collective nouns -- Re: Optimal programming advice


<Pedant>
>Kevin G. Rhoads wrote:
>>
>> . . . Theories are nice, data is better.
>
>I'm in pedant mode:
>
>'data are better' please

"The band are eating their lunches." collective plural (it is done individually)
"The band is playing a Sousa march." Singular collective (it is a group, a.k.a., collective, activity)

My data are sometimes individuals, but in what I wrote above I was thinking of
the data as a collective entity, jointly painting a picture of the code execution,
wherein it were most definitely singular in nature.

We can argue whether it is appropriate to presume sigular collective applies in
sucha case, mayhap 'tis not. So, perhaps my thinking was in error, but my punctuation
was consistent with my thinking -- and punctuated as a singular collective usage --
quite defensibly.

But, yes, if you consider "data" to be a collective not acting collectively, but only acting
individually, then the plural is most definitely demanded.
</Pedant>
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