Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => Rantatorials [ARCHIVED] => Topic started by: PeterAit on February 16, 2015, 05:36:16 pm
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I enjoy the rants, whether I agree with them or not, but for them to be called "unbiased opinions" is a trip to oxymoron city. C'mon. how about a little respect for the good old English language? An opinion is by definition biased, by the thoughts and experiences and predilections of the writer. As well it should be!
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I took the phrase "Unbiased opinions" to be a deliberate self-dig. That is, when our opinion becomes strong enough that we are moved to write a "Rantatorial," that is when we are admittedly coming close to believing that our opinion is the The Only Way To Look At Things.
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Me too Eric. I think I laughed out loud when I read that the first time because I took itto be tongue in cheek.
Dave
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Fair enough! It sure didn't come across that way, though.
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I enjoy the rants, whether I agree with them or not, but for them to be called "unbiased opinions" is a trip to oxymoron city. C'mon. how about a little respect for the good old English language? An opinion is by definition biased, by the thoughts and experiences and predilections of the writer. As well it should be!
Of course, then nothing touched by humans is ever unbiased (news, medicine, law, etc), but I think unbiased means not biased by the company or producer of a particular good or service.
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Possibly, if one is pedantic, the phrase "unbiased opinion" can be seen as an oxymoron.
But if one is attempting to communicate with an audience, and to do so succinctly and without excessive verbiage, then I believe that the phrase does its job.
The message being conveyed, for those who would rather be argumentative than share communicative clarity, is that we will state our opinions in a manner that is not biased by external factors. For example, if I write that Canon's latest camera is simply a warmed over version of a model from three years ago, this is an opinion. It is neither objectively right not wrong, it is just an opinion.
Is it biased? I would maintain that since this opinion is not influenced by anything other than my personal evaluation of the marketplace, it is unbiased. No influence other than my own thoughts have lead me to this conclusion.
The purpose of written communication should be to convey thoughts succinctly and unambiguously. If the phrase "unbiased opinion" does not do that, then fine, let's discuss alternative wording. But otherwise the jibes are simply seen by me as pedantry.
Michael
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In short it is an informed opinion.
Dave S
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Well, as long as Michael has thrown down the pedantry gauntlet, I feel impelled to pedantically point out that "bias" usually connotes an ingrained or irrational inclination/disinclination (so it doesn't really cover the situation where a review might be swayed because camera manufacturer X keeps giving one cool swag to review, for example). Thus if we assume that the Michael and Kevin are not irrational and don't have any true equipment biases (aside from an inclination to favor usability and ergonomics over their opposites, which is not really a bias anyway), the rantatorials can indeed be said to be "unbiased."
Now can we please get back to discussing the really important stuff like whether cameras should have GPS in them? ;D
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Now can we please get back to discussing the really important stuff like whether cameras should have GPS in them? ;D
No! The important stuff is whether or not a DSLR with Live View needs a dedicated Mirror Lockup Button!
Or, in fact, whether a mirrorless camera needs one! ???
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Yes, give us the button ffs...
And also offer optional EVFs, ETTR metering, etc. etc.
No! The important stuff is whether or not a DSLR with Live View needs a dedicated Mirror Lockup Button!
Or, in fact, whether a mirrorless camera needs one! ???