Re:AI Hallucination Cases Database
by furyofantares on Sunday May 25, 2025 @08:37PM
(#44092743)
> However, to be an honest descriptivist, you must acknowledge that words are used in certain ways more frequently than others. Definitions attempt to capture the canonical usage of a word.
True. And that's generally how they order the definitions in the dictionary, in order of usage.
For example, "an unfounded or mistaken impression or notion" is indeed the 2nd definition in M-W for "hallucination", not the first.
I'm a descriptivist. I don't believe language should have arbitrary rules, like which kinds of words you're allowed to end a sentence with.
However, to be an honest descriptivist, you must acknowledge that words are used in certain ways more frequently than others. Definitions attempt to capture the canonical usage of a word.
Therefore, if you want to communicate clearly, you should use words the way they are commonly understood to be used.