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Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction?

Newsgroups rec.arts.sf.written
From goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb)
Subject Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction?
Message-ID <o6s8Is.1Iw8@kithrup.com> (permalink)
Date 2016-05-07 01:08 +0000
References <ng5ca4$497$1@dont-email.me> <ngh1o5$ks3$1@dont-email.me> <o6qqxI.GCq@kithrup.com> <7fd7cb61-91d8-4e7a-ac18-8eab2877a925@googlegroups.com>
Organization Mt. Foraker Appreciation Society

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In article <7fd7cb61-91d8-4e7a-ac18-8eab2877a925@googlegroups.com>,
Quadibloc  <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>On Friday, May 6, 2016 at 12:00:03 AM UTC-6, David Goldfarb wrote:
>
>> De gustibus non disputandum est.
>> ("Matters of taste should not be disputed.")
>
>Shouldn't that be "Concerning taste, no disputation is possible", or something 
>like that (perhaps a freer and more idiomatic "Matters of taste can't be 
>argued")? After all, isn't it literally "Of taste, no disputation exists"?

No, "disputandum" does not mean "disputation".  It's the gerundive 
of the verb disputo, and this is an idiomatic construction called the
passive periphrastic.  It was often used to indicate necessity
(e.g., in the well-known "Carthago delenda est") but can also be
weaker and mean "should" or "is worthy of".  I think "matters of
taste must not be disputed" seems silly, so I find the weaker sense
more apropos.

-- 
   David Goldfarb          |"We were walking backwards because if we walked
goldfarbdj@gmail.com       | forwards our eyeballs would freeze."
goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu  |               -- Graydon

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Thread

How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? lal_truckee <lal_truckee@yahoo.com> - 2016-05-01 09:56 -0700
  Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-05-01 13:27 -0400
    Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? lal_truckee <lal_truckee@yahoo.com> - 2016-05-01 11:05 -0700
      Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> - 2016-05-04 06:41 -0700
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-05-04 13:03 -0400
          Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> - 2016-05-05 06:19 -0700
  Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> - 2016-05-01 18:26 +0000
    Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? lal_truckee <lal_truckee@yahoo.com> - 2016-05-01 13:42 -0700
      Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-05-01 18:44 -0500
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> - 2016-05-02 01:45 +0000
  Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-05-01 22:06 -0700
    Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Don Kuenz <garbage@crcomp.net> - 2016-05-02 16:55 +0000
      Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Peter Trei <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2016-05-02 10:07 -0700
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-05-03 10:13 -0700
          Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Thomas Koenig <tkoenig@netcologne.de> - 2016-05-07 16:05 +0000
            Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2016-05-07 10:33 -0700
  Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Peter Trei <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2016-05-02 08:26 -0700
    Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-05-02 12:41 -0400
  Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Shawn Wilson <ikonoqlast@gmail.com> - 2016-05-02 11:28 -0700
  Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-05-03 21:12 -0600
  Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Lynn McGuire <lmc@winsim.com> - 2016-05-05 16:34 -0500
    Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> - 2016-05-05 15:20 -0700
      Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Lynn McGuire <lmc@winsim.com> - 2016-05-05 17:39 -0500
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Lynn McGuire <lmc@winsim.com> - 2016-05-05 17:46 -0500
          Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2016-05-05 16:00 -0700
            Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Lynn McGuire <lmc@winsim.com> - 2016-05-05 18:12 -0500
            Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2016-05-06 10:19 +0800
              Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2016-05-05 20:10 -0700
                Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Lawrence Watt-Evans <lwe@sff.net> - 2016-05-06 01:56 -0400
                Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2016-05-06 05:51 +0000
                Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-05-06 13:47 -0700
                Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2016-05-07 01:08 +0000
                Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-05-06 19:25 -0700
                Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2016-05-06 20:43 -0700
              Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Juho Julkunen <giaotanj@hotmail.com> - 2016-05-06 16:00 +0300
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-05-06 13:06 -0400
          Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Lynn McGuire <lmc@winsim.com> - 2016-05-06 13:03 -0500
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Don Kuenz <garbage@crcomp.net> - 2016-05-06 22:51 +0000
      Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Moriarty <blues95@ivillage.com> - 2016-05-05 16:24 -0700
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-05-05 21:10 -0600
          Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Lynn McGuire <lmc@winsim.com> - 2016-05-06 13:05 -0500
        Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-05-06 16:58 -0400
      Re: How Well-Read Are You in Science Fiction? Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> - 2016-05-05 17:00 -0700

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