I took chemistry too long ago. I assume that H2O2 is some poison/acid, but what? The H2 would be just a hydrogen pair, and the O2 an oxygen pair. What's the detail that I'm missing?
But with toe-ma-toe vs. ta-may-toe vs. toe-mah-toe there's no ambiguity - each pronunciation still means tomato, period. So it's easy to resolve that one and ignore differences in pronunciation, since they don't affect the result. With "H2O2" vs. "H2O too" there are differences in pronunciation [ui]and in meaning[/i]. I'd say the onus is on the waiter to pay attention to such differences, when they do in fact make a difference.
Dabatable implies that some people will pronunciation them the same way. However, if we agree that there is a difference in pronunciation, the difference is too subtle to risk my life by not making myself absolutely clear.
Mike Okri wrote:Dabatable implies that some people will pronunciation them the same way.
Perhaps, but those people are wrong.
Mike Okri wrote:However, if we agree that there is a difference in pronunciation, the difference is too subtle to risk my life by not making myself absolutely clear.
I'd say the two big mistakes here are really (a) if the waiter really thought the customer wanted hydrogen peroxide for some reason, why on earth did he bring it in a drinking glass, looking identical to a glass of water? And (b) why did the customer not notice the distinct strong smell of hydrogen peroxide, and stop before drinking? The situation requires considerable stupidity from both parties. The alleged ambiguity regarding pronunciation is minor in comparison, in my opinion.
Ernest Friedman-Hill
,
author and iconoclast
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Mike Simmons wrote:I'd say the two big mistakes here are really (a) if the waiter really thought the customer wanted hydrogen peroxide for some reason, why on earth did he bring it in a drinking glass, looking identical to a glass of water?
The waiter asked for their drink order. The customers made their orders, why would the waiter not think he was making an order to drink like any other order to drink?
Mike Simmons wrote:And (b) why did the customer not notice the distinct strong smell of hydrogen peroxide, and stop before drinking?
Mike Simmons wrote:Perhaps, but those people are wrong.
I'm sure you will admit that you're not always perfect in your pronunciation. The bottom line is that some people will pronounce them the same way irrespective of whether it's right or wrong.
Mike Simmons wrote:I'd say the two big mistakes here are really
I agree that it's an unlikely scenario, but sometimes real life is stranger than fiction. People have intentionally or accidentally consumed worse drinks.
Mike Simmons wrote:Perhaps, but those people are wrong.
I'm sure you will admit that you're not always perfect in your pronunciation. The bottom line is that some people will pronounce them the same way irrespective of whether it's right or wrong.
Especially since that when it comes to pronunciation, "right" is almost certainly not well-defined.
(And you're probably not even talking about a change in pronunciation here - just a change of emphasis. If that.)
Mike Simmons wrote:But this is a far cry from "he got exactly what he ordered".
I think that the cartoon is correct in saying that the customer got exactly what he ordered for the following reasons:
if you believe that there is no difference in pronunciation or that the difference is subtle (for example break and brake), then the customer got exactly what he ordered because the waiter cannot be expected to read the customer’s mind.
if you believe that the difference in pronunciation is obvious, then we can assume that the cartoon is insinuating that the customer used the wrong pronunciation, in which case, the customer got exactly what he ordered because (again) the waiter cannot be expected to read the customer’s mind.
Mike Simmons wrote:But this is a far cry from "he got exactly what he ordered".
I think that the cartoon is correct in saying that the customer got exactly what he ordered for the following reasons:
if you believe that there is no difference in pronunciation or that the difference is subtle (for example break and brake), then the customer got exactly what he ordered because the waiter cannot be expected to read the customer’s mind.
I don't believe the difference is either nonexistent or subtle. But if I did, I would still expect the waiter to, given the two possible interpretations, choose the one that doesn't involve poisoning the customer. Or if in doubt, ask a simple follow-up question, before poisoning the customer.
Mike Okri wrote:
if you believe that the difference in pronunciation is obvious, then we can assume that the cartoon is insinuating that the customer used the wrong pronunciation, in which case, the customer got exactly what he ordered because (again) the waiter cannot be expected to read the customer’s mind.
Alternately, we could assume that the customer said exactly what the cartoon depicted him as saying. In which case the waiter screwed up, and the customer did not get what he ordered.
Mike Simmons wrote:Or if in doubt, ask a simple follow-up question, before poisoning the customer
In the waiter's mind, there was no doubt that the customer ordered for H2O2. He can't be faulted for this because he is entitled to his interpretation, especially when there is no obvious difference in pronunciation. The customer erroneously subjected himself to the interpretation of the waiter. Maybe the waiter's intention was not to poison the customer. Maybe he thought that the customer needed some H2O2 for a quick experiment.
Mike Simmons wrote:Alternately, we could assume that the customer said exactly what the cartoon depicted him as saying.
That’s exactly what I’m saying. If you believe that there is an obvious difference in pronunciation, then we can assume that the customer said exactly what the cartoon depicted him as saying but he used the wrong pronunciation. In other words, he said H2O too but erroneously pronounced H2O2 and got exactly what he ordered.