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Comment by lovehashbrowns | Hacker News Reader

It's pretty common to make sweeping generalizations in casual conversation, which this is. I find it really annoying when someone says something like "everyone likes cats!" and then someone, inevitably, will hop in and reply with "ACTUALLY, I hate cats." This isn't a mathematics proof.

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Sure, it's not necessary to completely accurate in casual conversation, but you can say "heaps of people like cats!" or "most people like cats!" or "almost everyone likes cats!" and make your point just as effectively, and without trying to invalidate or dismiss the dislike of cats.

http://surveys.ap.org/data%5CGfK%5CAP-GfK%20Petside%20Like-D... "almost everyone like cats!" Would definitely be false :-)

> It's pretty common to make sweeping generalizations in casual conversation, which this is

It's interesting that you chose the term "sweeping generalization". It almost always carries a negative connotation. In fact, it's considered to be a logical fallacy (see https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFalla...).

> I find it really annoying when someone says something like "everyone likes cats!" and then someone, inevitably, will hop in and reply with "ACTUALLY, I hate cats."

I'm sorry I annoyed you. I find it annoying when someone speaks for me and gets my opinion wrong.

edit: Is it really "inevitable" though? It happens every single time? (just kidding)

> This isn't a mathematics proof.

No, but communicating clearly and honestly is important, even in casual conversations.

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