Editing 1475: Technically

{{comic
| number    = 1475
| date      = January 19, 2015
| title     = Technically
| image     = technically.png
| titletext = "Technically that sentence started with 'well', so--" "Ooh, a rock with a fossil in it!"
}}

==Explanation==
When the word "technically" is used to start a sentence, the remainder of the sentence tends to follow one of a number of patterns:

{| class="wikitable"
! Sentence pattern
! Example
|-
| An explanation which is far more complex than the listener needs/wants.
| "Technically, a {{w|Hemiptera|bug}} is a very specific order of insects, including aphids, cicadas..."
|-
| A justification of a particular (usually unpopular) viewpoint through an unusual technical definition.
| "Technically a tomato is a fruit, so there is no reason it shouldn't be used in a fruit salad."
|-
| A pedantic overapplication of rules or laws, often to avoid the inquiry through a technical and usually unrelated loophole.
| [http://factually.gizmodo.com/technically-american-flag-napkins-are-illegal-1599774198 "Technically, American flag napkins are illegal."]
|-
| The speaker repeating a 'little known fact', believing that he/she sounds incredibly knowledgeable. In many cases these 'facts' are actually false, as in the example to the right (see {{w|Ten_percent_of_brain_myth|the 10% of the brain myth}}).
| "Technically we only use 10% of our brains, so imagine what we could do if we used 100%"!
|-
| An attempt to disguise an outright lie as a simple misunderstanding in point of view.
| "Technically, we're not cows.  We're aardvarks."
|}

[[Cueball]], possibly representing [[Randall]] has decided that any sentence beginning with the word "technically" is highly likely to be completely worthless for him to listen to; so whenever he hears it at the beginning of a sentence, he allows himself to be distracted by anything which happens to be around.

There are many cases where an item is classified in what appears to be an illogical way. Some fairly well known examples are 'Tomatoes are a fruit', 'Whales are not fish', 'Peanuts are not nuts' and so on. The reasoning behind these seemingly unusual classifications is typically down to the technical definition of the class, which may differ from the intuitive understanding that the general public have learned. It is not unusual for people to try and appear knowledgeable by demonstrating that they are aware of correct technical classifications.

[[White Hat]] starts to pedantically answer the typically incredulous rhetorical question “Are you on drugs?!” by explaining that according to the technical definition, food is classed as a drug. This classification is false due to his incorrect interpretation of the word "drug" and lack of understanding of the role of food in human physiology, and would fall under the fourth example in the chart above. Indeed, "drug" is defined as "a substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose", followed by a secondary definition of "a psychoactive substance, especially one which is illegal and addictive". Food, on the other hand, is defined as "any substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life". In other words, food is consumed in order to sustain the normal, innate state of the body, while drugs are consumed in order to alter certain states. The Wikipedia {{w|drug|article}} for drug goes so far as to explicitly disqualify food from the definition of “drug.”

Regardless of whether or not the classification was valid, Cueball has already allowed himself to be distracted by a passing bug.

The title text starts to pedantically over-apply Cueball's rule to the comic panel, noting that technically White Hat's sentence started with the word 'well' instead of the word 'technically', and thus Cueball is wrong to have ignored it. This would fall under the second or third example in the chart. Halfway through the sentence, this argument is cut off by the discovery of a rock with a fossil in it, correctly applying the rule to a sentence that began with the word "technically".

This comic is similar to [[1240: Quantum Mechanics]], in that they both suggest ignoring sentences containing a certain word or phrase indicating a pedantic attitude.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat talks to Cueball who looks at a flying insect.]
:White Hat: Well, technically, food is a "drug", since it's a substance that alters how your body works, so yes, I'm—
:Cueball: Hey, look at that weird bug!

:My life improved when I realized I could just ignore any sentence that started with "technically."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Food]]