Talk:granular

Where do Usage Notes belong?

I just added the Usage Notes section, but I don't know whether it is supposed to be before or after the Quotations and/or References section. Please move it if it is in the wrong place. Thanks! -- DBooth 20:22, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the addition. According to WT:ELE it's supposed to be after Quatations. I've updated the page accordingly. Hydrox 07:56, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Comparability of "granular"

From what I understand, the concept of granular as a comparable adjective is akin to the concept of resolution of a computer screen, or a resolution of analysis, classification, and division.

The usage in comparative is attested per the following searches:

• google:"more granular"
• google books:"more granular".
• google scholar:"more granular"

--Dan Polansky 11:36, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Hi Dan. Googling is not a reliable means of checking on correct word usage of course, as it will just as happily find incorrect usage as correct usage. But it is a good way to find examples. Yes, granularity can range from fine to coarse, very akin to resolution on a computer screen, but it does not have a well defined quality of "more" or "less" that corresponds to the fine/coarse dimension. If you look more closely at the citations that you mention, for example, google scholar:"more granular", you will notice that the term "more granular" is sometimes used to mean *finer* grained and sometimes used to mean *coarser* grained -- exactly opposite meanings. For example: "Benzidine dihydrochloride, although also carcinogenic, is more granular and less powdery than the base" (see document); and "Our more granular approach using the individual diseases commonly encountered in the breast helped us assess . . ." (see document). -- DBooth 22:39, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

I've put the Usage section back in, this time with references. -- DBooth 03:06, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the note. Any notions of "correctness" in usage are valid only within the context of those who choose to use the word in accordance with such a standard. As there is no arbiter of English usage in general, it would be useful to know in which contexts one or the other of the two different meanings of the graded forms of granular prevailed and where both coexisted. Do you have any facts, thoughts, leads, or opinions on where we might get information that supported the usage note? DCDuring TALK 17:50, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

"Granular" understanding/knowledge

Do we include the usage of "granular" understanding/knowledge, which one hears in the media? If so, can this sense be added to the entry? 204.11.186.190 14:08, 6 March 2018 (UTC)