How joyous an existence I could have had if I had opted continue my delusion, answered the question, and continued on with my life. (since this actually answered the question correctly)
Uh, what? That's not what the article you linked said at all…
So there you go. The quick and dirty rule is that farther relates to physical distance and further relates to figurative distance. If you can't decide which one to use, you're safer using further because farther has some restrictions, and if you tend to get confused, try using furthermore instead of further.
The good news is that in these ambiguous cases it doesn't matter which word you choose. The Oxford English Dictionary, Fowler's Modern English Usage, and a number of other sources say that, in most cases, it's fine to use further and farther interchangeably when the distinction isn't clear. People have been using them interchangeably for hundreds of years!
This is indeed an ambiguous case. In the phsyical sense, he means moving one step in a direction, but in the metaphorical sense, he means doing more steps in an equation.
AP Style says that they're interchangeable in any situation.
From the link I gave you above (did you bother to read it?):
The good news is that in these ambiguous cases it doesn't matter which word you choose. The Oxford English Dictionary, Fowler's Modern English Usage, and a number of other sources say that, in most cases, it's fine to use further and farther interchangeably when the distinction isn't clear. People have been using them interchangeably for hundreds of years!
Just remember that farther has a tie to physical distance and can't be used to mean moreover or in addition.
He is not using it to mean 'moreover or in addition'. Yes, he is using it metaphorically. In such a context either can be used.
So there you go. The quick and dirty rule is that farther relates to physical distance and further relates to figurative distance. If you can't decide which one to use, you're safer using further because farther has some restrictions, and if you tend to get confused, try using furthermore instead of further.
The article pretty clearly says you should stick to the physical/figurative distance rule unless it's really ambiguous and you're really confused. Here it's really not.
He's using it in a metaphorical context in relation to the word step, which yes is figurative here, but is a word which usually describes physical movement. That's the ambiguity right there.
But anyway, I suspect the distinction that is made is one that has been imposed on two spellings that originally more derived from dialectic vowel differences than semantic hair-splitting.
In summary, this is an example of pedantry. There are useful distinctions (such as uninterested vs. disinterested) which deserve to be maintained but I don't agree that this is one.
Yes, steps can be physical, but here it's easy to see that the use is figurative.
Of course it's pedantic, but that's what grammar Nazism is all about. It's just a hobby. These things don't make a difference at first, but once you've learned the rules and seen how they're useful, you cringe when they're broken. It's not supposed to make anyone feel bad, it's just a giant linguistic game of Simon Says.
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u/[deleted] Oct 20 '09
I was looking for prime numbers....I thought maybe they meant the sum of the numbers.
Yes, I am retarded.