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08/13/2003 02:31:22 PM · #1
I've seen concern about this in a few threads so here it is:

From: //www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

Desolation
1 : the action of desolating
2 a : GRIEF, SADNESS b : LONELINESS
3 : DEVASTATION, RUIN
4 : barren wasteland

Desolate
: to make desolate: a : to deprive of inhabitants b : to lay waste c : FORSAKE d : to make wretched


From //www.Dictionary.com

des·o·la·tion
The act or an instance of desolating.
The state of being desolate.
Devastation; ruin: a drought that brought desolation to the region.

The state of being abandoned or forsaken; loneliness: a sense of utter desolation following the death of his parents.
Wretchedness; misery.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

08/13/2003 02:31:32 PM · #2
Remember the challenge allows for both the feeling and condition of desolation. So something that conveys sadness, for example, is as valid as something that conveys ruin.
08/13/2003 02:35:56 PM · #3
Yeah, now I want everyone to start voting again. I have great comments but they are not reflected in the votes. Could that mean that people that comment look harder at the picture than those that just vote and run? I think so.
08/13/2003 02:38:56 PM · #4
My shot fits that definition to a tee, and I'm getting comments from people griping about the fact that it depicts those emotions. Kind of weird.
08/13/2003 02:41:29 PM · #5
you don't want people to take the literal meaning of desolation, but you want them to take the literal meaning. anyway, very few people even look at dictionaries when they see a challenge topic. and voters already have their idea of what desolation means to them. that can't be changed by showing them literal definitions
08/13/2003 02:45:51 PM · #6
I'm being told my shot doesn't meet the challenge and it is very annoying cause this is one of those cases where if the comments I left about the photo when I uploaded it were available then the voter would be able to see the desolation...so for the summer challenge I am going to go to have my little boy wear his snowsuit and get in his pool, holding a tulip and with leaves floating in the pool....then I have every angle covered!
08/13/2003 03:07:50 PM · #7
Originally posted by achiral:

...voters already have their idea of what desolation means to them. that can't be changed by showing them literal definitions


I disagree that it's not useful to discuss the meaning of the word.

When I saw desolation I thought of ruin and wasteland first, and if I hadn't broadended my understanding of the term I would have been basing all my comments and scores on whether it was "ruin" or "wasteland" or not. That would be too narrow. Now I can enjoy some of the shots that transcend my more narrow definition much more.

08/13/2003 03:21:19 PM · #8
discuss the meaning of the word by all means, i think it really doesn't do much because people don't like to be told what the definitions of words are if they have already formed a concept of that word in their minds. for me i'm having trouble voting on this challenge because i see desolation as in a desolate landscape. i have a pretty narrow definition. for example i don't consider the 200 abandoned building photos, or at least most of them, a good definition of desolation. but that's just narrow minded me
08/13/2003 03:37:07 PM · #9
I'm like you achiral, I don't think of people when I think of desolation or a desolate place. That's just my narrow-mindedness, too.

Originally posted by achiral:

discuss the meaning of the word by all means, i think it really doesn't do much because people don't like to be told what the definitions of words are if they have already formed a concept of that word in their minds. for me i'm having trouble voting on this challenge because i see desolation as in a desolate landscape. i have a pretty narrow definition. for example i don't consider the 200 abandoned building photos, or at least most of them, a good definition of desolation. but that's just narrow minded me

08/13/2003 04:27:03 PM · #10
Originally posted by goodtempo:

I'm like you achiral, I don't think of people when I think of desolation or a desolate place. That's just my narrow-mindedness, too.


Believe me, man. If you could have taken a shot of my face when I saw that I got 48 (!) 1s for my pic in the "Right Angles" challenge, you would have won the "Desolation" challenge hands down.
08/13/2003 04:35:28 PM · #11
From Webster's New Collegiate: Devoid of warmth, comfort and hope. I predict that the photo to trigger the greatest emotional response will win. However I could be wrong.
Have a Fun Day

Message edited by author 2003-08-13 16:37:25.
08/13/2003 04:44:17 PM · #12
for example i don't consider the 200 abandoned building photos, or at least most of them, a good definition of desolation. but that's just narrow minded metext

Well after reading the definiton I felt that abandoned buildings would fit right in with the challenge. And after looking at all the submitions so did lamost 200 others. So much for "original" thought LOL. But really how lucky we are that when we go search for desolaion all we find are empty building...could me much worse.
08/13/2003 04:49:05 PM · #13

Originally posted by achiral:

for example i don't consider the 200 abandoned building photos, or at least most of them, a good definition of desolation. but that's just narrow minded me
[/quote]

okay that is better, sorry i am new at this :)
08/13/2003 04:58:31 PM · #14
If all you people coming from English speaking countries have problems with the challenge topic, what do you think we have coming from other countries. We must rely on our dictionaries. And my English-Swedish dictionary tells me very clearly that this topic can be about people or animals too.
08/13/2003 05:05:07 PM · #15
Originally posted by Nukkta:

But really how lucky we are that when we go search for desolaion all we find are empty building...could me much worse.

I found much worse.
08/13/2003 06:31:04 PM · #16
I thought there were also a lot of abandonded buildings but I think the true number is closer to 50 than 200. Still there were quite a few dilapidated buildings in this challenge.
08/13/2003 06:37:05 PM · #17
Originally posted by ttreit:

I thought there were also a lot of abandonded buildings but I think the true number is closer to 50 than 200. Still there were quite a few dilapidated buildings in this challenge.


And, some of them beautifully done, I must say - at least they met the challenge :)
08/13/2003 07:21:35 PM · #18
Hmm... my shot seems to have confused the voters. One comment says my shot 'is a bit cliche for this challenge'. Another comment says 'it does not say desolation in any way that I can see'. There are plenty of other contradictory comments. I think everyone who is voting has a very narrow idea of what desolation is... as opposed to the dictionary definitions above. Desolation can mean several different things! Grumble grumble voters grumble...
08/13/2003 07:49:19 PM · #19
Well if everyone's opinions were the same there'd be no reason to give them. :)
08/13/2003 08:39:25 PM · #20
Yet another version (from AnsMe.com)

desolation (noun) -
1. an event that results in total destruction
Synonyms: devastation

2. sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned
Synonyms: forlornness, loneliness

3. a bleak and desolate atmosphere
Synonyms: bleakness

4. the state of being decayed or destroyed
Synonyms: devastation, ruin

08/14/2003 07:50:58 AM · #21
Definitions can be interpreted in different ways..however I feel that you can get the viewer to feel emotions that surround the topic you are working on, then you have accomplished your goal. I think everyone did a great job..and it was interesting to see the different interpretations of desolation.
08/14/2003 07:59:56 AM · #22
Judging by my current score (and it is only early days) I'd guess that lots of people are probably voting highly for the 'dereliction' angle of desolation, which is quite a narrow view from my point of view.

I'm very happy with my shot, which is quite different and I believe it to be technically sound, so I can only put results down to the 'eye candy' principle. A 'wow' factor is not the most appropriate description either for my kind of subject matter.
08/14/2003 08:12:34 AM · #23
Originally posted by neenee1999:

Definitions can be interpreted in different ways..however I feel that you can get the viewer to feel emotions that surround the topic you are working on, then you have accomplished your goal. I think everyone did a great job..and it was interesting to see the different interpretations of desolation.



It is better to have it and not need it,
than to need it and not have it :)
08/15/2003 01:07:49 AM · #24
Originally posted by glimpses:

Originally posted by goodtempo:

I'm like you achiral, I don't think of people when I think of desolation or a desolate place. That's just my narrow-mindedness, too.


Believe me, man. If you could have taken a shot of my face when I saw that I got 48 (!) 1s for my pic in the "Right Angles" challenge, you would have won the "Desolation" challenge hands down.


I sure do wish more people would ASK if they have a question with the picture. If I totally HATE the picture and I don't think it matches the challenge, I'll score them low...but then I ask them to explain themselves. If they take the time to answer what I didn't understand, I'll go back and change my vote. I've changed 3s to 7s, 8s, and 9s because the person wrote and answered questions about my confusion. Just a thought!
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