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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Let's add some more Latin phrases. For instance: "Res ipsa loquitur" = the thing speaks for itself. E.g. "the smoking gun" that identifies the shooter. Or Thoreau's "trout in the milk" that proves the farmer added brook water to his milk to cheat his customers.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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"trout in the milk"
quomodo latine illud?
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 725
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 725 |
My favorite has always been: Cogito ergo spud.
I think, therefore I yam.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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In the law, res ipsa loquitur is a negligence doctrine. It imposes liability in the absence of the usual elements of breach and causation when the circumstances pose a situation in which negligence must have occurred. Under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, an inference of negligence can arise when the plaintiff's injury (1) ordinarily would not have occurred in the absence of negligence, (2) was caused by an agency or instrumentality within the exclusive control of the defendant, and (3) was not due to any voluntary action or contribution of the plaintiff. An example of a res ipsa situation is when the wrong limb is amputated during surgery. In such a case, with the patient under general anesthesia, the removal of the wrong limb would not occur in the absence of negligence, the instrumentality of the harm was within the exclusive control of the defendant physician, and the plaintiff did not contribute to the mistake.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Ok--then, please, how does "Res ipsa loquitur" = the thing speaks for itself. differ from QED--"quod erat demonstrandum (which was to be demonstrated)"? I have often read/heard QED after some factual statement, but seemingly in ways where res ipsa loquitur would be more appropriate.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I would say that res ipsa loquitur, irrespective of any special legal significance, means that the thing requires no proof. QED says that the proof, which *is requred, has just been accomplished.
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thanks, Faldage. But hoo, boy, I could see me having problems with that, were I for some reason to start using either term. "Whaddya mean, I didn't prove it? I just SAID what happened, didn't I??"
Would you mind telling me whether I got these right or not? ...Augh, never mind, I can't think of anything that *I* couldn't see as having both, conceivably, justified. Ex.: It's raining. My eyes are brown. It's a long way from here to England.
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Dear Jackie: mostly in jest, your three sentences add up to "non sequitur" = " it does not follow "
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Oh! That's what I get for assuming everybody would read my mind, Dr. Bill--thanks for pointing that out. I really didn't mean for that to be as dumb a post as it actually reads! I meant that I could imagine saying both res ipsa loquitur and QED after each of my examples.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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At school, after proving a theorem by means of mathematical or scientific demonstration it was the done thing to close with the letters QED (schoolboy humour gave it as meaning Quite Easily Demonstrated ). This indicated that in your view, not always the master's , you had presented sufficient logical argument to prove the case. Res ipsa loquitur, leaving aside the legal definition, seems closest to the French “ça va sans dire” or “that goes without saying”. But taking Jackie's three statements: It's raining. My eyes are brown. It's a long way from here to England. The first two are facts, while the third is debatable, England is quite close compared to Mars [duck and run-e].
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