this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2024
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Showerthoughts

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When people say two things "cannot be compared", they had to compare them to come to this conclusion. Are 'dissimilar' or 'unequal' better words? (lemm.ee)
submitted 4 months ago by Spzi@lemm.ee to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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What they actually mean is rather "these two things are very dissimilar", or "these two things are unequal".

I guess in most situations "cannot be compared" could be replaced by "cannot be equated", with less lingual inaccuracy and still the same message conveyed.

To come to the conclusion that two things are very dissimilar, very unequal, one necessarily has to compare them. So it's rather odd to come up with "cannot be compared" after just literally comparing them.

For example, bikes and cars. We compare them by looking at each's details, and finding any dissimilarities. They have a different amount of wheels. Different propulsion methods. Different price, and so on.

When this list becomes very long, or some details have a major meaning which should not be equated, people say they cannot be compared.

An example with a major meaning difference: Some people say factory farming of animals and the Holocaust are very similar, or something alike. Others disagree, presumably because they feel wether it's humans or animals being treated, the motives or whatnot make a difference big enough that the two should not be ~~compared~~ equated.

Can you follow my thoughts? Are 'dissimilar' or 'unequal' better terms? I'd be especially interested in arguments in favor of 'compared'.

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[–] rebelsimile@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 months ago

What they actually mean is rather "these two things are very dissimilar", or "these two things are unequal".

I think what they mean is “This is an invalid comparison”. For instance, the idea that two concepts are “apples and oranges” invokes the idea that apples and orange can’t be compared. But of course they could be compared as fruits (which would you prefer to get in line at the cafeteria? Aren’t you inherently inviting a comparison? I’m with you on that).

However, if one were asking whether golden delicious apples are better than honeycrisp apples and someone butts in that navel oranges are the best, they’d get the same “navel oranges and golden delicious/honeycrisp apples can’t be compared” response because they’ve brought up an invalid comparison in the context of the comparison. Apples and oranges.