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The Caring Thread 1

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Thadeus

Technical User
Jan 16, 2002
1,548
US
How about the implications of the following phrase:

I could care less about Mathematics.

versus

I couldn't care less about Mathematics.

Thinking through what each means, either will work in my opinion.

Your thoughts?

~Thadeus
 
Although the message you don't like math is understood, I could and I couldn't certainly explain your thoughts about caring and they differ as night and day.

But go ahead...feed me to the lions!!
 
Strictly speaking, the two statements are different. In the first case, you must have at least some care about mathematics since you could reduce your care level if you wanted to. You could care less. In the second, you say you have no care for mathematics since there is no level of care less that the one you currently hold.

That being said, both statements do seem to be used interchangeably in common usage implying little or no care for mathematics. Of course in common usage, "correctness" is not a big concern.

Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
 

Although briefly, this topic appeared here once. It contains an informative link or two. Take a look here: thread1256-845082.
 
The phrases look similar to 'half full' and 'half empty'.
;-)
 
Well, half full of course.

I went to see a spoken word musician the other evening and he pointed out that if there is a problem of half empty / half full, get a smaller glass :)

~Thadeus
 
Only a glass that is so small it can contain only one molecule of water is proof against being (approximately) half full or half empty! It is either completely full or completely empty.

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)
 
There's a well-documented anecdote about a conversation between Bill Cosby and his Grandmother. In short, he was in college and trying to impress his Grandmother with the discussion in his Philosophy class, about the half empty/half full argument. Her response was "It depends on whether you're pouring or drinking."

Susan
"People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
 
I like that!!!

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)
 
The name of this thread amuses me as it seems to me that it should be called The Not Caring Thread instead of The Caring Thread.

Questions about posting. See faq183-874
 
I thought it was going to be some request for emotional support!

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)
 
The way folks use the expresion, it should be "Couldn't care less." As has been pointed out, if you *could* care less about a subject, then it is not of zero concern to you.

And as for that pesky glass: whether it's half empty or half full, just drink up and pour another!

[tt]__________________________________________
My name is John, and I approved this post.[/tt]

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My name is John, and I approved this post.

You should get an award for that sig! Made my day.

boyd.gif

 
I've seen variations that sig pop up in a bunch of places lately! I wonder why that is.

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)
 
Thanks, Craig! I use the sig in a couple of groups. The only problem with it - and I only thought of this after I started using the it - is that folks from other countries probably have no idea what the heck I'm talking about.

If any of you non-Americans are reading this, allow me to try to bring you up to speed. Every political ad that is paid for by a campaign (I honestly don't know, or care to know, the exact rules) must include the voice of the candidate saying something like, "My name is John Kerry, and I approved this ad" either at the beginning or end of the ad. This is true of local elections as well. So basically any American (Maybe Canadians, too?) with a TV has heard the phrase about a billion times over the last couple of months.

But it'll all be over in two weeks.

[tt]__________________________________________
My name is John, and I approved this post.[/tt]

To get the best answers fast, please read faq181-2886
 
Talking of signatures, I've seen one (in a technical forum I visit regularly) that sent me down the floor. It goes something like this: [blue]
*Warning* this is an automated post generated by my HAL-9000 computer. I'm not legally responsible for anything posted by this machine.
[/blue]There was a flame war going on in the thread.
 
********* Tact #1 ***********

You see, I feel that if you are mentioning a subject at all, Mathematics in this example, you are displaying some element of "caring". If on a specific topic you truly could not care less, then you must obviously be discussing the epitome of non-caring; of every other topic it must be said that you could care less.

********* Tact #2 ***********

On this subject, I could care less (but I can't be bothered). In this way, the "I could care less" works just fine for me.

~Thadeus
"I do body work, and I approve of this massage
 
Tact? Do you mean tack? (see the third meaning at m-w.com)

In any case, I don't quite get your meanings.

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It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)
 
No, I meant tact, but I was using it poorly*. In my morning-ridden head it came across as an abbrev. of tactic.

~Thadeus

[sub]* read as: "absolutely incorrectly"[/sub]
 
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