Probable Cause

During my undergraduate years, I was particularly interested in philosophy, cognitive science and linguistics.  Over the years I’ve learned (and forgotten) almost half-a-dozen languages.  About the only two I still remember are sign language and Spanish.  I even wrote a paper which must have gotten a lot of play in other universities, because when I once took it off the Internet, I received several emails from university students and even a professor, asking where it went.  (It’s here now and, by the way, for some time has shown up first on a Google search for language contact and historical linguistics.)  I was particularly fascinated with the concept of semantic drift.

So it’s no surprise that I pay particular attention to words and phrases within the legal framework in which I work today.

What I see disturbs me.

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Many years ago, before I was an attorney, I was involved in a then-infamous fight with a quite well-known but also quite obnoxious technical writer.  The details are unimportant, but due to the influence he had over numerous 12-to-14-year-old wannabes (for which I believe he remains immensely proud), he was able to prevent my access to a certain Internet Relay Chat channel for quite some time.

The crux of the reason for my long-term banishment was that I mentioned the impact the supposed adult — I’ll call him “Jack Merridew” — was having on my ability to perform some of my work and that I suggested continued interference by Merridew might provoke a legal complaint.  And that threw everyone into a tizzy.  I had unknowingly committed the ultimate sin: I “confused RL with IRC”; that is, I ignored the unspoken (and idiotic) belief that “real life” and “Internet Relay Chat” are two separate things.

Today, we know better.  Or do we?

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