What is (are) your quirk(s)?

Elsmar Forum Sponsor
J

JLLASER

#42
I cannot stand when people mix up i.e. and e.g. They do not mean the same thing!:mad:

And as people mentioned before, they're/there/their or to/too/two or whether/weather. Reading poor spelling is just something I am learning to live with. It does bother me in a professional setting. The "spell check" button does actually serve a purpose, apparently lost to some people...
 
#43
I cannot stand when people mix up i.e. and e.g. They do not mean the same thing!:mad:

And as people mentioned before, they're/there/their or to/too/two or whether/weather. Reading poor spelling is just something I am learning to live with. It does bother me in a professional setting. The "spell check" button does actually serve a purpose, apparently lost to some people...
The problem with relying on spell checker too much is that Mr Gates folks clearly don't know any better than the perpetrators of the spelling errors! Gotta blame the schools as well, especially those who don't teach proper enunciation of words to go with the spelling. 'Your' and 'you're' don't sound the same! Neither do 'they're' compared to 'their' and 'there', so we could at least reduce the confusion by one in that specific case!
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#44
I cannot stand when people mix up i.e. and e.g. They do not mean the same thing!:mad:
<SNIP>
I, of course, am aware of the actual Latin phrases each of these abbreviations represent, having spent four years studying Latin.
i.e. = id est = that is
e.g. = exempli gratia = as an example or for example (it's kind of a "term of art") [exempli is the root for English "example" - sometimes we translated it as "model" depending on the context] [exemplum or exemplar (the singular of exempli) was almost always inferred to mean an "ideal model"] [gratia was inferred to mean "for the sake of" or "to please"] hence, e.g. would be followed by "models which would please the audience by giving them greater clarity about the original topic by providing "perfect" or "ideal" models."

SO, MY QUESTION IS:
How would you explain the substantive difference between "that is" and "for an example" when both terms are followed by something intended to clarify the material immediately preceeding the term?
 

Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#45
SO, MY QUESTION IS:
How would you explain the substantive difference between "that is" and "for an example" when both terms are followed by something intended to clarify the material immediately preceeding the term?
It's the difference between providing clarification of a specific thing (i.e.) and giving an example (or giving examples) of what the writer is referring to (e.g.).

Consider two cases:
"The proper measurement device to use for this application (i.e., a micrometer) is kept in the gage cabinet."

"Precision measurement devices, (e.g., calipers and micrometers) must be handled with care."

In the first instance "i.e." is correct because it refers to a specific device. Use of "e.g." would result (strictly speaking) in a loss of clarity. In the second instance, "i.e." would be wrong because it would limit the types of devices to calipers and micrometers, rather than using them as examples of a wider class of devices.
 
L

lgoeke

#46
It is so nice to see that I am not alone.....
My biggest quirks...
I am extremely organized. Luckily for me, my kids have picked up on this habit too.
I make a list for everything.
Toilet lid goes DOWN!!!! They put a lid on it for a reason.
 
Top Bottom