What is the DUMBEST thing you've SEEN somone do with a console?

[TheSteeleStrap]

That would probably be when Nintendo created the Gamecube.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

We have meds for people with your condition. We call em "Chill Pills".

Fair enough, but keep in mind that mine is the counter rant.

Whatever pill I need, the Nazi's here need them tenfold.

 

[RustyMcPlwood]

We have meds for people with your condition. We call em "Chill Pills".

Fair enough, but keep in mind that mine is the counter rant.

Whatever pill I need, the Nazi's here need them tenfold.

Nein Nein Nein
Why must you always come back tom i thought wed established that this argument, which you started by the way was a waste of time and that you are the most intelligent superbeing ever.
Also why the whole nazi's/ hitler thing I dont really see its place in this argment...

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Wow, 5 pages in, and the topic is OFF.
THE TOPIC IS OFF, BOB.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

We have meds for people with your condition. We call em "Chill Pills".

Fair enough, but keep in mind that mine is the counter rant.

Whatever pill I need, the Nazi's here need them tenfold.

Nein Nein Nein
Why must you always come back tom i thought wed established that this argument, which you started by the way was a waste of time and that you are the most intelligent superbeing ever.
Also why the whole nazi's/ hitler thing I dont really see its place in this argment...

well if he wants the "grammar Nazi"

Your favourite German-Escapist agrees "could care less" is Bullenscheisse.



[and yes i know its not a question of grammar here, but of semantics and semiotics]

 

[RustyMcPlwood]

well if he wants the "grammar Nazi"

Your favourite German-Escapist agrees "could care less" is Bullenscheisse.



[and yes i know its not a question of grammar here, but of semantics and semiotics]

Im gonna take a wild guess and assume that Bullenscheisse means bullshit. right?

 

[instantbenz]

buying a console, having it fail, sending it in, getting the same console back, having it fail again and STILL deciding that the console company is infallible.

person in question: me

time span of incident: 06-08

stupid me

 

[Iron Mal]

I saw their "Smash My Wii" campaign. It was fucking retarded. Just why? It is such a waste.

Because fanboys and technophobics need a way to feel good about themselves and to them smashing an inaminate piece of plastic and circuits it the metaphorical equivilent of 'slaying the dragon' or making a witty one liner to the school bully.

The dumbest thing I've ever seen someone do with a console was when a friend of mine heard about a cheat for a racing game (I forget which one), the rumour was that while on the track select screen you had to pour boiling hot water on your playstation and it would unlock everything in the game (or something like that, this was well before you could simply look stuff like this up on the internet).

As you can guess, hot water and Playstation were combined and he didn't quite get the results he hoped for.

 

[teh_Canape]

this, holy shit this:

http://boards.ign.com/mass_effect/b8653/188941432/r188965588/

 

[Kermi]

Except saying "could care less" doesn't make sense, and will never make sense, and hiding behind "language changes" to protect your bad grammar is laughable.

[sarcasm]Oh shit nvm, you're 100% right... actually, every single phrase in the queens English makes perfect sense when compared to its' Anglo Saxon original dialect.[/sarcasm]

Oh wait, no... sorry, I just remembered there's actually hundreds of butchered idioms dating back to Shakespeare that have either become a part of every day speech or have literally changed the language itself... And I'm not hiding behind shit.

Examples such as...? You've taken my point, surrounded it with sarcasm tags to deride my argument and then countered it with... nothing? Is that how it works?

And it's not like you have a sense of humo- wait, hold on... could care less has nothing to do with language changing, it just flat out doesn't make sense. I nearly fell for that.

No, he's damn funny. And he's right that "I could care less" makes absolutely no sense. That said, I didn't even realise Americans used it, and can't see why.

This has nothing to do with a sense of humor. It has to do with people listening to this guy banter on as if Britain speaks a language completely free of nonsensical colloquialisms, and then thinking that Americans are stupid as a result. Trust me, as someone who has been around the world, I can safely say that there is a large amount of stupid British people and there is a large amount of stupid Americans. Neither country is ACTUALLY smarter.

Also, OhJohnNo, despite what Mr. British Rant has to say, "Could care less" is a worldwide conversational blunder amongst those who speak English, and honestly, it's one of the least important ones to exist ever.

Grammar Comprehensibility* Hitler is smiling in his lettered grave.

Well done with the Nazi reference. Anyone who is strict about anything is a Nazi, and that's a bad thing! That means you win by default, because how do I continue to argue when my feelings about grammar have been compared to the holocaust? Easily, because this argument is horeshit.

Edit:*

There's a difference between idioms that don't make sense when taken literally because they are metaphorical or use odd similies, and turns of phrase don't make sense because of poor grammar.
Please give me an example of an idiom you think doesn't make sense - it's probably still grammatically correct.

The fact of the matter is saying I could care means that you care, and COULD care less, if you chose to. Just because a large number of people have come to understand the meaning, doesn't make it grammatically correct. It never will be grammatically correct. Arguing that it is, is tantamount to arguing that 1 + 1 equals anything other than 2.

What?

"I could care less." is a 100% percent grammatically correct statement. You're confusing grammar with comprehensibility. Let's go back to grade school here.

Grammar is a bunch of rules that are followed to make our sentences understandable.

This turn of phrase makes sense because a small contraction was lost (probably due to overuse). There are literally THOUSANDS of common turns of phrase that we use every single day that developed for the exact same reason.

Here's an example of a phrase that is acceptable to use by both Brits and Americans alike that is 100% grammatically incorrect.

"I'm going to try and make a sandwich."

Unless you are stating that you are "going to try", then subsequently telling someone to make a sandwich, this sentence is grammatically incorrect. What it should say is "I'm going to try to make a sandwich." but it is such a moot point to correct that 90% of the rational people in the world don't give a flying fuck.

Actually although "try and make a sandwich is not the correct way to use the phrase because you've rightly pointed out it should be try to make a sandwich, try and is still grammatically appropriate, because you're going to try, and make a sandwich. It simply indicates you will make an effort, and perform a task - as opposed to try to which means you will make an effort in performing the task.

"Could care less" is, as David Mitchell points out (now that I've actually watched his video - I didn't last night) a poor way to communicate because it gives the idea that you care, and are therefore able to care less. This is a fine way to communicate except it indicates that exact opposite of what you're trying to say - which is that you could not care less, because you care so little that you are incapable of caring any less than you currently do.

This is the equivalent of saying "my shoes aren't blue", when in fact, you are wearing blue shoes. Your statement isn't wrong grammatically, it's wrong factually - and thereby becomes improper use of language. Unless you're attempting to lie. If you're trying to say you shoes ARE blue by saying they're NOT, you have failed to communicate effectively.

The reason "could care less" is a grammatical failing isn't just because it's ineffective communication, it's because it's ineffective communication through the loss of an important particle.
It's like people who say "could of" instead of "could've" which is a contraction of "could have".

 

[mega48man]

insanity not included: they did a live action sketch (as apposed to their machima) where a guy is try to ship a 360 to the UK. it was hilarious, and he goes through a load of crap to get it there. when it gets there, lyle goes "finally, it's finally here!" then they go to their backyard and smash to bits while shouting things they hate about microsoft, like having to pay for xbox live and other stuff.

no wait, the stupidest thing i've ever seen someone do with a console was play final fantasy 13....and finished it.....it was so dumb of them to do. that first 20 hours they could of been spending realizing they were wasting their time.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

a game I could care less about

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Actually...

'I could care less' does work. In the sense that you're saying "Well, I suppose I could care less." You're implying that you care very, very little. It's not even an Americanism, so as much as I love David Mitchell he can shut up on that one.

I've known people buy a 360 game and then complain when it doesn't work in a PS3.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

Actually...

'I could care less' does work. In the sense that you're saying "Well, I suppose I could care less." You're implying that you care very, very little. It's not even an Americanism, so as much as I love David Mitchell he can shut up on that one.

Exactly what I've been saying.

Actually although "try and make a sandwich is not the correct way to use the phrase because you've rightly pointed out it should be try to make a sandwich, try and is still grammatically appropriate, because you're going to try, and make a sandwich. It simply indicates you will make an effort, and perform a task - as opposed to try to which means you will make an effort in performing the task.

You make a good point.

But then replacing "to" with "and" is equally as much a grammatical failing as saying "could care less" in that NEITHER one has honestly anything to do with grammar what-so-ever, since (with your help) we have shown that both cases follow the rules of grammar 100% flawlessly.

"Could care less" is, as David Mitchell points out (now that I've actually watched his video - I didn't last night) a poor way to communicate because it gives the idea that you care, and are therefore able to care less. This is a fine way to communicate except it indicates that exact opposite of what you're trying to say - which is that you could not care less, because you care so little that you are incapable of caring any less than you currently do.

This is the equivalent of saying "my shoes aren't blue", when in fact, you are wearing blue shoes. Your statement isn't wrong grammatically, it's wrong factually - and thereby becomes improper use of language. Unless you're attempting to lie. If you're trying to say you shoes ARE blue by saying they're NOT, you have failed to communicate effectively.

Yes, I know all this. It doesn't change the fact that language changes, and that 90% of phrases used by BOTH cultures are butchered idioms from times past.

The reason "could care less" is a grammatical failing isn't just because it's ineffective communication, it's because it's ineffective communication through the loss of an important particle.
It's like people who say "could of" instead of "could've" which is a contraction of "could have".

It's nothing like people who say "could of". The sentence "I could of gone to the mall." makes no grammatical sense (AKA. It could never function as a sentence.). The sentence "I could care less." makes absolute perfect grammatical sense, regardless of intent. You are confusing grammar with comprehensibility again.

It has a subject, a modal auxiliary verb, a verb, and an adjective. These parts of speech go together flawlessly to make a sentence which makes perfect sense. Grammar and intent are apples and oranges.

Ineffective communication can be presented with perfect grammar.

EDIT: Come on man, you seriously can't Google your own examples? I Googled "butchered idioms in the English language" and the second page has literally hundreds of them.

I'm not gonna take the time to post them so here, have a look since, for some reason, you don't believe me enough to actually check the internet's unlimited source of information.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe

 

[Magnesium360]

This one douche that keeps coming over and taking over my room and 360 came over with Halo Reach (a game I could care less about)

so ... does that mean you like the game?
because you implied you don't by finding it hilarious
and i'm slightly confused by it

"Could care less" is some times used when people mean "could'nt care less". Don't ask why. So no, he doesn't like Reach.

 

[Kermi]

You make a good point.

But then replacing "to" with "and" is equally as much a grammatical failing as saying "could care less" in that NEITHER one has honestly anything to do with grammar what-so-ever, since (with your help) we have shown that both cases follow the rules of grammar 100% flawlessly.

Except "try to make a sandwich" and "try and make a sandwich" amount to the same thing grammatically, whereas "couldn't care less" and "could have care less" mean almost the exact opposite of each other.

 

[Kermi]

This one douche that keeps coming over and taking over my room and 360 came over with Halo Reach (a game I could care less about)

so ... does that mean you like the game?
because you implied you don't by finding it hilarious
and i'm slightly confused by it

"Could care less" is some times used when people mean "could'nt care less". Don't ask why. So no, he doesn't like Reach.

The incorrect application of "could care less" as opposed to "couldn't care less" is the point of his question.