Seemingly trivial things that annoy you

surrey_commuter

I worked with a bloke who gave evidence in court and the judge described his testimony as incredible... he said he nearly thanked him

verylonglegs

'Unbeliveable' should carry a severe punishment in sports commentary. It wasn't unbelievable because I saw it happen.

briantrumpet

'Literally' almost guarantees that whatever is being referred to was, erm, literally the opposite of 'literally'. One of the more memorable ones I remember was "The puck was literally stuck to his stick." And they think that drugs in cycling is cheating...

secretsqirrel

briantrumpet said:

I know, it's incredible how people exaggerate for dramatic effect. It makes me tear my hair out.

I did have a moment to think on that. Love a well delivered metaphor.

briantrumpet

I know it should be in the Language thread really, but Steven Pinker coined the term the 'metaphor metaphor' - basically, outside of the labels for actual things, most of our language and thought is metaphorical.

https://www.booktalk.org/ch-5-the-metaphor-metaphor-t4170.html

In Chapter Five, Pinker also writes that "...The human mind can directly think only about concrete experiences: sights and sounds, objects and forces, and the habits of behavior and emotion in the culture we grow up in. All our other ideas are metaphorical allusions to these concrete scenarios. We can't think of political affiliations, for example, without calling to mind (perhaps unconsciously) some kind of glue or cord."

Once you realise that most of our thought and spoken utterances/written words are metaphorical, it might make one slightly less sensitive to unintentional imagery conjured up by misuse of words with specific meanings, especially when the intended meaning is a useful one that isn't served otherwise.

pangolin

We can't think of political affiliations, for example, without calling to mind (perhaps unconsciously) some kind of glue or cord."

The first time I read that I thought, "nonsense that's not how my mind pictures political affiliations", but now I can't picture them without doing that. Interesting.

briantrumpet

pangolin said:

We can't think of political affiliations, for example, without calling to mind (perhaps unconsciously) some kind of glue or cord."

The first time I read that I thought, "nonsense that's not how my mind pictures political affiliations", but now I can't picture them without doing that. Interesting.

How we form concepts and then how we relate those to the personal lexicon each one of us develops is one of the most fascinating things you can imagine: babies are developing concepts ages before they have any word language to latch them onto (clever people design games with toys and observe facial expressions and eye movements to assess all sorts of things with babies), but juggling concepts only really takes off when the things and concepts are mapped out onto a lexicon.

The really fascinating bit is how the pre-language concepts form relationships and are in turn influenced by the lexicon/language, and just how that language thus influences how we perceive the world.

It's mostly stuff that goes over my head (to use a metaphor), but I still find it very interesting to try to understand a bit better. But I'm behind with my reading, so don't ask any difficult questions.

pangolin

*pictures Brian behind me with a large book*

rick_chasey

briantrumpet said:

pangolin said:

We can't think of political affiliations, for example, without calling to mind (perhaps unconsciously) some kind of glue or cord."

The first time I read that I thought, "nonsense that's not how my mind pictures political affiliations", but now I can't picture them without doing that. Interesting.

How we form concepts and then how we relate those to the personal lexicon each one of us develops is one of the most fascinating things you can imagine: babies are developing concepts ages before they have any word language to latch them onto (clever people design games with toys and observe facial expressions and eye movements to assess all sorts of things with babies), but juggling concepts only really takes off when the things and concepts are mapped out onto a lexicon.

The really fascinating bit is how the pre-language concepts form relationships and are in turn influenced by the lexicon/language, and just how that language thus influences how we perceive the world.

It's mostly stuff that goes over my head (to use a metaphor), but I still find it very interesting to try to understand a bit better. But I'm behind with my reading, so don't ask any difficult questions.

You're edging dangerously close to Derrida deconstruction and Foucauldian discourse analysis here .

With that in mind, you can also learn techniques to deconstruct the language of the past to understand better how the world was perceived back in the day (albiet obviously through the prism - or indeed system of knowledge - of today's language), if that interests you.

In fact, doing that on a relatively unknown book was basically my dissertation. You can glean quite a lot from doing that stuff.

Though do watch out; you'll get called a post-modernist and before you know it your thinking is held in some way responsible for authoritarians lying to people and using disinformation techniques, largely because they refer to lying as "post-truth" rather than just thinking of it in terms of lying, which leaders have always done...but anyway.

photonic69

It really annoys me when new software doesn't work anywhere near as well as the older software it replaced.

pblakeney

photonic69 said:

It really annoys me when new software doesn't work anywhere near as well as the older software it replaced.

What I hate more is when new software requires a hardware upgrade.
Or vice versa.

photonic69

What really annoys me is that my new work mobile is so big it won't fit in my pocket!

First.Aspect

photonic69 said:

What really annoys me is that my new work mobile is so big it won't fit in my pocket!

rick_chasey

Always fun when the wife starts the conversation with “the reason why I hate your cycling so much is because”

First.Aspect

rick_chasey said:

Always fun when the wife starts the conversation with “the reason why I hate your cycling so much is because”

Counselling?

Or a tandem?

pangolin

Can we guess?

“the reason why I hate your cycling so much is because...”

"...you lack panache"
"...of that fucking forum"

First.Aspect

"...it shows your lack of ambition?"

veronese68

rick_chasey said:

Always fun when the wife starts the conversation with “the reason why I hate your cycling so much is because”

Can't say I've ever heard that from my wife. She occasionally asks how many bikes I need, I just point out that all of mine get used significantly more than hers.

pinno

photonic69 said:

What really annoys me is that my new work mobile is so big it won't fit in my pocket!

I reluctantly upgraded to a Samsung AO3 core when my Galaxy 6 finally gave up the ghost. It's bleedin' hoooge.
Great picture quality, quick, lots of memory but i've already dropped it multiple times because it is just too big - 16.42 cm's. Fair play to Samsung build quality as there is nil damage but I think that would be just a matter of time.
I made the decision to give it to my daughter (she saved her birthday and Christmas monies, bless her) and have just ordered a NOS Galaxy 7 (with a silicone case).
Galaxy 6 & 7: Primarily a phone. That's what it was launched as and that's all I want.

photonic69

First work mobile vs current. It's size is nuts! Only a lowly Samsung A04s as we have moved from iPhones unless you have a special case for one. CBA as I have a top spec Samsung as a personal one too.



With a bit of luck in a few years I might even get one of these if I'm lucky

rick_chasey

It’d be nice if I lived somewhere where people wouldn’t steal the milk the milkman has delivered to my house.

Alas

focuszing723

photonic69 said:

First work mobile vs current. It's size is nuts! Only a lowly Samsung A04s as we have moved from iPhones unless you have a special case for one. CBA as I have a top spec Samsung as a personal one too.



With a bit of luck in a few years I might even get one of these if I'm lucky

Yep, agree on that. Too big and too heavy.

rick_chasey

photonic69 said:

First work mobile vs current. It's size is nuts! Only a lowly Samsung A04s as we have moved from iPhones unless you have a special case for one. CBA as I have a top spec Samsung as a personal one too.



With a bit of luck in a few years I might even get one of these if I'm lucky

It’s not primarily functioning as a phone however.

It’s a powerful computer & camera that fits in a pocket that also does phone calls.

briantrumpet

rick_chasey said:

It’d be nice if I lived somewhere where people wouldn’t steal the milk the milkman has delivered to my house.

Alas

I'm assuming delivery people don't leave parcels in plain sight on doorsteps as they do round here... I passed one house with four large Amazon packages left leaning against the front door just five yards from the road yesterday.

TheBigBean

briantrumpet said:

rick_chasey said:

It’d be nice if I lived somewhere where people wouldn’t steal the milk the milkman has delivered to my house.

Alas

I'm assuming delivery people don't leave parcels in plain sight on doorsteps as they do round here... I passed one house with four large Amazon packages left leaning against the front door just five yards from the road yesterday.

It's a problem in my neck of woods. Around Christmas time, some people drive around looking for parcels.

briantrumpet

TheBigBean said:

briantrumpet said:

rick_chasey said:

It’d be nice if I lived somewhere where people wouldn’t steal the milk the milkman has delivered to my house.

Alas

I'm assuming delivery people don't leave parcels in plain sight on doorsteps as they do round here... I passed one house with four large Amazon packages left leaning against the front door just five yards from the road yesterday.

It's a problem in my neck of woods. Around Christmas time, some people drive around looking for parcels.

I'm sure it happens here too, but that it's not common enough that people rant and rave about the practice, as it saves hundreds of trips to collect items from hubs.

I guess it started in lockdown as 'normal practice', when people were at home, and would open the front door after the delivery driver had knocked and run.

pblakeney

briantrumpet said:

rick_chasey said:

It’d be nice if I lived somewhere where people wouldn’t steal the milk the milkman has delivered to my house.

Alas

I'm assuming delivery people don't leave parcels in plain sight on doorsteps as they do round here... I passed one house with four large Amazon packages left leaning against the front door just five yards from the road yesterday.

Back doors around here.
Less obvious but tricky with terraced houses.

briantrumpet

pblakeney said:

briantrumpet said:

rick_chasey said:

It’d be nice if I lived somewhere where people wouldn’t steal the milk the milkman has delivered to my house.

Alas

I'm assuming delivery people don't leave parcels in plain sight on doorsteps as they do round here... I passed one house with four large Amazon packages left leaning against the front door just five yards from the road yesterday.

Back doors around here.
Less obvious but tricky with terraced houses.

My front doorstep is literally by the road (not even a pavement), though it is a very quiet cul de sac. If I've got something of slightly higher value arriving, I'll leave the recycling bin on the front step with a note on it, so at least it's not on such obvious display. If I see stuff left at one of the other houses in the road (it's only seven houses), I'll take it in and leave a note, especially if it's early in the day, or if it's likely to rain.

pangolin

briantrumpet said:

pblakeney said:

briantrumpet said:

rick_chasey said:

It’d be nice if I lived somewhere where people wouldn’t steal the milk the milkman has delivered to my house.

Alas

I'm assuming delivery people don't leave parcels in plain sight on doorsteps as they do round here... I passed one house with four large Amazon packages left leaning against the front door just five yards from the road yesterday.

Back doors around here.
Less obvious but tricky with terraced houses.

My front doorstep is literally by the road (not even a pavement), though it is a very quiet cul de sac. If I've got something of slightly higher value arriving, I'll leave the recycling bin on the front step with a note on it, so at least it's not on such obvious display. If I see stuff left at one of the other houses in the road (it's only seven houses), I'll take it in and leave a note, especially if it's early in the day, or if it's likely to rain.

Same situation on our terraced road. I had an Amazon driver open our door and leave the parcel in the hall recently. Not sure how I felt about that!

orraloon

Having 'Greatest Hits' radio playing away in background... the number and frequency of gambling related adverts! I guess they know their target audience.