Would it Kill Newscasters to do a Little Research? - Page 2

Nullifidian · #26 11-11-2009, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InTheServiceOfZeke

you take me seriously enough to ignore me.

except here...hello, Null.

Except here? Then where else do you think I ignore you? On the astral plain, perhaps?

It's true I don't often respond to you, but that's because you say very little worth responding to. So why would I waste the time?

This time, the incongruity of claiming to exist in a world where "anything is possible" and yet it's a world where you can't get anyone to take you seriously amused me.

But I suppose if you're prepared to claim that disinterest is evidence that someone takes you seriously, then you can rationalize just about anything.

ZEZOZE · #27 11-11-2009, 08:51 PM

well i'm glad i amuse you

The Lone Ranger · #28 09-27-2011, 02:20 PM

I was listening to a story on NPR during my drive to school this morning, and I was reminded of this thread. The report was about how searchers located the wreckage of the Australian "battleship" HMAS Sydney.

"It was a light cruiser, not a battleship!" I wanted to tell the announcer. [They'll probably get letters from various people about it. Heck, I've sent NPR complaints about inaccuracies in their reports myself, from time to time.]

I know better than to expect accuracy in the mainstream media, but I generally expect NPR to maintain a higher standard. Maybe I'm just being naive ...

Angakuk · #29 09-27-2011, 06:47 PM

Picky, picky. It was ship. right? It was built with the intention of using it in some sort of battle, right? It was therefore, a ship of battle, i.e. a battleship, right? Hell, a destroyer is a battleship (a PT boat is not a battleship because it is not a ship but it could be a battleboat). Now, if NPR had reported that it was a Battleship, you might have some cause to complain. Was it capitalized in the report? Could you hear the capitalization? Absent the captialization it is a plain old battleship, which is to say a ship built for battle.

Damn academics in their ivory towers, always picking on the hard working journalists!

ceptimus · #30 09-27-2011, 07:04 PM

Also, if they'd reported finding the wreckage of a cruiser, most people would imagine something like this:

(Okay, probably not if they also mentioned 'HMAS Sydney').

Kael · #31 09-27-2011, 07:09 PM

People call that a cruiser? That's a yacht, or a motorboat on steroids.

ceptimus · #32 09-27-2011, 07:15 PM

In the UK, we'd probably call it a cruiser, or maybe a 'river cruiser' or 'cabin cruiser'.

'Floating gin palace' if we're being condescending and/or jealous.

The word 'yacht' here would (usually) imply sails.

Nullifidian · #33 09-27-2011, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceptimus

The word 'yacht' here would (usually) imply sails.

Or it would imply this guy:

Cosmetic surgery sketch

Deadlokd · #34 09-28-2011, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceptimus

Also, if they'd reported finding the wreckage of a cruiser, most people would imagine something like this:

(Okay, probably not if they also mentioned 'HMAS Sydney').

Well, it is the Australian Navy.

Pan Narrans · #35 09-28-2011, 08:34 AM

Austria doesn't have a navy, it's landlocked.

Crumb · #36 09-28-2011, 06:27 PM

Of course they do.

lisarea · #37 10-02-2011, 09:19 PM

Oh man, this is funneh.

So the NYT publishes this a couple of days ago, and predictably, it's getting a lot of signal boosting all around the place because it sounds kinda sciencey, has iPhone in it, and references a general topic most people have some opinion about:

You Love Your iPhone. Literally. - NYTimes.com

And there are a whole lot of neuroscientists calling it out hard.