable portion of the city.

Cerberus

@terdon Haha, well, I think the difference is that that would create more symptoms, not fewer.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 But perhaps it can be made to work.

terdon

14:42

True.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus It would require installing trams, for one thing, everywhere that there are buses now.

Cerberus

Or you could allow only automated electrical vehicles into the inner city.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

That's a complete non-starter as far as I can see.

Cerberus

I said the intermediate future...

Mitch

is that between the far future and near future, or more just past the near future but much closer than far future?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

14:44

@Cerberus In the short term you can't implement a ban like this because nobody is prepared to forego travel, transit, or shipments

Cerberus

Most of the shops here are supplied by vans or lorries.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

In the long term you could build a city that works this way but it requires considerable planning and investment

Cerberus

@Mitch That's up to you!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus gas or diesel powered vehicles capable of reaching significant speed, and consisting of many tons of metal

Those vehicles are actually the weapon of choice

Cerberus

Indeed.

Mitch

14:45

@terdon he's matured as an actor. the bewilderment is very subtle now.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

they are the thing you can't remove but would need to remove.

Cerberus

They're not allowed into my street, except when they get some kind of exceptional permit. Unfortunately, many get such a permit. But there are also shops that are supplied by small electrical vehicles. But there is probably a lorry parked not too far away.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

anyone who can obtain a gun can carjack a delivery truck or utility truck.

@Cerberus yeah we have no such thing here.

your cities have narrower streets and denser cores

Cerberus

You can start by banning lorries and allowing only vans and personal vehicles.

Next stage, make them all automated and unhackable. Wait...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Maybe you can... it'd never work here.

Even if people actually wanted this, which they don't, not really

Cerberus

14:48

Some of our streets are too narrow for lorries.

And yet their shops still get supplied without significant problems.

And even if the street is wide enough for a lorry, there is often no place for it to park.

Mitch

@terdon I don't think @Cerberus is thinking of the US where the city centers are not so congested as EU, but also public trans is terribly worse to relatively impoverished

Cerberus

Of course it can't work everywhere.

I don't think the government of Kingshasa or Kabul has the money to do it.

Mitch

@terdon Voldemort, that bastard

Cerberus

But I think it could work in Stockholm.

Mitch

@Cerberus underground parcel delivery/service tunnels

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

14:51

@Cerberus I'm not really sure how big a "lorry" is.

Cerberus

@Mitch Now that's expensive! But very nice.

Mitch

@Cerberus mini helicopter drones like amazon

Cerberus

There are plans to return to boats here.

As it was done a few centuries ago: the city was built for it.

Mitch

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 as big as a truck

Cerberus

Boats to supply shops.

Mitch

14:52

@Cerberus tunnels wouldn't work in your town, all underwater or too likely to flood.

Cerberus

We have metro tunnels.

We've just dug a large one underneath the entire inner city and some 19th-century neighbourhoods.

Mitch

I think drones would work. the tech exists to have them follow coordinated paths like virtual streets

@Cerberus oh. I'd be worried about leaks.

Cerberus

I'm sure they've thought of that...

Thick concrete walls and stuff.

terdon

@Mitch Neither was I. I was thinking of the city I live in which has 2.5 metro lines for >4 million people.

Cerberus

Pumps, emergency exists, sensors everywhere.

Mitch

14:55

cripes in NYT and Boston, there are always these icky drips from the ceiling that you have no idea where they came from. and those are nominally a little above sea level (most tracks).

hm maybe that's not true.

Cerberus

@terdon Yeah our metro is meh as well, nothing like London or Paris.

@Mitch We've had a metro tunnel since the eighties, and I don't recall any problems with leaking.

Mitch

@terdon I know. The US has land to spare though.

@Cerberus There were these huge floods filling the Teheran subway a few years ago, I think from flash floods from rainfall from the mountains to the north.

terdon

@Cerberus But Amsterdam is tiny, and you can get around using your bike.

Mitch

no such pumps or emergency exits

terdon

In Athens, that would i) take hours and ii) likely be lethal.

Cerberus

15:01

@Mitch Hmm that sounds bad. But we have good water control.

@terdon True.

Although cycling from one side of the city to the opposite side would take hours as well.

terdon

According to wikipedia, Athens' metropolitan area: 2,928.717 km2 Amsterdam's: 165.76 km (I think, it's less clear for Amsterdam).

Athens is ridiculously huge for its population.

Cerberus

15:14

I believe it, but it's also how you count.

I could expand the metropolitan area.

Besides, I intended to start with the inner city.

@Mitch Look, the new tunnel goes under this water.

I believe many cities have tunnels under water.

We have much longer tunnels for cars.

Mitch

@terdon that makes it sound like it's not congested at all. But my impression is that it is congested, not Amsterdam like but more like London or Paris

terdon

@Mitch It is, it's just that it's sort of flat. Very few tall buildings, the city has spread out enormously.

Mitch

@Cerberus most big cities with big populations are just naturally next to water, so whatever my fears are, the engineers have done all sorts of things next to and under soil that's underwater

@terdon by tall, is that in comparison to other european cities (which don't have many US style 50-100 story skyscrapers)?

Cerberus

@terdon We have very few tall buildings either, they're not allowed, except in the outskirts.

@Mitch nods

terdon

@Mitch Yes. Although I don't really know how relevant that is, that's my own personal theory. but the tallest building in Athens is, dunno, 20 stories?

Mitch

15:20

like London has its couple of sections of 20 story buildings, but is still mostly 2-5 story buildings

terdon

And Athens is congested but in the center. The suburbs are sprawling.

Mitch

@terdon but not a lot of those is what you're saying

Cerberus

List of tallest buildings in Athens

Athens and it's metropolitan area has only a few skyscrapers. The list includes buildings above 65 m (213 ft)) in Athens area: == See also == List of tallest buildings and structures in Greece == Sources and external links == Report for Athens at Emporis Report for Athens at SkyscraperPage Report for Athens at Structurae...

Mitch

@terdon hm... that sounds nice

terdon

@Mitch No, one. Or so.

Cerberus

15:21

List of tallest buildings in Amsterdam

This is a list of tallest buildings in Amsterdam. == Buildings == == See also == List of tallest buildings in the Netherlands List of tallest buildings in Rotterdam List of tallest buildings in Haaglanden...

terdon

@Cerberus OK, a few more. But not very many.

So yeah. Amsterdam, which also doesn't have many, has several times more than Athens.

Cerberus

Yes, but they are far away from the inner city.

Mitch

right. like Paris only has Montparnasse, and then La Defense area area (many office buildings but under 20 stories?) and then after that 5 floors every where

Cerberus

Most are clumped up in the business district, which is at the local periphérique.

@Mitch Yes.

There are ugly, tall apartment buildings in the suburbs of any European city, though.

Mitch

I think they should build buildings downwards

Cerberus

15:24

But they still won't be 100 m tall.

Mitch

better heat control

Cerberus

I agree!

And non-ugly.

You can dig them underneath any inner city.

Mitch

like pyramids but ground level on top then tapers to a point a hundred meters below

@Cerberus have parks above.

Cerberus

Ah, like that, yes, that, too.

Mitch

or solar farms

Cerberus

15:25

@Mitch They have old buildings on top.

Mitch

@Cerberus oh. I guess we could keep the old ones, yes.

Cerberus

So you don't need to destroy the inner city while still creating tons of new living space on/under expensive land.

Mitch

hm... how to deal with the sunlight problem? have all offices/workspaces/factories have an inner atrium just in the downward direction?

Cerberus

15:42

@Mitch You could do that.

Or use mirrors.

Or just huge LED screens.

Matt E. Эллен

can LEDs produce sunlight-like light?

I'd think mirrors would be better

Cerberus

Probably much more difficult, though...

If you used 3D screens that showed live video from some camera on the surface, it would be almost like a real window...

Matt E. Эллен

But it wouldn't have the same wavelengths of light as sunlight

so there would be some psychological benefits but you'd miss out on the other health benefits

or should that be "one would"? ;)

Cerberus

Heh.

Well, you mean like the generation of vitamin D?

Matt E. Эллен

yes

Cerberus

15:49

A screen and a pot of vitamin D pills, then.

Matt E. Эллен

SAD can be mitigated by sun lamps, but not regular lights

Cerberus

True.

Matt E. Эллен

also, it'd be hard to get a tan

Cerberus

But I wonder to what extent reflected ultraviolet light that also has to pass through glass helps you generate vitamin D.

Don't we mostly get that from direct sunlight when we're outside?

Matt E. Эллен

true. I was wondering about that. I don't know. UV-B might make it. I'm not sure if that helps with vitamin D

Cerberus

15:50

@MattE.Эллен And cancer.

@MattE.Эллен I suspect it won't be a huge effect.

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен I'm sure LEDs are tunable to have the right distribution of frequencies.

Cerberus

People who never go outside often develop D deficiencies.

@Mitch UV does require a much higher energy level...

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch finally! a reason to install a dimmer switch

Cerberus

I believe normal lamps never emit UV.

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен It's not like that's a concern in the UK

Cerberus

15:52

nods

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch we're getting our week of sun early this year. I guess summer will be cloudy

@Cerberus true

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен we had our spring in February. And we're supposed to get a week of summer next week (New England). It's like the weather scheduling guy had drawn up plans on paper and stumbled walking down the stairs, resulting in a shower of paper. Picking it all up he realized he forgot to have page numbers.

Matt E. Эллен

Snow in June. Balmy evenings in November

Mitch

Cruel June

Matt E. Эллен

I'm sure noöne will notice. who talks about the weather anyway

Mitch

15:57

Pfft.. unlike most people, I'm doing something about it.

Matt E. Эллен

you're launching a weather control satellite?

Mitch

hm... neat idea

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch I hear Carol's a bit mean, too

Mitch

there's the recent public description of a Mars terraforming method by placing a special satellite at just the right point between the Sun and Mars to help create a block to the solar wind (and some sort of magnetic field?) allow Mars to replenish its atmosphere.

In a few million years, we can all barely breath there.

Matt E. Эллен

:-o

Cerberus

15:59

A satellite can be powerful enough to block solar winds?

Matt E. Эллен

sign me up

Cerberus

How will they create such a huge magnet in space?

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен She's more surly

terdon

@Cerberus A special satellite.

Matt E. Эллен

a sleeping satellite?

Cerberus

16:00

But you need either a googol of metal, or a googol of energy...?

Mitch

@Cerberus I think there's a non-trivial sheet of material a couple square kilometers (I'm guessing). and at the right position that's probably sufficient.

Cerberus

You really think so?

Just a sheet?

And that tiny?

Even though it would still be impossibly expensive to create such a thing in space...

Mitch

@Cerberus yeah, I don't know. But I'm sure it is not like that, it something where the side effects of something allow the natural tendency not to be diminished.

Cerberus

Uhuh uhuh.

Mitch

it's probably be best if I read up on it before making more shit up.

Cerberus

16:02

Well, it sounds like an interesting project to tackle.

Mitch

@Cerberus very thin material that the solar wind will pass around and just miss Mars

@Cerberus Details

Cerberus

But will it pass around very thin material?

Mitch

also, there thinking of doing this radical change to Mars and they can't figure out how to fix Earth yet?

Cerberus

Interesting.

Mitch

@Cerberus urgh... off to research first before talking

Cerberus

16:03

Earth functions pretty well!

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch well Mars is one problem. Earth is lots of problems

Cerberus

@Mitch Don't worry, there is nothing wrong with posting theories or plans, scepsis or criticism doesn't mean it's bad.

Earth has a functioning atmosphaere and kittens.

Matt E. Эллен

and functional nuclear missiles and Donald Trump

Mitch

first, Earth's interior is a ball of iron, which creates a magnetic field around the earth, which aids in retaining a gaseous atmosphere. so presumably there are other ways to create and retain gaseous atmosphere

@MattE.Эллен the earth has 99 problems and Mars ain't one.

I always thought those lyrics were kind of a backwards complement. My girlfriend is great, but I'm gonna call her an epithet because haha I'm a dude.

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch not yet. you wait until the Mars Born want to separate from Earth Gov.

Mitch

16:06

@Cerberus Earth +2, Mars -

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch lol. yeah.

@Mitch with the right method of persuasion those molecules will pay us to stay in the atmosphere

maybe a layer of iron under the crust of Mars would do the trick

mars is all iron oxide, so that shouldn't be too hard

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен Still better than Mars.

Matt E. Эллен

@Cerberus it's true, I don't want to live on Mars.

Cerberus

@Mitch Yay!

terdon

I'd love to visit though.

Mitch

16:11

as usual a partial relevant but ultimately unsatisfying answer on SE:

11

Q: Place a satellite at Sun-Mars L1 to shield Mars from Sun radiation

Instead of placing many magnetic satellites close to Mars to artificially generate a magnetic field to protect Martian colonists from harming radiation, we could place a magnetic satellite at Lagrangian point L1. The magnetic field does not need to be as strong to deflect the solar wind enough, s...

mars magnetic-field terraforming solar-wind

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен Would it have to be a metal roster, or can it just be irregular clumps or molucules?

Matt E. Эллен

what is a roster?

Cerberus

A metal grid?

I don't know the official name.

Matt E. Эллен

I was thinking of a regularish layer, but a grid might be sufficient

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен one suggestion I saw was to place a strong explosion (presumably nuclear) in the interior of the planet to blah blah blh a metal blah blah liquefy blah create a magnetic dynamo.

doesn't seem safe.

Cerberus

16:13

Metal atoms laid regularly in a kind of grid or roster, what do you call that?

Mitch

is that how the ancient astronauts created the asteroid belt, from a planet at Bode's location now destroyed?

Cerberus

The kind that we use in electronics and swords and stuff.

Mitch

I should write a scifi novel based on that.

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch nuclear explosions are the safest. no safer explosion. trust me. I know explosion safety and let me tell you, nuclear explosions are just the safest

Cerberus

Crystallised metal?

terdon

16:14

Lattice?

Matt E. Эллен

@Cerberus roster doesn't mean anything like that to me

a roster is a list of names

@terdon ah, yes, that sounds right

Cerberus

@terdon That and all of the other words would sound suitable to me, but I don't know which of them, if any, is the official scientific name.

terdon

Crystal structure

In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns that repeat along the principal directions of three-dimensional space in matter. The smallest group of particles in the material that constitutes the repeating pattern is the unit cell of the structure. The unit cell completely defines the symmetry and structure of the entire crystal lattice, which is built up by repetitive translation of the unit cell along...

Cerberus

Right, I did mention crystallised...

So they only use "crystal structure" in English, with respect to the metal we use every day?

Matt E. Эллен

"crystal lattice" is in the description, too

Tab

16:28

Which one is right here: a slow moving slug or a slowly moving slug?

Matt E. Эллен

they're both grammatical, because slow has achieved adverb status as well as being an adjective

or maybe "slow moving" is a compound adjective. I'm not sure

either way, you can use both

Tab

slow moving sounds more right to me but I don't wanna go with a hunch

Matt E. Эллен

it's not more right, but it is grammatical

terdon

@Tab They mean slightly different things to me. A slow moving slug is a slug that always moves slowly, while a slowly moving slug is one that is moving slowly now. It might speed up later, or it might not. It might also stop moving.

Also, a slowly moving slug is emphasizing that the slug is currently moving more than that the slug is moving slowly.

I had found a nice reference for this. Have a look at my answer here:

17

A: Which one is correct? "has been taken already" or "has already been taken"

Both are, strictly speaking, correct. The placing of already in the sentence simply alters the emphasis: John is here already. The sentence above implies that the speaker is surprised that John has arrived so early. Compare it to the sentence below: John is already here. In this sente...

Praised by Lawler, no less!

Davo

A slow moving slug might not presently be moving at all, actually. But when it does, it is slow.

terdon

16:36

Precisely.

Tab

@terdon your explanation was really helpful, I appreciate that. Thanks everyone, have a good time.

Matt E. Эллен

then "a slowly moving slug" is just a slug ;)

you too, @Tab

Mitch

16:49

@MattE.Эллен Your confidence and repetition are very convincing. But I'm trying to balance that with the obviously sign of mendacity by the color of your skin.

So I'm conflicted.

Let's try blowing up a moon first just to be sure

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch :-o I never thought you'd be speciesist

@Mitch That's no moon...

Mitch

Oops

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