dbabic
New member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2012
- Member Type
- Other
- Native Language
- Croatian
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- United States
- Current Location
- United States
Hello,
I noticed that the scientific community is using "analytic" and "analytical" interchangeably and I was wondering about the difference (you did have a thread years back about this, but conclusion). Other similar adjective combinations ("mystic/mystical", "magic/magical", and "electric/electrical") sometimes are and sometimes are not used interchangeably. I believe there that -ic and -ical endings add a subtle, but different meaning to the adjective.
I am an electrical engineer who spent many years in patent writing, claim construction, and legal interpretation of patents where the preciseness of the meaning of ordinary English words matters a great deal. I feel that a mathematical formula utilizing elementary mathematical functions may be used as an "analytic approximation" rather than an "analytical approximation" for the same reason that "electrical engineering" sounds right and "electric engineering" not.
Here is my interpretation of the difference: The difference between -ic and -ical endings lies with whether the subject "is" or "possesses/pertains to/relates to" the stated character(istics).
For example, engineering cannot be electric in the same sense as electric current (the current IS electric) and so it has to be "electrical" as it related to electric phenomena.
A mystical person has the characteristics of a mystic, but may not necessarily be a mystic.
An analytic approximation is an approximation that can be written as a formula involving elementary mathematical functions. Analytical approximation would be an approximation that has the characteristics of an analytic approximation, but may not necessarily be it.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks
I noticed that the scientific community is using "analytic" and "analytical" interchangeably and I was wondering about the difference (you did have a thread years back about this, but conclusion). Other similar adjective combinations ("mystic/mystical", "magic/magical", and "electric/electrical") sometimes are and sometimes are not used interchangeably. I believe there that -ic and -ical endings add a subtle, but different meaning to the adjective.
I am an electrical engineer who spent many years in patent writing, claim construction, and legal interpretation of patents where the preciseness of the meaning of ordinary English words matters a great deal. I feel that a mathematical formula utilizing elementary mathematical functions may be used as an "analytic approximation" rather than an "analytical approximation" for the same reason that "electrical engineering" sounds right and "electric engineering" not.
Here is my interpretation of the difference: The difference between -ic and -ical endings lies with whether the subject "is" or "possesses/pertains to/relates to" the stated character(istics).
For example, engineering cannot be electric in the same sense as electric current (the current IS electric) and so it has to be "electrical" as it related to electric phenomena.
A mystical person has the characteristics of a mystic, but may not necessarily be a mystic.
An analytic approximation is an approximation that can be written as a formula involving elementary mathematical functions. Analytical approximation would be an approximation that has the characteristics of an analytic approximation, but may not necessarily be it.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks