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Comment by Lammy

9 days ago

> arguably

Sick of this weasel word. Either argue it or don't.

Also used incorrectly most of the time. They meant to use “debatably”.

Arguably:

- used to say that a statement is very possibly true even if it is not certain (merriam-webster)

- in a way that can be shown to be true (cambridge)

ie. you can be prove it through argument, not “you can make the argument”

Even worse, "I would argue that..."

It's not hypothetical if you are here, in the current tense, arguing that. I've mostly cured myself of the habit, but its tough.

  • “I would argue that…” is a weaker statement, because it ends with an implied “…but since I don’t care that much, I’m not ‘seriously’ arguing that.” It’s not at all equivalent to the strong statement “I argue that…”, which has no such qualifier.

    Why cure yourself of useful conversational nuance?