I don't know why you use the term "majuscules" rather than just capitals. Do you often write with uncial script? I've never heard the term before and had to look it up. Is there some special significance this is intended to bring?
Uncial letters only exist in majuscule. The terms "majuscule" and "minuscule" are standard English, with unambiguous meanings. "Capital" is acceptable, but the antonym is "small", which I find too cute. "Upper case" and "lower case" are left over from manual typesetting. Capital letters are a well-defined term, but "small letters" could mean minuscule or just a smaller type size (8 point instead of 12 point).
Ok, so if i understand correctly, you are using the terms "majuscule" and "minuscule" to be more clear in spite of the fact that you actually result in being less clear?
You say '"small letters" could mean minuscule or just a smaller type size' while the term "minuscule" itself can simply mean a smaller type size unless the reader understands your use of the term... which btw, the first google entry on the search "minuscule type" says, "Minuscule is a typeface for extremely small sizes, which could be used under the commonly acknoweledged threshold of legibility (around 7 points)." So nothing like lower case.
The idea of rejecting perfectly clear terms for your own personal jargon simply because they are "left over from manual typesetting" seems a bit... well, I can't come up with an adjective that doesn't sound insulting.
Maybe I should just say, I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Think about that for just a minute. If handwriting is not good enough to distinguish between an 'm' and a 'u', how the hell can it be read at all? Which brings us to another insanity in medicine, the hand written prescription. But that's a bit off topic for this forum.
Prescriptions you get from a physician are not what is of concern. They are not a noticeable part of all places where dosage is used and if dose appears, it is usually used as a part of the medicine name. Not hard to tell what was the original meaning. The problem is with in-hospital use, where each day dosage is written hundreds of times per ward. In that situation the dfference between a short curve — indicating either ‘u’, ‘µ’ or ‘m’ — and a long curve — clearly indicating ‘mc’ — is clear enough to avoid mistakes.
Perhaps handwriting is not the ideal method, but so far nothing better has been invented.
To gnuarm:
Merriam-Webster's definitions of "minuscule" (noun) are "lowercase letter" or "one of several ancient and medieval writing styles developed from cursive and having simplified and small forms". The adjective definitions are "very small" (your favorite) or "written in the style of miniscules" (my preference), referring to the noun definition meaning lowercase letter.
I shall continue to use the appropriate words when referring to "case" of letters, which are not "my personal jargon", to be clear and unambiguous.
The problem is with in-hospital use, where each day dosage is written hundreds of times per ward. In that situation the dfference between a short curve — indicating either ‘u’, ‘µ’ or ‘m’ — and a long curve — clearly indicating ‘mc’ — is clear enough to avoid mistakes.
Perhaps handwriting is not the ideal method, but so far nothing better has been invented.
I'm calling BS on this. Handwritten notes and prescriptions are a WELL KNOWN problem in medicine. But like many aspects of medicine the profession has a holier than thou attitude as if there is nothing they can learn from other professions. I recall watching a documentary over a decade ago about how something as simple as a check list is not used much in medicine. Pilots use check lists. Construction crews use check lists. Virtually every profession uses check lists to help avoid common mistakes. Hospitals seldom use check lists... or more accurately, doctors seldom use check lists. That is the definition of arrogance.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676338/Dig around a little, you will find much more information on how patients die needlessly because of medical sloppiness.
Calling bullshit is very good, as long as one has arguments. Yet the response above is off-topic, not even touching the subject. Suggesting none can be delivered. Even the linked essay, being half-page long, is irrelevant: it misses the claim you are trying to counter (or at least you should). I sincerely even doubt that you have read it in the first place: you have missed that, while referencing a serious problem, it is a piece of humor.
If you have some problems with medical staff and need to rant, perhaps there are more suitable places to do so. I am more than completely and utterly uninterested.
I think I understand now. Im pretty sure its 850uf as in Micro Farad. Thanks!
To gnuarm:
Merriam-Webster's definitions of "minuscule" (noun) are "lowercase letter" or "one of several ancient and medieval writing styles developed from cursive and having simplified and small forms". The adjective definitions are "very small" (your favorite) or "written in the style of miniscules" (my preference), referring to the noun definition meaning lowercase letter.
I shall continue to use the appropriate words when referring to "case" of letters, which are not "my personal jargon", to be clear and unambiguous.
And, by your own stubbornness, you'll continue to miscommunicate and confuse people.
I've not heard those terms used in that context before and I bet you most people don't know what majuscule means, which sounds archaic. Upper and lower case are obvious, well-defined, standard terms, as are capital and small, the latter being clear by the context, as is the case for many other words in English. Take the word lead, for example, which means to cause others to follow, the person in control and the name of a metal, depending on the context.
Yes, I am a stubborn curmudgeon, whose motto is "Is that what they are calling it now?".