From: nospam@example.net   
      
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   On Sun, 11 Aug 2024, Richmond wrote:   
      
   > D  writes:   
   >   
   >> On Wed, 7 Aug 2024, Richmond wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> oldernow  writes:   
   >>>   
   >>>> On 2024-08-07, Richmond  wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>> You say we revise meanings, but what actually happens   
   >>>>> is meanings change gradually. So over time a meaning can   
   >>>>> change, but that's not the same as a subgroup of people   
   >>>>> getting together and deciding to define a word. Even   
   >>>>> having defined a word its usage will remain the same,   
   >>>>> and its usage is what truely defines it. There are many   
   >>>>> examples from law I should think where the legal meaning   
   >>>>> of a word is different from its general usage.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> I think that's even more insidious than generally accepted,   
   >>>> in that individuals perform the assignment/revision of   
   >>>> meaning to word symbols in real time, including in the   
   >>>> simplest of conversation, which to me is the main source   
   >>>> of communication contention.   
   >>>   
   >>> I noticed recently that Richard Dawkins defined sex as male if there is   
   >>> a Y chromosome, although sometimes he says 'biological sex'. The word   
   >>> sex, as in the state of being male or female, was used in 1382 in John   
   >>> Wycliffe's Bible translation. Chromosomes weren't discovered until the   
   >>> 19th century.   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >> Dawkins?!? I'm honored and consider myself in great company! I use   
   >> that definition too! =) Great minds think alike, as the saying goes!   
   >   
   > "Just looking at the presence of a Y chromosome on its own does not   
   > answer the question of whether someone is male or female,” says Prof   
   > Alun Williams, who researches genetic factors related to sport   
   > performance at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of   
   > Sport.   
   >   
   > "It’s obviously a very good marker, as most people with a Y chromosome   
   > are male…but it’s not a perfect indicator."   
   >   
   > For some people with DSD, the Y chromosome is not a fully formed typical   
   > male Y chromosome. It may have some genetic material missing, damaged or   
   > swapped with the X chromosome, depending on the variation.   
   >   
   > When it comes to being male or female, what is usually crucial is a   
   > specific gene called SRY - which stands for ‘sex-determining region of   
   > the Y chromosome’.   
   >   
   > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crlr8gp813ko   
   >   
      
   I'll stick with Dawkins. =)   
      
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