Post #1384522
2026-04-17 16:45 UTC
Reading about #mansplaining, I am reminded of that one time I was introduced to a tech transfer manager as a tenured member of a machine learning team. The guy then proceeded to explain machine learning to me. This was at a lunch, and half the people at the table stopped eating with their mouth half open.
And now I remember another one.
I was giving an intro to machine learning to an audience of biomedical researchers. One man had the following question: "I am wondering why you're calling it machine *learning*, when it obviously ought to be machine *teaching*. Maybe you've been confused translating from the French 'apprendre', as it can have both meanings? Have you checked the translation?" Yes, it had been said when I was introduced that I did my PhD in the US and that I was a machine learning expert. And then I shared that story on Twitter, and a man who was *not* a fluent French speaker told me that my story was probably wrong, because "apprendre" only means "to learn" and never "to teach".
Replies (6)
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@AudeCaussarieu@social.sciences.re 2026-04-17 16:55
@cazencott@lipn.info OMG
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@UlrichKraus@piaille.fr 2026-04-17 17:15
Mansplainning^2
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@1HommeAzerty@mamot.fr 2026-04-17 18:09
@cazencott@lipn.info Faut avoir des nerfs d'acier... :blobPikaFail:
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@VWDasher@mymasto.com 2026-04-18 05:00
@cazencott@lipn.info ........bloody hell.
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@energisch_@troet.cafe 2026-05-03 10:12
@cazencott@lipn.info Funny thing is, they are expecting an agreeing nod or a thank you when they do it.
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@morfil@climatejustice.social 2026-05-03 10:26
@cazencott@lipn.info why do these things always read like they were written by the onion? Why is life so much mimicking comedy all of a sudden? Why do I feel the need to apologise so often? Why why?