The Off Topic Topic

[grumbler]

That one is funny in my experience, because I started off believing in "centrifugal force", then in physics class we were taught there is no such thing and that there is centripetal force, and then I read engineers discuss things and they use "centrifugal force" all over the place.  Turns out in certain contexts it's a useful way to think about things.

In my field the analogue would be "correlation is not causation".  When people start out not thinking about it, they probably implicitly believe that it is.  Then they get taught that "correlation is not causation", and suddenly they see anyone using correlation in any argument as a sign of ignorance.  Then you learn more and find out that while correlation is indeed not causation, in many contexts that truism is irrelevant, and that it's still very useful to establish correlation.

Centrifugal force is a useful fiction, but a fiction nonetheless. "Orwellian thinking" is another useful fiction.

[crazy canuck]

Just had a big tremor hit the lower mainland.

[Valmy]

Just had a big tremor hit the lower mainland.

What mainland?

[Jacob]

Just had a big tremor hit the lower mainland.

What mainland?

British Columbia. We had a 4.8 earthquake. Just a bit of shaking really.

[crazy canuck]

Just had a big tremor hit the lower mainland.

What mainland?

Sorry, that is what we call Vancouver and surrounding communities

[Tonitrus]

Just had a big tremor hit the lower mainland.

What mainland?

Sorry, that is what we call Vancouver and surrounding communities

Is the "mainland" distinction in reference to Vancouver Island, or something else? (or not at all...but I would presume the "upper mainland" would be everything else in BC beyond the mountains surrounding the Vancouver metro area)

[crazy canuck]

Just had a big tremor hit the lower mainland.

What mainland?

Sorry, that is what we call Vancouver and surrounding communities

Is the "mainland" distinction in reference to Vancouver Island, or something else? (or not at all...but I would presume the "upper mainland" would be everything else in BC beyond the mountains surrounding the Vancouver metro area)

Yes, exactly. It is to differentiate the lower mainland from Vancouver Island.

Oddly though, until you mentioned it,
I hadn't really thought of it, but we don't call anything the upper mainland

[Tonitrus]

That's why I put it in quotes...I didn't actually know, but suspected it wasn't a thing.