Comment by naikrovek
Small English nitpick:
> ff slow down video.mp4 by 2x
How do you slow something down by 2x? x is a multiplier. 2 is a number greater than 1. Multiplying by a number greater than 1 makes the result LARGER.
If you’re talking about “stretch movie duration to 2x”, say that instead.
Saying something is 2x smaller or 2x shorter or 2x cheaper doesn’t make sense. 2x what? What is the unit of “cheap” or “short” or “small”?
How much is “1 slow down”? How many “slow down” are in the movie where you want twice as many of them? Doesn’t make sense does it? So how can something be slowed by 2x? That also doesn’t make sense.
I know what is trying to be said. I know what is meant. Please just say it right. Things like throw us autistic people for a freaking loop, man. This really rustles our jimmies.
Language is for communicating. If we aren’t all on the same page about how to say stuff, you spend time typing and talking and writing and reading and your message doesn’t make it across the interpersonal language barrier.
I don’t want to see people wasting their time trying to communicate good ideas with bad phrasing. I want people to be able to say what they mean and move on.
I also don’t want to nitpick things like this, but I don’t want phrases like “slow down by 2x” to be considered normal English, either, because they aren’t.
> Small English nitpick:
> 2x? x is a multiplier.
Translation of English is often problematic because of the multiple valid interpretations of simple words, and concepts that have many synonyms.
The solution here is to use arithmetic to supercede English. It may then become apparent that what is meant is x as a denominator.
Translate x into 'times', and then think of 'times' not as strictly multiplication but instead as an iteration (which, after all, is what multiplication is), and that might get you closer to what is meant, which is a standard arithmetic inversion of multiplication to division.
> Saying something is 2x smaller or 2x shorter or 2x cheaper doesn’t make sense
It does, if you do the inversion. Something 2 times smaller is half (1/2) as big.
Two ways of saying the same thing is half the fun of learning English!