real-time

[Joel S. Berson]

Does it make a difference if one says "watched the *mission* in real
time" vs. "watched the *video* in real time"?

I don't object to the former, so I must be further left than Jon.

Joel

At 5/2/2011 09:20 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>I understand your point.  But there's only one kind of time in this neck of
>the cosmos.  Suppose they were watching it on a video recording. Forget what
>the %0^^2#* video is doing - they're still *watching* the video in *real*
>time. The clock is ticking away as they watch. Time doesn't get any realer
>than that. It would make as much sense to me to have said, "In the White
>House, they watched the raid and breathed real air."
>
>Not to mention that given the *real-world* context and who's watching what,
>the default assumption would be that they are indeed watching it as it
>happens. If it were a tape or a classic rerun, *that's* what would require
>explanation.
>
>Now, if the genius of Inglish wishes to replace meaningful phrases like "as
>it happened" - or "as it unfolded," "on a live feed," "on live TV" (or just
>plain "live," since that's short for the preceding and even shorter than "in
>real time"), or even "glued to their closed-circuit TV monitor" - with an
>idiot phrase like "in real time," you'll have noticed that I can't stop it.
>
>But I will resist its use.
>
>JL
>
>
>
>On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 8:55 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: real-time
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I don't remember who was speaking when I heard "watching the mission
> > in real time", and it was in the afternoon.  So you could very well
> > have heard what you reported.  That leaves me with only the
> > speculation that CNN erred in the morning (either the script said
> > "launch" or Starr misread it) and had corrected itself by the afternoon.
> >
> > Jon, I'm not clear on something else.  Did you mean to say "watching
> > in real time" is silly for this ... er, situation?  It seems quite
> > sensible to me -- they were watching the events as they occurred, not
> > later via a recording.
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > At 5/2/2011 08:43 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > >Joel, this is not inconceivable. I saw exactly the segment you describe as
> > >well and didn't hear anything unusual. The quoted ex. was uttered earlier
> > >this morning by Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
> > >
> > >I suppose I could have misheard it, though I was listening attentively.
> > >(Uh-oh.)
> > >
> > >However, "watching in real time" would be less ambiguous than "launching"
> > in
> > >real time. It can only mean they were watching as it happened. In that
> > case
> > >it's plain silly. "Real" time is the only time available.
> > >
> > >JL
> > >
> > >
> > >On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 8:21 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > >
> > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > > -----------------------
> > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > > Subject:      Re: real-time
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > Jon, are you sure CNN didn't way "The White House *watched* the
> > > > mission against Bin Laden in
> > > > real time."?  I'm sure I heard that at least once, accompanying the
> > > > still photo of Obama, Biden, et al. in ... a situation room?
> > > >
> > > > Joel
> > > >
> > > > At 5/2/2011 06:42 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > > >CNN reports that "The White House launched the mission against Bin
> > Laden
> > > > in
> > > > >real time."
> > > > >
> > > > >It seems to mean "using super electronic devices that allowed for
> > > > >instant communications between people in Washington and others in
> > > > >helicopters, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, at sea, and God knows
> > where-all
> > > > >else."
> > > > >
> > > > >That may be. But it's only a guess.
> >
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> >
>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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