From: nospam@example.net   
      
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   On Mon, 12 Aug 2024, Richmond wrote:   
      
   > 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. ;]   
   >   
      
   Nah, the trans-cults are enough. I'll just stick to facts instead. ;)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)