Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

It's okay to approach things from different angles, and to use equivalent definitions even if they take wildly different shapes. But as my explanation continued, you cannot use disjoint definitions. If we are to talk about the concept of barnfulness, we won't have a productive discussion if one person defines it as 'red and square' and nothing more, while another person defines it as 'contains horses' and nothing more.

No concept inherently requires that definitions of it contradict. And highly-contradicting definitions is a critical factor in having a suitcase word.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: