My name is Mason Porter. I am a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at UCLA. Previously I was Professor of Nonlinear and Complex Systems in the Mathematical Institute at University of Oxford. I was also a Tutorial Fellow of Somerville College.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Exclusivity
I wish people would stop using the term "exclusive" as if it were a good thing. I'm not sure whether to "grrrrrr" or "sighhhh" ( ... he says from his perch at Oxford).
I mean the way a club or neighborhood might be exclusive and the fact that many people use "exclusive" as an adjective in a positive light when referring to such things.
I suspected, but it's more that I read it the wrong way first (the way I more often here the word used), and it took me a little to get my head straight.
I'm not sure which modern usage you're referring to --- the way a club might be exclusive, or the way a relationship might be.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I need to disambiguate.
ReplyDeleteI mean the way a club or neighborhood might be exclusive and the fact that many people use "exclusive" as an adjective in a positive light when referring to such things.
Relationships can quite properly be exclusive! :)
:)
ReplyDeleteI suspected, but it's more that I read it the wrong way first (the way I more often here the word used), and it took me a little to get my head straight.