This Overly Specific Definition is the ONLY Definition

I really hate it when people pull this logic on me
Like I was talking about how there's a distinct imbalance in the quality of the different areas you explore in Zelda Skyward Sword, the Desert area being FAR more interesting than the other two, and I got this reply:

"that isn't what imbalanced means. Imbalanced is saying that either the playable character or the enemies are notably stronger than the other to the point that it breaks the game."

I hate it when people try to act like there's only one really specific definition for a word, like another example.
My dog was lying on her blanket, which is the same colour as her. My sister asked where the dog was, I said she was being assimilated into the blanket, to which she got really offended and said that assimilate means taking an aboriginal child and putting them in a boarding school.
And when I tried to explain that's not all it meant she said I jsut couldn't handle being wrong.

I particularly hate this sort of argument because it's so hard to actually debate against a person like this >.>

 

You know what I hate? When people complain about the most mundane ****.

 

I agree. Particularly for stuff like the first case where your intent is clear. Even if your term had been completely wrong it doesn't change what you said. I could see confusion had you not elaborated though, as given only the context of video games that is a frequent use of the "balancing"

So often when I end up in semantic arguments people mistake my clarification as doubling back and changing my original stance. First it doesn't matter if I do alter my stance, that is rather the point of the discussion anyway. Second why would anyone think my stance changed in 15 seconds over the defining of a word? I've had "arguments" that lasted all of maybe two minutes because the other party forced me to clarify a definition, which was changing my stance, which means they won and I could not tell them otherwise.

 

sometimes you just gotta get it off your chest

 

I'm interested as to how this was the first thing she thought of when hearing assimilation, lol.

 

She's clearly been learning about Australian history.

 

I basically said as much as in OP, just with more specifics about why one was more interesting. So yeah, definitely trying to be clever

 

Semantic argument (or what it usually is, nitpicking) requires the least amount of intelligence and is generally a sign that someone wants to discredit what you're saying but is incapable of forming a legitimate argument. If intent and meaning are clear, and you're not in an English class, there's not much of a reason to bring it up. Repeated or flagrant misuse of a word might warrant a correction but otherwise it's pretty obnoxious.

 

The problem with that attitude is that it quickly becomes an argument of
"Why are you being so defensive?"
"I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."

 

The only part of Australian history worth learning:

​

 

...it's STILL going >.>
"phrases and words definitely take on special meanings in special contexts. In gaming imbalanced is always used to refer the balance of enemies and the character one is playing, and in fighting games specifically to the controls (which is related to the past point). It never refers to what you're using it as."
this is actually getting agonizing, because he keeps getting up-repped while I'm being neg-repped into oblivion.

 

You know what I hate?

 

Just bring the discussion back to the point you' re actually trying to make. Words are just tools we use to convey our thoughts, if the label you used isn' t doing the job for you just stick to the definition you had in mind. In this case if "imbalanced" is lost on him in that context just stick to "one is far more interesting than the other". If you still care about having a discussion with such rigid people that is.

 

After explaining it a third time they jsut sorta randomly backed off.
They still had to get one last shot in, so they said "that's the first time you actually explained it"
but whatever, close enough :P