Oh definitely. I agree it’s an interesting issue. I just got confused by the thread fork into IT vs medical terms, since I figured they would both fall roughly into the “physics” side of the above soft dichotomy.
My own opinion is that in both cases, physics vs humanities, terminology is created and used for varying reasons not all of them above board. I also find it, at times, an attempt to capture language and thought, such as in the attempts of zealous types to jump up with the correction that a dolphin is not a fish (it’s mammal, in the middle of a non-technical conversation (mammal is a more or less technical term, but fish is not!).
—ravi
> Joanna
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> On Mar 1, 2012, at 3:30 PM, 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
>> I don't deny that "pointer" was chosen for its common-language associations; but in IT it means something very specific.
>>
>> And while "hematoma" is not a Greek word -- it is true that science found much of its authority in creating words based on classical roots because the knowledge of those languages used to stand as a guarantee of expertise and authority.
>>
>> So, while I may be somewhat wrong in the particulars, I'm making a larger argument about how technical terms develop.
>>
>
> Perhaps because I am jumping into this late, and I am too lazy to go back and read everything, I am a bit confused on your point… do you think there is a difference between IT technical terms and medical technical terms? I thought you were comparing technical terms in IT, medicine, etc to technical terms in the humanities? IOW, I do not see where you and Jordan disagree.
>
> —ravi
>
>
>
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