vault backup: 2026-02-25 08:15:32

2026-02-25 08:15:32 -05:00
parent e0220c26cb
commit 84c8c76ccb
61 changed files with 926 additions and 989 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# 2025-12-17 12:32:??
+
+#topic/ambiguity
+
+A while ago I heard a minor coding influencer lament
+that frameworks, packages, and tools
+often have ridiculous sounding names[^2]
+when, he suggests, they ought to just be called what they do.
+
+[^2]: `bubble-tea` and `ratatui`
+    (libraries for creating CLI's) come to my mind
+
+Unfortunately some people and organizations agree with him,
+giving us terms which mean both something very general
+and something very specific.[^3]
+
+[^3]: [[project-management-tm|"Project Management"]]
+    was my go to example, but weak
+    because it's difficult for me to articulate
+    the difference from construction project management
+    especially to someone unfamiliar with the specifics of either.
+
+For lack of a better term I've been thinking of this as an SEO problem,
+but the bigger problem is that it invites [[ambiguity#Category Mistake|Category Mistake]],
+whereby the ignorant listener associates traits unique to the example
+to all things that the name could describe.
+
+I thought to finally write about this problem
+while researching [[lighting-controls#Protocols|lighting control protocols]].
+The two most dominant examples:
+
+* [[lighting-controls#^dali|"Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI)"]]
+* [[lighting-controls#^dmx|"Digital Multiplex (DMX)"]]
+
+while notably different in topology,
+could both be described accurately with the other's name.
+
+> It is possible to avoid this problem
+> without the effort necessary to come up with a clever name.
+> Just stick an arbitrary, but reasonably unique word
+> in front of the generic description.
+> A person's name ("John's Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (JDALI)")
+> or your favorite animal ("Heron Digital Multiplex (HDMX)") are good options.