I want a word that’s like “capable” but clearly means the things you have the knowledge or skill to do. I’m clearly not capable of running a hundred miles an hour or catching a bullet in my bare hand. I’m not capable of bench pressing 200lbs either; that’s pretty likely in the range of what I could do if I worked out and trained at it for a few years, but right this second I’m not in that kind of shape. In some senses, I’m capable of logging into someone else’s LessWrong account- my fingers are physically capable of typing their password- but I don’t have the knowledge of what to type.
This comes up in places where a thing is obviously possible to achieve, and wouldn’t require, say, the kinds of built up physical changes to my body that lifting 200lbs would require, but I still don’t expect to be able to pull it off. If I had someone experienced, who did know how to do it, sitting at my shoulder giving me advice the whole way it would be obviously possible.
Nevertheless, acting like I’m capable of flying an airplane or resolving a messy divorce or interpreting a blood test if I had to do it right now is going to result in some problems. I’d like to be able to say I’m not able to accomplish that without a bunch of disclaimers that yes, I could learn, or I could follow someone’s close directions and manage it, but that’s different.
“I can do X” seems to be short for “If I wanted to do X, I would do X.” It’s a hidden conditional. The ambiguity is the underspecified time. I can do X—when? Right now? After a few months of training?
Q. “Can you play the violin at my wedding next year?”
A. “Sure.”
Colloquial language would imply not only am I willing and able to do this, I already know how to play the violin. Sometimes, what I want to answer is that I don’t know how to play the violin, I’m willing to learn, but you should know I currently don’t know.
I want a word that’s like “capable” but clearly means the things you have the knowledge or skill to do. I’m clearly not capable of running a hundred miles an hour or catching a bullet in my bare hand. I’m not capable of bench pressing 200lbs either; that’s pretty likely in the range of what I could do if I worked out and trained at it for a few years, but right this second I’m not in that kind of shape. In some senses, I’m capable of logging into someone else’s LessWrong account- my fingers are physically capable of typing their password- but I don’t have the knowledge of what to type.
This comes up in places where a thing is obviously possible to achieve, and wouldn’t require, say, the kinds of built up physical changes to my body that lifting 200lbs would require, but I still don’t expect to be able to pull it off. If I had someone experienced, who did know how to do it, sitting at my shoulder giving me advice the whole way it would be obviously possible.
Nevertheless, acting like I’m capable of flying an airplane or resolving a messy divorce or interpreting a blood test if I had to do it right now is going to result in some problems. I’d like to be able to say I’m not able to accomplish that without a bunch of disclaimers that yes, I could learn, or I could follow someone’s close directions and manage it, but that’s different.
“I can do X” seems to be short for “If I wanted to do X, I would do X.” It’s a hidden conditional. The ambiguity is the underspecified time. I can do X—when? Right now? After a few months of training?
Q. “Can you hold the door?” A. “Sure.”
That’s straightforward.
Q. “Can you play the violin at my wedding next year?” A. “Sure.”
Colloquial language would imply not only am I willing and able to do this, I already know how to play the violin. Sometimes, what I want to answer is that I don’t know how to play the violin, I’m willing to learn, but you should know I currently don’t know.
Which I can say, it just takes more words.
“Achievable goal” or “plausible outcome”, maybe?