proactivitousness - 11/21/05 01:40 AM
Does anyone know the birth of the usage of the term "proactive/pro-active"? And, perhaps, whyohwhyohwhy we can't send it on back where it came from?
Quote:
I've always considered it a retronym, purporting to be the converse of "retroactive." Prescriptivist that I am, I won't use it myself and I wince whenever I hear it. It's a bit like the devising of "analog watch" that only came into being after the emergence of digital timepieces, though by now that one has become an acceptable distinction.
At least it's appropriate to differentiate analog from digital in this context. Is "pro-" really the inverse of "retro-", or have they mixed languages here? Should we agitate for "ante-" instead?
Quote:
...why he would think that preventing a crime would be merely "thought to be better" than solving one escapes me, unless he's worried he'd be out of a job as a judge if it became too effective. I can see that it could get out of hand if the police used draconian tactics to prevent the crimes, arresting them for being suspected of thinking about committing a crime, but anything can get out of hand if not done properly.
Quote:
… the police have been known to prevent crimes in such a way as to seem draconian.
Quote:Quote:
… the police have been known to prevent crimes in such a way as to seem draconian.
They've been known to "solve" crimes in ways that seem draconian, too, so that's a wash. Prevented crimes have no victims.
Quote:
I always thought this term was invented by the psychologists.
Quote:
> What?! Psychologists doing something useful??
Relax and tell me how long you've felt like this....
Quote:
Poster: etaoin
[...]
Ads By Google
Quote:
Sponsored by:
Sex Offenders Near You?
Free Sex Offender Search Engine Also, Free Child ID Kit. We Care!
Find Local Sex Criminals
Access to over 400,000 registered sex offenders in the US. Stay safe.
Ads By Google