Considered

If I haven't made a mistake, you have written a paper that made use of the word "considered." Perhaps I asked you a question like "are dogs people?" and you replied "dogs are not considered people," or "dogs can be considered people."

Don't do this.

Don't ever do this.

Being something is a very different thing from being considered that thing. Not being something is a very very different thing from not being considered that thing.

If I ask you "is a gorilla a person?" you can answer "yes, a gorilla is a person because ...." or "no, a gorilla is not a person because ...." or even "I don't know if a gorilla is a person, because ...." Don't ever put the word "considered" between the words "is" and "a" as part of your thesis. If you do, you are changing the subject, and refusing to answer the question you were asked.

Also, if you're thinking of answering "grorillas are not considered people, therefore they're not people, you should read alienoverlords.htm and explain why it is you would cease to be a person if others stopped considering you a person. (You could also look at socialpersons.htm if this issue interests you.)

Okay, that's it.

Copyright © 2006 by Martin C. Young

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