Nonsense in vogue

Students of language have long argued that common usages of words are as important as official definitions, since words often soak up assumptions of the day. This causes problems when commonplace usages of words override all other possible meanings. As Francis Bacon observed, language can trick us into uncritically accepting assumptions associated with particular words--a fallacy he called the "idol of the marketplace."

Consider the common advice that "we must be careful not to generalize." This adage implies that generalization is inherently wrong and we should take special care to avoid it. Yet generalization is needed to understand the complex world we live in, and science and rational thought would be impossible without it. In addition, note the paradox that the statement "we must be careful not to generalize" is itself a generalization, so we would disobey the advice if we followed it! Clearly, words like generalization carry unstated cultural assumptions that confuse rather than clarify discussions...more here