[UncleOxidant]

I read Sinclair Lewis' Babbit last year and it was kind of depressing how little has changed since 1922. The political climate (at least as portrayed in the novel) seemed eerily similar to now. Maybe we continually go through oscillations.

[GolfPopper]

In the same vein, his It Can't Happen Here is also well worth reading, as is Jack London's The Iron Heel. The more things change the more they stay the same.

[abirch]

I'm shocked how much the average American knows about how things work. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. I'm not surprised how quickly Americans are giving up their liberty.

[dgellow]

Did you mean to say “how little”?

[bryanrasmussen]

How much and how little are logically equivalent, although in vernacular usage it is of course common to use how little when implying the amount is less than one might expect, and how much to imply the amount is more than one might expect.

[vitally3643]

English is a very context dependent language, so the phrases "surprised by how much" and "surprised by how little" actually have opposite denotations. Mechanically, sure, they're interchangeable, but using the "incorrect" form carries extra connotations. You've used the counterintuitive form, demanding the reader more carefully consider your meaning, which heavily implies you're making a point beyond what appears in the text.

If the second half of that reader engagement doesn't pay off, the sentence reads as clunky or incorrect, likely a mistake from a second language speaker.

Natural languages are not code and words can't be swapped arbitrarily. Word choice and construction carries meaning in and of itself, totally divorced from the actual words used.

[bryanrasmussen]

What do you mean by "I've used"?

[dag100]

They mistook you for the author of the original post (abirch). A little ironic for a comment regarding focused analysis of what someone has written.

[fc417fc802]

Practical communication is not an exercise in logical deduction. The meaning of those terms is not equivalent for exactly the reason you noted.

[bryanrasmussen]

obviously you can use much to mean little with a how in front but generally with a little snarky aside like ", which is not much at all," after the "how much", but yes, in typical usage they are not interpreted the same, although I'd say the difference really only becomes important in comparative usage as in "how little for how much" and similar examples.

on edit: took out hows to avoid confusion.

[Izkata]

"Surprised by how much" pretty directly means the amount is higher than expected. It has the opposite meaning the person intended. The neutral phrasing would be more like "surprised by the amount".

[achenet]

human beings are not always perfect communicators, regrettably.

Luckily, other humans can 'clear things up' :)

[dillondoyle]

46% dont even know what America 250 is... Worse 61% of <30 year olds dont' know. Dont like them but here is poll source (while not crazy maga i dont fully trust it's not push-poll or biased question structures wo reading full xtabs): https://www.cato.org/blog/gen-z-fails-basic-civics-quiz-amer...

a gross percent can't name the 3 branches or their Reps.

[mitthrowaway2]

For the non-Americans in the room, is "America 250" anything other than the 250th anniversary of the war of independence?

[musicale]

The American Revolutionary War began [1] in 1775:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_heard_round_the_world

As I understand it, America250 is the official organization/celebration [2] established [3] to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence [4] in 1776:

> America250’s mission is to celebrate and commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, marking America’s Semiquincentennial.

[2] https://america250.org/about-america250/

> The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission was established by Congress in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

[3] https://america250.org/about-america250/a250-leadership/

> We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

[4] https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcrip...