"no" banana@lemmy.world to Lemmy Shitpost@lemmy.world · edit-21 month agoSomething's rotten in Denmarklemmy.worldimagemessage-square97fedilinkarrow-up11arrow-down10
arrow-up11arrow-down1imageSomething's rotten in Denmarklemmy.world"no" banana@lemmy.world to Lemmy Shitpost@lemmy.world · edit-21 month agomessage-square97fedilink
minus-squareKellamity@sh.itjust.workslinkfedilinkarrow-up0·1 month agoI agree with your broader point about linguistics, but Chesterton’s fence has never sat right with me. Consider the inverse: This annoying and unnecessary fence is an inconvenience, but since nobody can remember what it’s for, we dare not remove it
minus-squareCannedYeet@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up0·edit-21 month agoChesterton’s fence is a warning not to commit this logical error: I don’t know what this fence is for, therefore I know there is no reason for it. It doesn’t say never to remove it. It means you should try and figure out why it’s there and ask around before removing it.
I agree with your broader point about linguistics, but Chesterton’s fence has never sat right with me. Consider the inverse:
This annoying and unnecessary fence is an inconvenience, but since nobody can remember what it’s for, we dare not remove it
Chesterton’s fence is a warning not to commit this logical error: I don’t know what this fence is for, therefore I know there is no reason for it.
It doesn’t say never to remove it. It means you should try and figure out why it’s there and ask around before removing it.