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LOAARR t1_iu6mlz2 wrote

Reply to comment by ChuckChuckelson in TIL that when the French first arrived in North America they met the Ojibwe Indians who introduced them to other tribes but used nasty names. The Lakota/Dakota people were called "Nadowessiwag," which became Nadouessioux in French, then Sioux in English. It means "little snake." by marmorset

I wonder how often they understood the meaning of what they were being told or how long it took them to get the real name.

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Gothsalts t1_iu6ol4f wrote

Sometimes they don't. The conquistadors asked a Mayan what the land was called heard "Yucatan" ('I don't understand') and named the peninsula after it.

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LOAARR t1_iu7aohu wrote

I was moreso proposing the idea of that shitty razor reddit likes to reference all the time. Something like, "never attribute to malice that which can easily be attributed to incompetence."

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Paynomind t1_iu7sz84 wrote

Occram's?

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LOAARR t1_iu80jsi wrote

Occam's is about simple explanations, which is very similar to the one I'm referencing.

I think it's Hanlon's.

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