Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

This is true, but I don't think many people think of laser as anything other than "dangerous light." That's how I used it. Colloquial meanings can be frustrating when they clash with the technical meaning, but trying to fight them is typically futile.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laser

>> "2 : something resembling a laser beam in accuracy, speed, or intensity "

I gave up on fighting "CPU means the entire computer" a long time ago.




> This is true, but I don't think many people think of laser as anything other than "dangerous light."

"Many people" have taken first year physics, or at least read a wikipedia article, and understand that the defining feature of a laser is its coherence.

But, sure. It's 2020. We live in a post-factual society, words have no meaning and it's impossible to know anything. Why resist?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: