In this weeks reading I found a couple of concepts that were interesting to me. My favorite one that I thought I knew the best were the two generalities; Precise generalities, and Vague generalities. Epstein first talks about how there are a lot of quantities between one and all. All means “Every single one, no exceptions.” It can also mean “Every single one, and there is at least one.” Some means “At least one,” but can also be interpreted as “At least one, but not all.” An example of All would be. "All sports are fun". An example of some would be "Some games are not fun".
Precise generalities and vague generalities are both specifying a claim. Precise generalities specifies a claim so that we can understand it clearly. Vague generalities specifies a claim where it can be understood in many different ways if it is not clear. I believe this applies to real life because usually high school students and some college students use vague generalities because we usually use slang. Educated adults like teachers usually use precise generalities, to get their point across clearly when they are teaching.
Dear Mr. Linton,
ReplyDeleteI was first attracted to your blog because I also did a post for vague generalities. I must admit though that i had to read your first paragragh a couple times to comprehend what you were saying. On your next post, I would suggest focusing on simply creating a more clear interpretation of the text for your readers. I do like how you related the difference between the two concepts with the difference between a professor and a student. I can see how teachers would be more likely to use precise generalities because they are usually more informed and therefore able to use precise numbers like percents and ratios.
-Melvin Banner