{"id":3741,"date":"2004-04-20T11:59:51","date_gmt":"2004-04-20T15:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2004\/04\/20\/yabut-v-ellipses-why-prof-yab"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:58:51","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:58:51","slug":"yabut-v-ellipses-why-prof-yabut-cant-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/04\/20\/yabut-v-ellipses-why-prof-yabut-cant-retire\/","title":{"rendered":"yabut v. ellipses (why prof. yabut can&#8217;t . . . retire)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: Geneva,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size: x-small\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/profyabutsmall.jpg\" alt=\"prof yabut small\" \/> I was born a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unwords.com\/unword\/yabut.html\">yabut<\/a>, and it looks like I&#8217;m going to die one.\u00a0 There&#8217;s just too much to do to retire any time soon.\u00a0 Lately, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bartleby.com\/61\/30\/E0093000.html\">ellipses<\/a> are the problem &#8212; or, more precisely, the misuse of ellipses, omission of\u00a0ellipses, and the use of deceptively elliptic speech.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">I was reminded to write on this topic <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/04\/19\"><span style=\"color: black;font-size: x-small\">yesterday<\/span><\/a>, when I\u00a0saw Judge Kevin S. <a href=\"http:\/\/hennepin.timberlakepublishing.com\/article.asp?article=780&amp;paper=1&amp;cat=147\">Burke&#8217;s statement<\/a>:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> &#8220;[T]oo often the current method of policy disagreement is to take the other guy\u2019s idea, mischaracterize it and announce your profound disagreement and outrage.&#8221;<span> And, I <em>knew<\/em> it was in the stars this morning to post on it, when the Quote of the Day at <a href=\"http:\/\/mayitpleasethecourt.net\/journal.asp?\"><em><span style=\"color: black\">May It Please the Court<\/span><\/em><\/a><span style=\"color: black\"> was Mark Twain&#8217;s <\/span><a href=\"www.quotedb.com\/quotes\/1080\"><span style=\"color: black\">remark<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-family: Geneva,Arial,Sans-Serif\">&#8220;Get your facts first, then you can distort them as much as you please.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10926\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/files\/2004\/04\/dotkeyn.jpg\" alt=\"dotkeyn\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" \/> So, l<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">isten up, quote-benders and word-weasels:\u00a0 An <span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bartleby.com\/61\/30\/E0093000.html\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial\">ellipsis<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-size: x-small\">(according to the <em>American Heritage Dictionary<\/em>) is &#8220;1a.<strong> <\/strong>The <strong>omission of a word or phrase<\/strong> necessary for a complete syntactical construction but <strong>not necessary for understanding<\/strong>. b. An example of such omission.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ellipses are <em>not<\/em> an ethical way to justify a quote that has been taken out of context or stripped of important information or modifiers.\u00a0 Using an ellipsis allows the skeptical (that is, wise) reader to check up on you.\u00a0 As Ronald Reagan\u00a0aptly <a href=\"www.brainyquote.com\/quotes\/quotes\/ r\/ronaldreag147717.html \">quipped<\/a> about the Soviet Union, &#8220;Trust, but verify.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span>Am I being too cynical?\u00a0 <span style=\"font-size: x-small\">The <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.curmudgeon-online.com\/COlistinginlinecat.php?category=Distrust\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">Curmudgeon Online says<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">, quoting F. W. Nietzsche, &#8220;<strong>Joyous Distrust is a sign of health.<\/strong> Everything absolute belongs to pathology.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span>While I abhor the misuse of ellipses, I detest even more the failure to use them when needed.\u00a0\u00a0 To wit, when\u00a0one makes an omission from a quote,\u00a0one is\u00a0<em>supposed to<\/em> indicate such, by means of &#8220;a mark or series of marks&#8221; that makes clear an ellipsis has been made.\u00a0 This is not difficult stuff, but you sure would think so from the way a lot of lawyers &#8212; and even just plain folk &#8212; argue or discuss issues and respond to the statements of others. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span>Again, am I being too cynical?\u00a0 T<span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">he <a href=\"http:\/\/www.curmudgeon-online.com\/COlistinginlinecat.php?category=Distrust\">Curmudgeon Online says<\/a>, quoting Robert Benchley, &#8220;The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10928\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/files\/2004\/04\/dotkeyg.jpg\" alt=\"dotkeyg\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" \/> <\/span>Just when <em>did<\/em> the first lawyer use an\u00a0ellipsis to show he or she had omitted part of a quote?\u00a0 Problably,\u00a0right after he was held in contempt of court for a truncated quote that misled the judge.\u00a0 Almost immediately, I am sure, the &#8220;tactical&#8221;\u00a0advantages of ellipses became apparent to the profession.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span>Another highly annoying habit that is indefinitely postponing the retirement of Prof Yabut is the use of the <span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bartleby.com\/61\/32\/E0093200.html\">elliptic<\/a> form of speech in general &#8212; that is, using a <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">deliberately sparse or\u00a0obscure style or expression in order to mislead.\u00a0 That often means leaving out important modifiers from one&#8217;s own speech or taking them out of another&#8217;s when disagreeing.\u00a0 Admen, politicians,\u00a0and lawyers do a lot of this, and lately I&#8217;ve seen it in the weblogiverse far too often.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">So, here are some\u00a0representative examples from\u00a0the &#8220;Yeah, but&#8221; Man . . \u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/dotKeyS.gif\" alt=\"dotKeyS\" \/>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">Don&#8217;t say &#8220;it works&#8221; when you mean &#8220;it might work&#8221; or &#8220;I hope it works,&#8221; or &#8220;it has been known to work.&#8221; <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">And, when your opponent says &#8220;it might not work very often,&#8221; or &#8220;there&#8217;s no proof it works,&#8221; don&#8217;t answer as if he said &#8220;it never can work.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">When someone says &#8220;X is <em>more<\/em> likely to do Y,&#8221; don&#8217;t go into a snit and respond as if the quote was &#8220;X is <em>likely<\/em> to do Y.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">Similarly, if a humble editor says &#8220;you haven&#8217;t <em>shown<\/em> the connection between a and b,&#8221; don&#8217;t accuse him of saying &#8220;there is <em>no<\/em> connection between a and b&#8221;, and <em>please<\/em> don&#8217;t just keep repeating that the connection exists.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><strong>Adverbs and adjectives are very\u00a0important<\/strong> words &#8212; they make lots of statements more honest and truthful, so use them when appropriate.\u00a0 On the other hand omitting them from a quote or a paraphrase can often be deceptive when trying to counter an argument.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span><span><span><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">This campaign is not likely to end any time soon.\u00a0 As Fyodor M. <a href=\"http:\/\/quotes.prolix.nu\/Dishonesty\">Dostoyevtsky noted<\/a>, &#8220;<span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others.&#8221;\u00a0 Nor, as <a href=\"http:\/\/quotes.prolix.nu\/Truth\/\">Plato knew<\/a>,\u00a0is it a pleasant\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/03\/17#a1046\">task<\/a>: &#8220;<span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth.&#8221;\u00a0 Thus, the Professor has quite a few more semesters ahead of him. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was born a yabut, and it looks like I&#8217;m going to die one.\u00a0 There&#8217;s just too much to do to retire any time soon.\u00a0 Lately, ellipses are the problem &#8212; or, more precisely, the misuse of ellipses, omission of\u00a0ellipses, and the use of deceptively elliptic speech. I was reminded to write on this topic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-Yl","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3741"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13872,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741\/revisions\/13872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}