http://eloquentscience.com/2009/12/hot-under-the-collar-about-hot-temperatures/ Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:26:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://eloquentscience.com/2009/12/hot-under-the-collar-about-hot-temperatures/#comment-39 Curtis Wood Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:27:08 +0000 http://eloquentscience.com/?p=452#comment-39 Although I am normally a pedant myself and can see the point that is being made here, there is a pragmatic consideration. Very often in meteorology we're interested in how things vary with height; and so talking about things being high/low can be susceptible to ambiguity ("higher temperatures" might mean (i) temperature at a higher altitude or (ii) temperatures with a higher number on the thermometer). Many work-arounds results in wordy, inelegant or ambiguous sentences (e.g. one might consider saying "warm conditions" or "warm atmosphere"). In summary, I often find myself settling for "warm temperatures", even though I know it is not right... Although I am normally a pedant myself and can see the point that is being made here, there is a pragmatic consideration. Very often in meteorology we’re interested in how things vary with height; and so talking about things being high/low can be susceptible to ambiguity (“higher temperatures” might mean (i) temperature at a higher altitude or (ii) temperatures with a higher number on the thermometer). Many work-arounds results in wordy, inelegant or ambiguous sentences (e.g. one might consider saying “warm conditions” or “warm atmosphere”). In summary, I often find myself settling for “warm temperatures”, even though I know it is not right…

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