Yep, he's definitely got you beat. He's got both of us beat, for that matter.
I don't use "stuff" to describe my research not because the word is "crude," but simply because it is insufficiently descriptive. After all, if I refer to "my stuff on the trickster," that could mean a lot of different things. I generally use "research," as that seems to be the most appropriate.
"Stuff" actually has a longer history than most people think. I remember an undergrad creative writing seminar where I used the word "stuff" ("stuffs," actually) in a short story set on an 18th century sailing vessel, and my prof pinged me for using an "anachronistic" word. I was miffed, and I came back with an actual sailor's diary from that period that used the word in the exact sense that I had used it. My prof looked at it, shrugged, and said, "It doesn't matter. It still sounds too modern, even if it isn't."
The moral of the story? In the end, it really just boils down to perception.
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Yep, he's definitely got you beat. He's got both of us beat, for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI don't use "stuff" to describe my research not because the word is "crude," but simply because it is insufficiently descriptive. After all, if I refer to "my stuff on the trickster," that could mean a lot of different things. I generally use "research," as that seems to be the most appropriate.
"Stuff" actually has a longer history than most people think. I remember an undergrad creative writing seminar where I used the word "stuff" ("stuffs," actually) in a short story set on an 18th century sailing vessel, and my prof pinged me for using an "anachronistic" word. I was miffed, and I came back with an actual sailor's diary from that period that used the word in the exact sense that I had used it. My prof looked at it, shrugged, and said, "It doesn't matter. It still sounds too modern, even if it isn't."
The moral of the story? In the end, it really just boils down to perception.
I've been dinged by profs for things that weren't actually incorrect. My sympathies.
ReplyDeleteWell, not to be an ass about it, but I do need to work on improving my stuff.
ReplyDelete