Style Specifics - Writing for Computer Science - page 108

Optimize, minimize, maximize . Absolute terms are often misused. One such word
is “optimize”, whichmeans find an optimum or find the best solution , but is often used
to mean improve . The latter usage is now so common that it could be argued that the
meaning of “optimize” has changed, but as there is no synonym for “optimize” such a
change would be unfortunate. Other absolute terms that are misused are “maximize”
and “minimize”.
Overlook, oversee, oversight . To “overlook” is to fail to notice, or to ignore .To
“oversee” is to manage or look after. They are not synonyms! Even more confusingly,
“oversight” means both of these things. 4
Theory, hypothesis, proposition, supposition . These words are used in a wide
variety of ways across the discipline. In some areas, “theory” is used in a strict sense,
of a hypothesis that has been confirmed by analysis or experiment. But in some areas
it is usedmore or less equivalently to “proposition”, in the sense of a concept that is to
be tested . Sometimes “proposition” is used to mean assumption , as is “supposition”.
That is, these terms are used both formally and loosely, in ways that can be deeply
inconsistent with each other. As in other cases, be alert to the conventions within
your discipline, but it is helpful to use these terms in ways that are consistent with
their formal meaning, as they are part of the fundamental principles of science.
Spelling Conventions
A finished manuscript should as nearly as possible be free of spelling errors. As is
also true for serious grammatical errors and poor formatting, the presence of spelling
errors signals to the reader—perhaps subconsciously—that the work is unreliable and
has been undertaken in a lazy way.
To ensure that all errors have been found it is essential to use a spell checker, but
you should also take the effort to find mistakes by hand. It has been claimed that
writers who depend solely on spell checkers tend to have more errors in their work
than writers who don't use spell checkers at all, perhaps because the discipline of
detailed examination means that the work is more carefully scrutinized overall.
Some words don't have a single fixed spelling. An example is “disk”; both this
spelling and “disc” are so common that either is acceptable, but be consistent. How-
ever, “hard disk” is more common than “hard disc”, and “compact disk” is incorrect.
Other words that don't have a stable spelling include “enquire” (“inquire”), “biased”
(“biassed”), and “dispatch” (“despatch”). In these examples, while one or the other
spelling is more common in different cultures, both are in wide use.
4 “Oversight” is an example of an auto-antonym, a word that means the opposite of itself. The
common examples are not much used in computer science, but—to a wordaholic—they are fasci-
nating. For example, “cleave” means both divide and adhere , and “sanction” means both allow and
penalize . A “nice distinction” is probably insightful but might be nit-picking .
These are not the same as the words whose meaning has reversed over time. For example,
“flammable” and “inflammable” now mean the same thing, where they once were opposites.