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Clifford Adams

@gob @glyph @ben_hr @mhoye

I don't fault Randall for his comics, although maybe he should do an XKCD where he adds a disclaimer that not all situations fit any particular XKCD. (Then people could refer to that XKCD number and feel REALLY SMART.)

Techbros often misuse XKCDs (or memes in general) as a kind of "thought terminating cliche", especially the infamous 927 about standards. Just cite the XKCD and walk away--no need to consider the issues in depth.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-

3 comments
Cody

@wikicliff @gob @glyph @ben_hr @mhoye ok but worth remembering that "this is a thought terminating cliché" is, itself, a thought terminating cliché, including, unfortunately, this mention.

Clifford Adams

@codyroux
Agreed, which is why I was careful to say the XKCDs/memes may be *misused* as thought terminating cliches. (I wonder how long it will take for that accent mark in "cliché" to go away in English, like the umlauts in "naive" and "cooperate".)

Cody

@wikicliff I certainly wouldn't have added it if it had been harder to type, so... when android updates their keyboard?

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