my data is just fine, thank you
I think a lot about the evolution of language, and how words come to mean something more or different than they did 50 or even ten years ago. It’s tricky, sometimes, being a bit of a stickler about spelling, grammar, and punctuation (and perhaps more than anything, semantics), while still allowing our language to evolve, and changing with it. I do think it’s possible, though, to live in the grey area between two absolutes. This is the Obama era, right?
So, “data” is the plural of “datum”. Fine. But it’s time all the language purists came out and admitted that another meaning of the word has evolved which, while having the same etymology and essentially the same meaning, is not a plural, but rather a mass noun, just like “water” or “rice” or “helium”. In which case, it’s perfectly fine to say “this data is bogus” or “this is too much data”. These days, anyone who says “these are too many data”, let’s face it, just sounds like a pompous ass.
