TWO MISNOMERS (continued)

[Paul S. Boyer <boyer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

TWO MISNOMERS (continued)

Thanks, fellow stereophiles, for your responses.  You have stimulated
me to go back to my first stereo-guru, Herbert C. McKay, photography
columnist and author of "Three-dimensional Photography" (American
Photography Book Department, 2nd ed. 1953).
In the "Stereo Glossary", p. 318-324, he has:
   "Stereopticon - This word is included to point out the fact that
it has absolutely no relationship of any kind with any phase of
stereoscopy although it is commonly used when 'stereoscope' is meant.
 Actually, a stereopticon is a dissolving lantern slide projector as
used for projecting song slides in the old nickelodeon days."
   On page 247 he illustrates the use of a *real* beam-splitter in
stereo-photomicroscopy.

As George Themelis points out, there is nothing objectionable in
principle to allowing a misnomer to become legitimized by custom.  We
have many words in English like this.  For example, we say "decimate"
when we really mean "annihilate."  [Decimate originally referred to
the loss of a tenth.]  However, the two misnomers which I featured
still have legitimate original meanings, particularly "beam-slitter."
 Retaining some precision in terminology seems to me very worthwhile,
particularly in technical areas.


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