Has the intellectual quality of any discussion ever been improved by anyone using the word 'problematic'?
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I think that the issue is that the word is often applied in a subjective manner. An example of a reasonable use might be “Dichotomizing continuous data can be problematic.” (Followed by an explanation of why.)
Yeah, but in a legit case like that, 'problematic' is painfully vague about what exactly the problem would be... it means little more than 'bad' or 'wrong'.
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The way I see it, "problematic" is a low-cost, low-precision aspersion to a person or idea that helps immunize progressive herds to them before proper exposure. And, the vagueness of the accusation "problematic" prevents the accuser from having to justify anything specific.
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When someone tells another that "Geoffrey Miller is problematic," all-of-a-sudden, in their minds, the burden of proof is now on you to demonstrate you're not harboring something sinister.
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I think problematic is the right way to describe the last few episodes of the first season of True Detective. Although, some might say “fucking disaster” is more appropriate.
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Agreed. Using this word in a vague manner to convey moral objection/disapproval is problematic.
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It's a weasel word that allows one to say that something is bad without having to specify the reason why it is bad while sounding sophisticated.
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This describes 99.9% of all supposedly intellectual discussions. Baseless moralizing.
End of conversation
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