Windows doesn’t know how to count.

blackenedbutterfly:

Look I understand you think that 10 is the number that comes after 1, and then 2 after 19, but it really doesn’t work like that for the rest of us. You can’t just look at the first number and organize things like that.

It’s been at least 20 years since Microsoft came around. Why haven’t you fixed this yet?

It’s a feature of all OSes, because the computer doesn’t know that your numerals are numbers. Or, more specifically, if it assumed the ordering you want, it might break in other cases, because many computer components (especially filesystems) don’t have any semantic understanding of the symbols they’re processing.

So, since the computer doesn’t really understand what your data means, it must choose a way to order the data that’s independent of meaning: lexicographical ordering. It’s not a problem that can be easily surmounted - to try to pull semantic information out of your data would require more processing power than it would be worth, not to mention the potential for pulling bad semantic data out. Lexicographical ordering is a good trade-off; it’s computationally dirt cheap, and it gives nice predictable results.

(Source: iuwaehfoaiuwhefoiaulfjqn)

Trans: Prefix or Adjective?

I wanted to expand on my reply to this post. As an amateur linguist, my interest was piqued. Let’s get ready for Language Time with Anna!

So, ‘trans-’ is traditionally a prefix, and not a root word on its own (although it derives from the present participle of the Latin word trare, ‘to cross’).

However, the modern usage of the word ‘trans’, in the context of gender, is more nuanced. When I say “I am trans” or “I am a trans woman”, I am really using a shortened form of either the word ‘transgender’ or ‘transsexual’. So, the word ‘trans’ is different from the prefix ‘trans-’ in that it is a slang term that shortens the original word by only using its prefix. Awkward, but the alternative, “I am a gender woman”, sounds outright bizarre.

Hyphenating or collapsing ‘trans woman’ into ‘trans-woman’ or ‘transwoman’ is not necessary, grammatically. It’s not even correct in this context. And it is socially problematic.

In fact, the word ‘transwoman’ implies something distinctly different than ‘trans woman’. See, ‘transgender woman’ (or ‘trans woman’ for short) means ‘a woman who is transgender’. ‘Transwoman’, on the other hand, implies ‘someone who has moved beyond/through womanhood’. This could potentially imply a certain subset of trans men (those who view themselves as having been women before their transition). It could also, maybe, be used to describe a FAAB non-binary, or a FAAB who has abandoned their body and uploaded their consciousness into a genderless cloud of nanomachines. See also Transhumanism.

To reiterate: ‘trans woman’ and ‘trans man’ are the spellings you want to use. They are the only spellings that are not problematic.

(edit: As per this discussion, this post contains some privileged ideas; namely, it is wrapped in problematic prescriptive grammar. I still hold that trans man and trans woman are the best phrases to use for most of the reasons outlined above, but suggesting that it is problematic because it is grammatically incorrect is the wrong approach)

At the intersection of geek and trans

I post too many serious, heavy things. This is a little lighter, although still not all orgasms and chamomile.

Part of my efforts toward transitioning have involved shifting my online presence to use my new name and removing, wherever possible, all traces of my old identity. So, naturally, whenever I sign up for new services online, I use my new name instead of my legal name. It quickly became something I do without even thinking about it. After, all, I am Anna. It was not exactly difficult for me to embrace that as a truth, because as soon as I realized it, it felt completely natural.

So, one result of this is that, when I created an account on the new battle.net, I used Anna as my name. Fast forward to the release of StarCraft 2, and all of my co-workers want my RealID so they can friend me in-game.

I have studiously avoided talking about it. I have nimbly dodged the issue, or changed the subject, whenever it comes up. It is a tricky landscape, but I manage.

The other downside, of course, is that I don’t have anyone to play StarCraft with. I mean, random matches, sure. But that really isn’t the same.

Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to convert people I’m already out to into StarCraft players.