What does "In General" mean to you?

[Stigweard]

Thank you

Edited July 19, 2011 by Stigweard

[rene]

"in general" - suggests a majority; and usually it suggests a large enough of a majority that making a 'generalized' statement becomes acceptable (when identified as such).

 

YMMV. (-:

[Sloppy Zhang]

Depends on the situation and the context.

 

It can mean majority, yes.

 

But it can also indicate a frequency of perception. And that has very little bearing on numerical majority.

 

An example you (stig) used in another thread was "general epidemic" of a flu (it could be some other disease, or anything really). The number of people with the flu may be well UNDER 50% of the population, but could be significant enough that someone could correctly say that people "in general" have the flu "this time of year".

 

 

It'd be nice of you to edit the poll to allow for more options that may more accurately reflect the poll takers' opinions. Or remove the poll and just make it a general discussion.

 

Also, I consider it rather poor form to go to the open discussion in some attempt to resolve a discussion started in the pit.

 

Furthermore, if you were attempting to somehow cite this as a source for what people "in general" think "in general" means, please keep in mind that argumentum ad populum is a logical fallacy.

 

 

Tally ho indeed.

[Marblehead]

"in general" - suggests a majority; and usually it suggests a large enough of a majority that making a 'generalized' statement becomes acceptable (when identified as such).

 

YMMV. (-:

 

Rene said it better than I was going to.

[Marblehead]

Making a generalized statement is almost as bad as making a statement of universality. Generalizing is also a neat way to stereotype and get away with it.

 

But then, our brain naturally does these generalizations without any conscious thought so I'm not sure if they can be avoided.

[Sloppy Zhang]

Making a generalized statement is almost as bad as making a statement of universality. Generalizing is also a neat way to stereotype and get away with it.

 

But then, our brain naturally does these generalizations without any conscious thought so I'm not sure if they can be avoided.

 

What's your favorite food, marblehead?

[Marblehead]

What's your favorite food, marblehead?

 

Is this a trick question? Hehehe.

 

Limburger Cheese.

[Sloppy Zhang]

Is this a trick question? Hehehe.

 

Limburger Cheese.

 

Have you, marblehead, personally eaten every limburger cheese that has ever been made? I understand that's a very tall order. So I'll ask something a little different...

 

What percentage of the limburger cheese that has been around in your lifetime would you say that you have eaten?

[Apech]

Have you, marblehead, personally eaten every limburger cheese that has ever been made? I understand that's a very tall order. So I'll ask something a little different...

 

What percentage of the limburger cheese that has been around in your lifetime would you say that you have eaten?

 

He's eaten most of it ... hence the need for exercise.

[Marblehead]

Have you, marblehead, personally eaten every limburger cheese that has ever been made? I understand that's a very tall order. So I'll ask something a little different...

 

What percentage of the limburger cheese that has been around in your lifetime would you say that you have eaten?

 

Yep. That was a trick question.

 

Yes, as Apech stated, I eat too much and therefore the need for exercise.

 

I do not have the data available to answer your questions though. In general, I probably eat more than the average person does. (Hehehe. How do you like that?)

 

I think I can say that I have eaten every brand named Limburger cheese that has every been made from my age of about twenty years.

 

Getting good Limburger cheese is difficult because it requires lower storage temperatures than does most other cheeses. If it is not kept at about 43 degrees F it will start a second fermenting and that generally destroys the pureness of the cheese. (Note I was able to generalize once again. Hehehe.)

[Sloppy Zhang]

Yep. That was a trick question.

 

Yes, as Apech stated, I eat too much and therefore the need for exercise.

 

I do not have the data available to answer your questions though. In general, I probably eat more than the average person does. (Hehehe. How do you like that?)

 

I think I can say that I have eaten every brand named Limburger cheese that has every been made from my age of about twenty years.

 

Getting good Limburger cheese is difficult because it requires lower storage temperatures than does most other cheeses. If it is not kept at about 43 degrees F it will start a second fermenting and that generally destroys the pureness of the cheese. (Note I was able to generalize once again. Hehehe.)

 

Trick question? My dear marblehead, not at all!

 

I wasn't referring to brands. I was referring to the total amount of Limburger cheese that was on this planet from the time that you were born until now.

 

And while you may have eaten your fair share of Limburger cheese, I don't think it is anywhere near 50% of the Limburger cheese that has been around in the time that you have had the ability to consume said cheese.

 

And while it is perfectly conceivable that some Limburger cheese is not always kept well, I would think it's pretty fair to say that someone who deals in cheese and is preparing it has some knowledge of how to handle it.

 

So given that you had the inclination and the ability to procure said cheese, I think it's fair to say that you would attempt to consume it. You know full well that it COULD taste disgusting, or it COULD be improperly prepared. But you chance it. Why?

 

Well, I would think it'd be a pretty fair statement to say that it's because "you like Limburger cheese in general". You haven't had close to 50% of it, let alone more than 50%. And while I'm sure you've had your share of "not good" Limburger cheese, I'd think the majority of it has been pretty good in your experience, or else you wouldn't chance eating it as often since the chances would increase that it'd be not good.

 

So there you have it- a situation in which "in general" does not apply to more than 50%. A completely reasonable, natural usage of the phrase, and if you said it to someone, they would understand that when you said "in general I like Limburger cheese", you are NOT in any way suggesting that you have consumed half of the Limburger cheese which, even if you just consider this very moment, is currently in existence.

[Apech]

If he said he liked Limburger cheese in general then he would probably mean that he liked most of the L. cheese he had eaten.

[Marblehead]

So there you have it- a situation in which "in general" does not apply to more than 50%. A completely reasonable, natural usage of the phrase, and if you said it to someone, they would understand that when you said "in general I like Limburger cheese", you are NOT in any way suggesting that you have consumed half of the Limburger cheese which, even if you just consider this very moment, is currently in existence.

 

Good try. Hehehe. But I never said, "In general I like Limburger chese." I said I like Limburger cheese. The term "In general" does not even apply here. It is a fact that I like Limburger cheese, not a generalization.

 

I can make a statement something like this though: In general, I don't like walking very much any more. This is because I had a broken hip and have never recovered my ability to walk long distances because it requires a great amount of efort and energy. However, if I am walking behind a lady with a nice looking behind I really enjoy the walking. (Mind over matter.)

 

So yes, in this case "in general" would be greater than 50%.

[Marblehead]

If he said he liked Limburger cheese in general then he would probably mean that he liked most of the L. cheese he had eaten.

 

In general, that's pretty close.

[Sloppy Zhang]

If he said he liked Limburger cheese in general then he would probably mean that he liked most of the L. cheese he had eaten.

 

Then that still does not reflect on the majority of Limburger cheese.

 

So if we go by the poll's suggested phrase "in general women act in a certain way", and if we go by the way of understanding that you put forward, and which Marblehead thinks is pretty close in general:

In general, that's pretty close.

 

Then the understood meaning of "in general women act in a certain way" would then be "most of the women that I have eaten met act in a certain way".

 

And as such, the comment would not be a reflection of 50% of the total population of women, but only a reflection of 50% of the total number of women that the individual speaker has encounter (which could be painfully few).

[Apech]

 

 

And as such, the comment would not be a reflection of 50% of the total population of women, but only a reflection of 50% of the total number of women that the individual speaker has encounter (which could be painfully few).

 

A few painful meetings ... yes.

 

In any case 'in general' means the majority of the set you are talking about ... either 'women' ... or 'women you have met'. But if you make a statement like "In general women are shorter than men" people will understand that you think that most women are shorter than men ... not just the women you have met ... you might hang around with a lot of tiny people ....

[Mal]

"In general women act in a certain way", what does this mean to you

To me it means "In general women act in a certain way"

 

and I'm NOT trying to be 1/2 smart but I just don't go for the dictionary meaning Latin roots approach to language, preferring instead to derive my meaning from the context of the conversation.

 

So to me the statement could fulfil both options on the poll depending on the conversation.

[Sloppy Zhang]

A few painful meetings ... yes.

 

In any case 'in general' means the majority of the set you are talking about ... either 'women' ... or 'women you have met'.

 

Except that you said:

 

If he said he liked Limburger cheese in general then he would probably mean that he liked most of the L. cheese he had eaten.

 

And Marblehead said:

In general, that's pretty close.

 

Which would indicate that the set of Limburger cheese that Marblehead would like "in general" would actually be the Limburger cheese that Marblehead had eaten, NOT the entirety of Limburger cheese in existence. In the way you've set it up, there is the implication, without explicitly specifying, that the "Limburger cheese" being liked "in general" is, in fact, "the Limburger cheese that had been eaten up to that point by the speaker".

 

Which would mean that, by the standard you have just presented-

"In general women are shorter than men"

 

Would in fact just be "the women you have met", as you have already demonstrated with the cheese that one does not need to specify that their comments are limited to the ones that they have eaten. After all, one couldn't have eaten the majority of Limburger cheese any more than one could have met the majority of men and women to reliably comment on the matter.

 

 

Anybody confused?

[Marblehead]

Then the understood meaning of "in general women act in a certain way" would then be "most of the women that I have eaten met act in a certain way".

 

And as such, the comment would not be a reflection of 50% of the total population of women, but only a reflection of 50% of the total number of women that the individual speaker has encounter (which could be painfully few).

 

Okay. This is good. Well, except in my case it has not been painfully few - it has been painfully many.

[Marblehead]

Anybody confused?

 

Totally but that doesn't matter. In general, that is.

[Sloppy Zhang]

Totally but that doesn't matter. In general, that is.

 

This is turning into a forum meme. "In general".

 

And by "in general", I mean the people who are even aware of the conversation going on.

 

[Stigweard]

Thanks for the responses. I have also run this as a quick quiz on FB as well to get some broader response.

 

The combined results are:

 

28 : The majority of women act in a certain way

 

18 : Many, but not necessarily the majority, act in a certain way

 

However, for the purpose of scientific ethical diligence, we cannot base judgement on this result due to such a small sample size. So instead we need to pessimistically adjust the results based on Standard Error Adjustment; we reduce the upper score and raise the lower by the SEA.

 

x = sample size

y = higher score

z = lower score

 

For the higher score: =SUM(y-(y*(1/SQRT(x+1))))

 

For the lower score: =SUM(z+(z*(1/SQRT(x+1))))

 

As such the pessimistically adjusted scores are:

 

23.9 : The majority of women act in a certain way = 52% of the sample

 

20.6 : Many, but not necessarily the majority, act in a certain way = 45% of the sample

 

Therefore, acknowledging the weaknesses of this survey, we can approximate a statement:

 

If you declare, "In general women act in a certain way," then you can expect that 52% of the audience you are talking to will believe you are in fact saying, "The majority of women act in a certain way".

[Sloppy Zhang]

Thanks for the responses. I have also run this as a quick quiz on FB as well to get some broader response.

 

The combined results are:

 

28 : The majority of women act in a certain way

 

18 : Many, but not necessarily the majority, act in a certain way

 

However, for the purpose of scientific ethical diligence, we cannot base judgement on this result due to such a small sample size. So instead we need to pessimistically adjust the results based on Standard Error Adjustment; we reduce the upper score and raise the lower by the SEA.

 

x = sample size

y = higher score

z = lower score

 

For the higher score: =SUM(x-(x*(1/SQRT(y+1))))

 

For the lower score: =SUM(x+(x*(1/SQRT(z+1))))

 

As such the pessimistically adjusted scores are:

 

23.9 : The majority of women act in a certain way = 52% of the sample

 

20.6 : Many, but not necessarily the majority, act in a certain way = 45% of the sample

 

Therefore, acknowledging the weaknesses of this survey, we can approximate a statement:

 

If you declare, "In general women act in a certain way," then you can expect that 52% of the audience you are talking to will believe you are in fact saying, "The majority of women act in a certain way".

 

And logic would dictate that even if 100% of them thought it meant free spahgetti dinners, it is still a falacious argument.

 

In logic, an argumentum ad populum (Latin for "appeal to the people") is a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or most people believe it; it alleges: "If many believe so, it is so."

[goldisheavy]

Trick question? My dear marblehead, not at all!

 

I wasn't referring to brands. I was referring to the total amount of Limburger cheese that was on this planet from the time that you were born until now.

 

And while you may have eaten your fair share of Limburger cheese, I don't think it is anywhere near 50% of the Limburger cheese that has been around in the time that you have had the ability to consume said cheese.

 

And while it is perfectly conceivable that some Limburger cheese is not always kept well, I would think it's pretty fair to say that someone who deals in cheese and is preparing it has some knowledge of how to handle it.

 

So given that you had the inclination and the ability to procure said cheese, I think it's fair to say that you would attempt to consume it. You know full well that it COULD taste disgusting, or it COULD be improperly prepared. But you chance it. Why?

 

Well, I would think it'd be a pretty fair statement to say that it's because "you like Limburger cheese in general". You haven't had close to 50% of it, let alone more than 50%. And while I'm sure you've had your share of "not good" Limburger cheese, I'd think the majority of it has been pretty good in your experience, or else you wouldn't chance eating it as often since the chances would increase that it'd be not good.

 

So there you have it- a situation in which "in general" does not apply to more than 50%. A completely reasonable, natural usage of the phrase, and if you said it to someone, they would understand that when you said "in general I like Limburger cheese", you are NOT in any way suggesting that you have consumed half of the Limburger cheese which, even if you just consider this very moment, is currently in existence.

 

The expectation here is that most Limburger cheese will taste the same. So say you taste a fraction of the cheese, but knowing how it is prepared, you make a reasonable assumption it's not going to be drastically different from the fraction you ate. Thus you can say you like Limburger cheese in general without being crazy.

 

But women are not manufactured like cheese. They tend to have some individuality and unpredictability. So talking about women in general is a risky business. I wouldn't outright dismiss such talk, because sometimes it's OK to be a little provocative in my view, but if I was making a statement about women in general, I would be raising my flame shields to the maximum level.

[Apech]

 

 

 

Anybody confused?

 

No ... are you?