Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Gay Marriage and Logical Fallacies
A while ago (see my blog entry from May 23rd), I wrote a about the Religious Right, and their stance on gay marriage. When I went back and read the post, I realized it was a bit short, and that there was more to say.
The religious right likes to make the argument, "well, if we allow gay people to marry, what's next? Won't we then have to see men marrying goats, and women marrying horses and dogs?"
Well, there you go. WTF? What king of argument is that? How does allowing two human beings who love each other get married lead to people marrying animals? In what kind of fucked up reasoning is that reasonable?
This is an example of the slippery slope logical fallacy: asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.
Our society does not treat people and animals equally. (Not that some radical vegans agree with that stance, of course.) Most of us eat animals--and it is completely legal! So, does that mean, according to the religious right, that the next step is cannabalism?
(1) Gay marriage --> (2)sanctioned bestiality culminating in legal marriage between people and animals --> (3) equal treatment for people and animals, culminating in people being allowed to consume human meat.
The religious right has already professed that 1 leads to 2. If that is the case, then I say, just as logically, that 2 leads to 3.
Of course this is all total bullshit. Legalizing gay marriage is not going to lead to inter-species marriage any more than it is going to lead to cannibalism becoming legal.
The religious right likes to make the argument, "well, if we allow gay people to marry, what's next? Won't we then have to see men marrying goats, and women marrying horses and dogs?"
Well, there you go. WTF? What king of argument is that? How does allowing two human beings who love each other get married lead to people marrying animals? In what kind of fucked up reasoning is that reasonable?
This is an example of the slippery slope logical fallacy: asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.
Our society does not treat people and animals equally. (Not that some radical vegans agree with that stance, of course.) Most of us eat animals--and it is completely legal! So, does that mean, according to the religious right, that the next step is cannabalism?
(1) Gay marriage --> (2)sanctioned bestiality culminating in legal marriage between people and animals --> (3) equal treatment for people and animals, culminating in people being allowed to consume human meat.
The religious right has already professed that 1 leads to 2. If that is the case, then I say, just as logically, that 2 leads to 3.
Of course this is all total bullshit. Legalizing gay marriage is not going to lead to inter-species marriage any more than it is going to lead to cannibalism becoming legal.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Two Spaces are Abhorrent
I find myself, every now and then, having to defend my stance that one space after a period is beautiful and correct, and that two spaces after a period is unnatural, hideous, and abhorrent.
I'm not sure why this is still a debate. Some people just won't learn, I guess. Even when presented with argument that two spaces went out with the age of typewriters, some people still think proportional fonts require the extra space.
Before you continue reading this article, please go to the following URL and read the excellent article there: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html
I have found myself ranting at a writing candidate during his interview. FYI, he was eventually hired, and even shared my office for a few months before he moved on to bigger and better things.
I have also had to argue with a writer who was teaching a remote writing course to some interns who were working for me. My interns knew my stance—having been exposed to it often and loudly—and they told me how they were being forced to use two periods after a period. I immediately ordered them to cease and desist from even thinking about following their teacher's advice.
I presented the argument of the proportional font, but alas, to no avail, as for some reason she was just unwilling to accept the truth.
Be advised that I will always use a single space after a full stop. Anyone who works for me will also write in this manner. My children will write in this manner. Anyone who does not want to get onto my shit list will write this way. And, of course, all reasonable human beings will write this way until the age of the proportional font comes to an end.
Here are some quotes:
I'm not sure why this is still a debate. Some people just won't learn, I guess. Even when presented with argument that two spaces went out with the age of typewriters, some people still think proportional fonts require the extra space.
Before you continue reading this article, please go to the following URL and read the excellent article there: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html
I have found myself ranting at a writing candidate during his interview. FYI, he was eventually hired, and even shared my office for a few months before he moved on to bigger and better things.
I have also had to argue with a writer who was teaching a remote writing course to some interns who were working for me. My interns knew my stance—having been exposed to it often and loudly—and they told me how they were being forced to use two periods after a period. I immediately ordered them to cease and desist from even thinking about following their teacher's advice.
I presented the argument of the proportional font, but alas, to no avail, as for some reason she was just unwilling to accept the truth.
Be advised that I will always use a single space after a full stop. Anyone who works for me will also write in this manner. My children will write in this manner. Anyone who does not want to get onto my shit list will write this way. And, of course, all reasonable human beings will write this way until the age of the proportional font comes to an end.
Here are some quotes:
- From Ilene Strizver: "Forget about tolerating differences of opinion: typographically speaking, typing two spaces before the start of a new sentence is absolutely, unequivocally wrong."(link)
- From Farhad Manjoo: "Can I let you in on a secret? Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong." (link)
- From the Q&A section of the online version of the Chicago Manual of Style: "So, in our efficient, modern world, I think there is no room for two spaces after a period. In the opinion of this particular copyeditor, this is a good thing." (link)
