For years now I've been going on about the actual meaning of "Beg the questoin," to the point where I might be more famous for that than hosting a radio show. I gave up trying to correct people, but like an old man shaking his fist at you whippersnappers, I've been shouting, "You'll need it!" 🧵
Comments
Great examples in your thread
Easy to understand
#KnowYourRhetoric
Or "neither, neither" (rather than "nee-ther, nye-ther")
My understanding of “beg the question” is “I’ve just seen a solution/answer so problematic that it underlies a misunderstanding of what the question actually is.”
To me, you are literally saying that you could care less.
We use "I couldn't care less"
Which to me makes more sense.
Am I just being biased? Or do even Americans see the disconnect in the saying & meaning?
A tautological statement is trivially correct by definition: not a fallacy, but probably not interesting either.
https://xkcd.com/703
Bugs me every time.
I figuratively die each time I hear it happen.
I give people “Raise the question” as what to use in its place so that “Beg” can be reserved for its proper use.
*Enough* people using a word or phrase incorrectly because they don't know any better should not make it correct. That's not moving on; it's dumbing down. We lose perfectly good, useful language that way.
Never give up the good fight. 😔👍
I have enough on my table just trying to tell young kids what’s “iconic” and what isn’t, and why a politician “approving this message” doesn’t mean he LIKES it.
Meanwhile, why aren't pedantic grammarians questioning the now-ubiquitous colloquialism "prior to" for having supplanted the more succinct "before"?
The way it’s used by people, news interviewers, for example, is simply word fluff, making sentences and face time longer than they need to be.
It’s easier for me to type question than questoin which gets auto-corrected
Peter Sagal,
Beg The Questionnist
&
Beg The Question Expert
I've always been amazed by "when it rains it pours" coming to mean nothing related to its origin.
GENTLE READER: Too late.
...
“A recent NY Post article claims that Democrats are trying to resurrect Voldemort, how do you FEEL about that?”
🙄
"pleading the Fifth."
All this begging and pleading.
The point is: know your rhetoric!
#WordsMatter
(Knowing your rhetoric isn't just about appearing smart, it's a quick and effective tool for spotting frauds who'd try to con you with "sounds logical / is bullshit" arguments)
They seem to be saying, “this makes my brain think of a related thought” or “I’m curious how you would reconcile your stance with this other thing I just thought of.”
The MAGAs don't seem to understand this.
1581–
To take for granted without warrant; esp. in to beg the question: to take for granted the matter in dispute, to assume without proof."
Happy to be of assistance!😇
I will sell it to you for a good price...
Knowing that it’s called a “false syllogism” is far far less important than being able to recognize that it’s bullshit reasoning.
#ThinkingSkills
This is why communication classes in high schools are so damn important! Understanding how rhetoric and persuasive techniques are used to shape arguments makes all the difference for young people to be able to think critically… and maybe teach their parents🤔
Now if only we could do something about people using "impact" as a verb...
It's like: when applying torque to your arm, be sure to rub it in completely
Thanks. I'll use it properly from now on.
Prompts
Presents
Leads to
Surfaces