From: dnomhcir@gmx.com   
      
   D  writes:   
      
   > 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. =)   
      
   Perhaps you could start a cult. ;]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)