agnostic/atheist Both agnostics and atheists are regularly criticized as illogical by people who don’t understand the meaning of these terms. An agnostic is a person who believes that the existence of a god or gods cannot be proven or known. Agnosticism is a statement about the limits of human knowledge. It is an error to suppose that agnostics perpetually hesitate between faith and doubt: they are confident they cannot know the ultimate truth. Similarly, atheists believe there are no gods. Atheists need not be able to disprove the existence of gods to be consistent just as believers do not need to be able to prove that gods do exist in order to be regarded as religious. Both attitudes have to do with beliefs, not knowledge.
“Agnostic” is often used metaphorically of any refusal to make a judgment, usually on the basis of a lack of evidence; people can be agnostic about acupuncture, for instance, if they believe there is not enough evidence one way or another to decide its effectiveness.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
bullion/bouillon: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, June 6, 2013
bullion/bouillon
Gold bricks are bullion. Boil down meat stock to get bouillon. It’s an expensive mistake to confuse bullion with bouillon in a recipe.
Gold bricks are bullion. Boil down meat stock to get bouillon. It’s an expensive mistake to confuse bullion with bouillon in a recipe.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
koala bear/koala: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, June 5, 2013
koala bear/koala
A koala is not a bear. People who know their marsupials refer to them simply as “koalas.” Recent research, however, indicates that pandas are related to other bears.
A koala is not a bear. People who know their marsupials refer to them simply as “koalas.” Recent research, however, indicates that pandas are related to other bears.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
track home/tract home: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, June 4, 2013
track home/tract home
Commuters from a tract home may well feel that they are engaged in a rat race, but that does not justify them in describing their housing development as a “track.” “Tract” here means an area of land on which inexpensive and uniform houses have been built. Incidentally, note that the phrase is “digestive tract,” not “digestive track.”
Commuters from a tract home may well feel that they are engaged in a rat race, but that does not justify them in describing their housing development as a “track.” “Tract” here means an area of land on which inexpensive and uniform houses have been built. Incidentally, note that the phrase is “digestive tract,” not “digestive track.”
Monday, June 3, 2013
proved/proven: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, June 3, 2013
proved/proven
For most purposes either form is a fine past participle of “prove,” though in a phrase like “a proven talent” where the word is an adjective preceding a noun, “proven” is standard.
For most purposes either form is a fine past participle of “prove,” though in a phrase like “a proven talent” where the word is an adjective preceding a noun, “proven” is standard.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
rediculous/ridiculous: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, June 2, 2013
rediculous/ridiculous
You may ridicule ideas because you find them ridiculous, but not rediculous.
You may ridicule ideas because you find them ridiculous, but not rediculous.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
case and point/case in point: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, June 1, 2013
case and point/case in point
The example before us is a “case in point,” not “case and point.”
The example before us is a “case in point,” not “case and point.”
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