Maybe it is too late to save this phrase from its death at the hands of the Internet, but to "beg a question" has nothing to do with the idea of "this makes me want to ask the question". Begging the question is a term in logic. It means "To use the point one is trying to prove as an assumption in one's argument." It is very important in that context not to dilute the specific meaning, because it is one of the most important fallacies which occur in bad arguments.
This is a plea to technically inclined journalists: spend some time learning about the English language. It would do better by you if you did not ruin it by habitual misuse.
Note: this is not aimed at CmdrTaco specifically. Posters on ars technica and elsewhere misuse this particular quote frequently, owing to the nature of their medium. However I begin to suspect that Slashdot is a major contributor to the problem.
Will this apply to any and all creative work? What if you write a play or a novel? Lot's of people are writers in their spare time and even get published. What if you paint a picture? Take photographs of your kids? What if you invent a better mousetrap? Build a paper airplane? Design yourself a nice house? Burn a CD?
Thinking of that, do they take responsibility for any infringements you make on other people's copyrights, or do they only take credit, no blame? What the hell is that? I'll tell you: slavery for money.
Undoubtedly your employer will only care if they can make a buck out of you, but they should be forced to carry out the letter of the law. And if they own what you do that's good, they should own what you do that's bad, too.
It all sounds very fishy to me. Capitalism really has some issues in my opinion.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe it is too late to save this phrase from its death at the hands of the Internet, but to "beg a question" has nothing to do with the idea of "this makes me want to ask the question". Begging the question is a term in logic. It means "To use the point one is trying to prove as an assumption in one's argument." It is very important in that context not to dilute the specific meaning, because it is one of the most important fallacies which occur in bad arguments. This is a plea to technically inclined journalists: spend some time learning about the English language. It would do better by you if you did not ruin it by habitual misuse. Note: this is not aimed at CmdrTaco specifically. Posters on ars technica and elsewhere misuse this particular quote frequently, owing to the nature of their medium. However I begin to suspect that Slashdot is a major contributor to the problem.
Will this apply to any and all creative work? What if you write a play or a novel? Lot's of people are writers in their spare time and even get published. What if you paint a picture? Take photographs of your kids? What if you invent a better mousetrap? Build a paper airplane? Design yourself a nice house? Burn a CD?
Thinking of that, do they take responsibility for any infringements you make on other people's copyrights, or do they only take credit, no blame? What the hell is that? I'll tell you: slavery for money.
Undoubtedly your employer will only care if they can make a buck out of you, but they should be forced to carry out the letter of the law. And if they own what you do that's good, they should own what you do that's bad, too.
It all sounds very fishy to me. Capitalism really has some issues in my opinion.
bg
Go check out Interface Builder for OS X. IT does way more than that!