On pedantry?

[ncutler]

While it is important to strike a balance and avoid excessive pedantry that may hinder creativity or stifle open communication, acknowledging its generally positive aspects can help appreciate its role in many varied and important contexts.

1: Precision in Communication:
Pedantry can contribute to clarity and precision in communication. By insisting on accurate language and details, it helps to convey information more effectively, reducing the chances of misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

2: Maintaining Standards:
In certain fields, such as academia, science, law, and journalism, precision is crucial. Pedantry ensures that standards are maintained, preventing the dilution of meanings and preserving the integrity of terminology.

3: Promoting Accountability:
In professional and technical contexts, being pedantic can be a way to hold individuals accountable for their statements. By scrutinizing language and details, it encourages accuracy and discourages the spread of misinformation.

4: Preventing Ambiguity:
Pedantry can help eliminate ambiguity by insisting on clarity and specificity. This is especially important in legal documents, technical manuals, and other situations where vague language could lead to confusion or legal issues.

5: Preserving Tradition and Etiquette:
In language and cultural contexts, pedantry can be seen as a way of preserving tradition and etiquette. Correct language usage is often associated with respect for cultural heritage and adherence to established norms.

6: Encouraging Intellectual Rigor:
A certain level of pedantry can foster intellectual rigor by encouraging individuals to pay attention to details and think critically. This meticulous approach can lead to a deeper understanding of subjects and the development of stronger analytical skills.

7: Enhancing Editing and Proofreading:
Pedantry is an essential aspect of the editing and proofreading process. It helps identify errors, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies, ensuring that written works meet high standards of quality and professionalism.

8: Cultivating a Culture of Excellence:
In professional settings, a commitment to precision and accuracy, even in seemingly minor details, can contribute to a culture of excellence. This commitment reflects an organization or individual's dedication to producing high-quality work.

[mattheus]

6: Encouraging Intellectual Rigor:
A certain level of pedantry can foster intellectual rigor by encouraging individuals to pay attention to details and think critically

rigor
/ˈrɪɡə/
noun MEDICINE
a sudden feeling of cold with shivering accompanied by a rise in temperature, often with copious sweating, especially at the onset or height of a fever.
short for rigor mortis.

[Jdsk]

rigor
/ˈrɪɡə/
noun MEDICINE
a sudden feeling of cold with shivering accompanied by a rise in temperature, often with copious sweating, especially at the onset or height of a fever.
short for rigor mortis.

Rigor isn't short for rigor mortis. Rigor mortis is the rigor (stiffness) of death.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

A pet peeve is "pedants" who don't grasp etymology, evolution of language and common usage and then derail a reasonable post with questioning the language used when there is no confusion in the meaning/intention...

Yes. Picking up on perceived bad usage in a thread doesn't help the thread and can be discourteous. And we have a thread for discussion of usage.

Picking up on inaccuracy of content can be vital.

Jonathan

[mattheus]

rigor
/ˈrɪɡə/
noun MEDICINE
a sudden feeling of cold with shivering accompanied by a rise in temperature, often with copious sweating, especially at the onset or height of a fever.
short for rigor mortis.

Rigor isn't short for rigor mortis. Rigor mortis is the rigor (stiffness) of death.

Jonathan

You can check the source here: https://www.google.com/search?q=Rigor&r ... e&ie=UTF-8
(Apologies for not including the citation info.)

Anyway, your post is perfect pedantry - it may be correct, but it no way addresses the (obvious) point that "rigor" is a different word to "rigour" - in UK English, anyways - well done!

[Jdsk]

rigor
/ˈrɪɡə/
noun MEDICINE
a sudden feeling of cold with shivering accompanied by a rise in temperature, often with copious sweating, especially at the onset or height of a fever.
short for rigor mortis.

Rigor isn't short for rigor mortis. Rigor mortis is the rigor (stiffness) of death.

You can check the source here: https://www.google.com/search?q=Rigor&r ... e&ie=UTF-8
(Apologies for not including the citation info.)
...

If by "short for" it means "derived from" then it's wrong. The term rigor mortis is derived from rigor, not the other way round.

But with a corpse in front of you you might well say rigor in describing rigor mortis, and that would be shorter.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

...
Anyway, your post is perfect pedantry - it may be correct, but it no way addresses the (obvious) point that "rigor" is a different word to "rigour" - in UK English, anyways - well done!

Rigour hasn't been mentioned and is irrelevant. The *medical term rigor is spelt rigor in English English, as well as US English.

Jonathan

* And pronounced RYE-GORE.

[mattheus]

...
Anyway, your post is perfect pedantry - it may be correct, but it no way addresses the (obvious) point that "rigor" is a different word to "rigour" - in UK English, anyways - well done!

Rigour hasn't been mentioned and is irrelevant. The medical term rigor is spelt rigor in English English, as well as US English.

Jonathan

Then allow me to clarify:

6: Encouraging Intellectual Rigor:
A certain level of pedantry can foster intellectual rigor by encouraging individuals to pay attention to details and think critically. This meticulous approach can lead to a deeper understanding of subjects and the development of stronger analytical skills.

[Jdsk]

...
Anyway, your post is perfect pedantry - it may be correct, but it no way addresses the (obvious) point that "rigor" is a different word to "rigour" - in UK English, anyways - well done!

Rigour hasn't been mentioned and is irrelevant. The medical term rigor is spelt rigor in English English, as well as US English.

Then allow me to clarify:

6: Encouraging Intellectual Rigor:
A certain level of pedantry can foster intellectual rigor by encouraging individuals to pay attention to details and think critically. This meticulous approach can lead to a deeper understanding of subjects and the development of stronger analytical skills.

That's the US English spelling of the word that's spelt rigour in English English. Not the medical term.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

6: Encouraging Intellectual Rigor:
A certain level of pedantry can foster intellectual rigor by encouraging individuals to pay attention to details and think critically

rigor
/ˈrɪɡə/
noun MEDICINE
a sudden feeling of cold with shivering accompanied by a rise in temperature, often with copious sweating, especially at the onset or height of a fever.
short for rigor mortis.

I can see where the confusion arose. That's a dictionary entry for the medical term rigor. But the quotation wasn't about the medical term, but rather the thing that we call rigour in English English.

Jonathan

[GideonReade]

So was the discussion about rigour and rigor a matter of pedantry or localism/parochialism?

[Jdsk]

So was the discussion about rigour and rigor a matter of pedantry or localism/parochialism?

It included some of the latter.

Jonathan

[mattheus]

So was the discussion about rigour and rigor a matter of pedantry or localism/parochialism?

If I achieved both in the same post, then perhaps my time wasn't wasted here...

[nirakaro]

Yes, I think you're right. Oh my effin Gee though, shouldn't we have something better to do with our time?

[ncutler]

shouldn't we have something better to do with our time?

What could possibly more important! I do so enjoy a rigorous discussion .....