Zipzo
Apr 8, 2013, 08:36 PM
Yesssss!
I totally wanted to make a topic on this after having a debate about it in-game.
So the origination of the phrase that spawned "Could care less" is "Couldn't care less". Generally used to assert that there is no lower level of care remaining. You simply don't care. "I'd look for a 10* but I couldn't care less". This person is saying that there is no amount more they couldn't care. They don't care.
I used the phrase "Could care less" which spawned the whole thing. Now, empirically, to assert that I don't care this phrase is for all intents and purposes...wrong. Could care less implies that care exists and that I could care less than that amount, which could result in various amounts of care being at stake.
So I pose an interesting perception of the two statements here. Try not to look at "Could care less" as the "wrong" version of "couldn't care less". Try to look at it as its own statement in and of itself.
"I don't really care that much for rares, I could really care less"
Based on the prefix here, it is being explicitly implied that there is very little care for said thing. By saying they could care less, is implying simply that while they do care (very little), it's possible that they could care less, implying that the amount of care they have at the current point in time is not at a threshold that they value that much to keep where it is.
Could care less makes a slight assumption that the listener or reader already has an at least vague idea of the writers/speakers care level, so this is where its usage is important in the face of its "Couldn't" adversary.
All this being said...doesn't "Couldn't care less" also invite some ironic themes? If you're simply trying to say "I don't care", saying "I couldn't care less" also assumes the reader/listener knows your level of care. While this statement in english is generally interpreted as "I don't care", if you read the statement as what it is, it's basically saying that they can't care less than what they do, which implies that care exists, just like "could care less".
This could mean a whole bunch of things as well! This could mean that they are at the lowest point of their care (which might not be zero), and they are unable to care less than that, because it's important they at least care about it as much as they do.
The same circular logic can be applied to both phrases, is the point I'm making here.
That being said, I propose that it's simply not more correct to say "I don't care" because if you do care a little, it would be a false statement.
Why would anyone want to express their feelings in a statement like "I could care less"? Well..why does anyone say anything, really? Just because they do. I know this is a stupid thing to think about it excessively, but I thought it was interesting and I magick'd up some logic and wanted to know what you guys thought.
I totally wanted to make a topic on this after having a debate about it in-game.
So the origination of the phrase that spawned "Could care less" is "Couldn't care less". Generally used to assert that there is no lower level of care remaining. You simply don't care. "I'd look for a 10* but I couldn't care less". This person is saying that there is no amount more they couldn't care. They don't care.
I used the phrase "Could care less" which spawned the whole thing. Now, empirically, to assert that I don't care this phrase is for all intents and purposes...wrong. Could care less implies that care exists and that I could care less than that amount, which could result in various amounts of care being at stake.
So I pose an interesting perception of the two statements here. Try not to look at "Could care less" as the "wrong" version of "couldn't care less". Try to look at it as its own statement in and of itself.
"I don't really care that much for rares, I could really care less"
Based on the prefix here, it is being explicitly implied that there is very little care for said thing. By saying they could care less, is implying simply that while they do care (very little), it's possible that they could care less, implying that the amount of care they have at the current point in time is not at a threshold that they value that much to keep where it is.
Could care less makes a slight assumption that the listener or reader already has an at least vague idea of the writers/speakers care level, so this is where its usage is important in the face of its "Couldn't" adversary.
All this being said...doesn't "Couldn't care less" also invite some ironic themes? If you're simply trying to say "I don't care", saying "I couldn't care less" also assumes the reader/listener knows your level of care. While this statement in english is generally interpreted as "I don't care", if you read the statement as what it is, it's basically saying that they can't care less than what they do, which implies that care exists, just like "could care less".
This could mean a whole bunch of things as well! This could mean that they are at the lowest point of their care (which might not be zero), and they are unable to care less than that, because it's important they at least care about it as much as they do.
The same circular logic can be applied to both phrases, is the point I'm making here.
That being said, I propose that it's simply not more correct to say "I don't care" because if you do care a little, it would be a false statement.
Why would anyone want to express their feelings in a statement like "I could care less"? Well..why does anyone say anything, really? Just because they do. I know this is a stupid thing to think about it excessively, but I thought it was interesting and I magick'd up some logic and wanted to know what you guys thought.