Two Questions

[erastes]

and nothing to do with anything, just my curiosity.

What does "101" mean? I hear it all the time from E.R to Buffy. "That's basic trauma 101" "That's Psyche 101" etc etc. What does it mean?

And why have Americans started to say "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less"?  The former literally means that you COULD care less, so actually - you DO care!!!

*confused of Norfolk*

Comments

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Can't help with the second one, but "101" denotes an introductory course at a university. Hence "Psych 101" = "basic/elementary psychology".

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Yeah - but why 101?

[aunty_marion]

I suspect the "I could care less" thing is meant to be ironic... if Americans understand irony. *g*

But yes, the "101" thing is the introductory course to something. I forget where I picked it up from myself...

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I'd like it to be ironic, but nah - we'd be saying it first, if so.

:)

I wish I knew WHY 101 though, it just reminds me of 1984

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

I always associate 101 with that re-education/torture room in "1984".

"I could care less" is just sloppy, like "could of" instead of "could have".

*'disgruntled at sloppy English' of Hampshire*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Mine would probably be heights, what's yours?

[crawling-angel.livejournal.com]

That's my initial thought too. Someone's biggest fear.

[adela-nightmoon.livejournal.com]

101 is the uni/college code they use for the intro courses. So literally, the first thing you learn when you take that course.

I could care less is just people forgetting what the proper way to say it was.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'm just wondering why 101. Why not just 1?

[reddwarfer.livejournal.com]

The 101 is a referral to something very basic or something someone should have learnt a long time ago.

In college, I took Eng Comp 101 as my first English and Math 101 is Math for people that failed the placement test. So, it was just slipped. I suspect because most language has a musical quality to it, 101 instead of 100 or 102 or anything is chose because of the meter.

And the second, because people fail at life. The same reason why people say stupid shit like irregardless until it becomes a non-standard saying.

[mysid.livejournal.com]

All courses intended to be taken first year have 1 as the first digit, followed by 01-99 to indicate which of the many first year courses it is. In a subject which offers only limited choices, there may be only 101 and 102--the classes intended to be taken during first year first semester and first year second semester. However, in a subject with many more choices (such as English literature), the options for a first year student could easily be more than nine, so two digits are required to code all the options.

Many subjects have an introductory course (101) which is required before the student can take any other courses in that subject.

For example, during first semester first year, Joe Smith took English 112, History 101, Logic 101, and Art 101. During second semester, he took English 120, History 104, Calculus 101, and Geology 102.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! Thank you!!!

[gweneiriol.livejournal.com]

The other comments handled the 101 but here's an answer regarding, "I could care less." http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ico1.htm

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Good Lord. Thank you for that - too much information!!! :)

Excellent!

[carrielofty.livejournal.com]

101 thing:

Also, if a course is labeled "100," generally with regard to maths or the English language, it denotes remedial subject matter--so high school material taken at the uni level because of stoopidness.

Later years progress. So second-year courses would be 201, 242, etc. Sometimes these help denote prerequisites, in that you have to take History 214 (Modern European History I) before you take history 215 (Modern European History II) if they run in order by semester. And some classes are limited by year, so that third year students can only take 300 level maths courses, not 400 level, or exhaust those possibilites at the 300 level before moving on. But at a higher level like that, it's always flexible according to professors' permissions, special exceptions. Courses like 499 are cap courses that had to be completed before graduation (four year system).

[suryaofvulcan.livejournal.com]

The phrase 'I could care less' has always bothered me too - I'm glad you asked the question.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

according to the article that is linked to above, it's something that's been around a while, but I've only noticed it very recently on American TV, possibly because it's only just started to seep into TV shows and films

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

And why have Americans started to say "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less"?

Because we're so fucking lazy we can't be bothered to say one extra word or even think about what we're really saying. Well, some of us. :P

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Every answer here is wrong! It's a misprint for LOL. As in cats. Cat on a stretcher? basic trauma lol. Cat with a knife in the shower? Psycho lol.

[liebesdammerung.livejournal.com]

The funny thing about 101 is, at my uni, they do not necessarily go in numerical order. For example, the German 400-level courses are 426, 427, 428, 429, 434, and 439. So it makes no sense! I always wondered about 'I could care less,' actually. :)

[dakotaflint.livejournal.com]

I think someone answered the 101 question above (just a way to code classes in case there are more than 9). I actually happened to just graduate from one of the only universities in the whole US that didn't use the 101 system for introductory courses. So for example, I took political science 1 and biology 1....talk about feeling awkward not saying 101.

And this doesn't have anything to do with I could care less (it's a gift to be so random, I know), but during my year in England, I never really got the whole "I can't be asked" thing. I'd always say to my flatmates, "You clearly can be asked, but you're just too lazy to say yes." Such an odd way to say I can't be bothered.

[aunty_marion]

Ah, no, I think you may have misheard them... The phrase is actually "I can't be arsed"! *g*

[orchard-mnt.livejournal.com]

101...college course number...freshman, intro, general, overview...

Americans say all kinds of things Ack Basswards!

[lb-x.livejournal.com]

*delurks* People seem to have answered the 101 question well enough, but I didn't see anyone address the 2nd number. It might depend on the subject, but it is thematic. I'm doing a history major, and the second number is usually an indication of what region the course is about. Example, classes 261-269 tended to be about Canada, while ones 281-289 were about South Asia, etc.

So when I took HIS262, I was taking a second year course, about Canada, and the second one offered by the department for that level.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you, that's very interesting. And hurrah for delurking. I must start up my "new joiners" parties!

[mzcalypso.livejournal.com]

It's clear that re: this figure of speech, it's you who could care less.

As far as I'm concerned, "could care less" is sarcastic.

[tharain.livejournal.com]

Perhaps "I could care less" equates to "Different from" and Different to".

[erastes.livejournal.com]

or different than!

[kethlenda.livejournal.com]

101 is, at most colleges, the very first class in an area of study. Like, English 101 or Biology 101. So it kind of means "what even someone new to the subject would know."

The "could care less" thing irks me too, but it's hugely common.

[angelabenedetti.livejournal.com]

And why have Americans started to say "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less"? The former literally means that you COULD care less, so actually - you DO care!!!

Because they're morons. Seriously, there's no irony about it, at least not in anyone I've talked to on the subject. They think that's what it should be, and if you explain the whole, "If you could care less then you must care at least some at the moment" thing, they just get confused and defensive. [eyeroll]

[/judgemental]

Angie

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you! this is what i believe too!

[gavinatlas.livejournal.com]

The sad thing is that I think I may have been one of those Americans who said "I could care less." Why did I never question that? There is a song called "Special" and the singer (Shirley Manson of Garbage - amazing) clearly says "I couldn't care less." I think she's Scottish or English or from some place where they still have literate musicians. Thank you for mentioning this. You've helped stem the "I could care less" tide by at least one degree.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Oh dear, I'm sorry! Perhaps this one post will stamp it out.

Now to work on "gotten"...

mwahahahaha.