just isn't computing?

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I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I probably had that look dogs get when they’re watching TV—you know that look? They sort of cock their head to one side, like what they’re seeing or hearing just isn't computing. That was me at that exact moment.

What does the word compute mean here?

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Type: Question • Score: 5 • Views: 1,505 • Replies: 22

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@Nancy88,

It's mental processing..dog's thinking.

0 Replies

@Nancy88,

It just doesn't compute = I just don't/didn't understand.

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@Nancy88,

Nancy88 wrote:

What does the word compute mean here?

It's a trope from science fiction, when a computer observes humans doing something illogical and then says, (in a robot voice), "Does not compute! Does not compute!"

1 Reply

@DrewDad,

That may well be an etymological fiction considering the word has been used since 1616.

1 Reply

@JTT,

And has the phrase "does not compute" been in use since then?

We're not discussing the definition of a word, we're discussing a particular usage.

Please provide references for "does not compute" or "it just doesn't compute" referring to understanding human behavior prior to, say, 1950 or so.

And please try to avoid weasel words like "may be," and show me where I was wrong. You may be an idiot, or you may be a jackass.

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@DrewDad,

Quote:

And please try to avoid weasel words like "may be," and show me where I was wrong.

I believe you've mentioned that you have me on ignore or you've threatened the same.

Your conscious understanding of modal verbs is ['is' denoting 100%] dismal, DD. You can't even quote accurately - "may well be".

Let me clue you in, with some accurate etymology. 'may' is used in English, [even by you; does that also make you a weasel?] to represent that a person believes there is a weak to relatively strong chance that something is or isn't true. Adding 'well' intensifies 'may' which places it at the higher end of its epistemic range.

If you believe that you have strong etymological grounds for your contention, then do the appropriate research to substantiate your view.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Wave your hands in the air some more, and maybe someone will think you actually have something to say.

What a dumbass.

2 Replies

@DrewDad,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Does_not_compute

Quote:

"Does not compute", and variations on it, is a phrase often spoken by computers, robots and other artificial intelligences in science fiction works of the 1960s to 1980s. The phrase indicated cognitive dissonance on the part of the device, conventionally leading to its self-destruction.

According to The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the phrase was first used as a catchphrase by the television show My Living Doll in 1964. It was then popularised in Lost in Space (1965), along with "Affirmative!", "Warning! Warning!" and "Danger, Will Robinson!"

The phrase "does not compute" and robots who self-destruct when considering emotions or paradoxes is frequently satirized in popular culture.

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@DrewDad,

See how simple that was, DD.

0 Replies

@DrewDad,

Quote:

Wave your hands in the air some more, and maybe someone will think you actually have something to say.

says DrewDad, as he waves his hands in the air in a wild attempt at distraction.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Good lord, are you really that childish? Someone calls you out on your behavior, and you have to accuse them of doing the same thing?

What a dumbass.

1 Reply

@DrewDad,

I offered a suggestion that your etymological notion was perhaps [perhaps equates epistemically to 'may'] wrong.

This is what I said:

Quote:

That may well be an etymological fiction considering the word has been used since 1616.

And then it was you who went apeshit, DD.

Quote:

And please try to avoid weasel words like "may be," and show me where I was wrong. You may be an idiot, or you may be a jackass.

I encouraged you to do some research to prove your point.

Quote:

If you believe that you have strong etymological grounds for your contention, then do the appropriate research to substantiate your view.

And you went apeshit once more:

Quote:

Wave your hands in the air some more, and maybe someone will think you actually have something to say.

What a dumbass.

Then you actually followed my instructions to you and did the research and I noted your diligence.

And then you went apeshit again.

2 Replies

@JTT,

To quote from the caption the photo thread, "Christ, what an asshole."

There's no need to decompensate just because someone shows you up by giving a more complete, and informative, answer.

1 Reply

@DrewDad,

And then you went apeshit again, Drewdad.

1 Reply

@JTT,

For a guy who's all up in everybody's business about language, you sure have a loose grasp of the meaning of "apeshit."

You're a perfect example of internetus dipshitus.

0 Replies

and I'll digress for just a moment to say that I remember when we used to say

"that doesn't add up"
"that isn't adding up for me"

we don't add any more, now we compute

I miss my sliderule. Or maybe my slideruler.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

Computers used to be people who performed mathematical operations....

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@JTT,

Quote:

you sure have a loose grasp of the meaning of "apeshit."

=======
MacMillan Dictionary

go apeshit
to become very excited or angry

========

All Drewdad:

"Christ, what an asshole."

And please try to avoid weasel words like "may be," and show me where I was wrong. You may be an idiot, or you may be a jackass.

Wave your hands in the air some more, and maybe someone will think you actually have something to say.

What a dumbass.

=====

McMillan could use your remarks in this thread as perfect examples of going apeshit, DD.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Since the definition does not include "contempt," it fails to describe my feelings toward you in any way.

Poor, inadequate, fatuous JTT. Wrong again.

1 Reply

just isn't computing?

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