Today Dell upset my homeostasis.  I quote from Dell’s product information on their 30″ LCD:

“To fully utilize your new 3007WFP-HC monitor and enjoy the ultra-high resolution settings…”
(see http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Monitors/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=222-7175)

“Utilize” is not the more formal/pretentious form of the word “use,” even though swarms of would-be writers utilize it as such.  No, “use” means “the act or practice of employing something.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/use) “Utilize” means “turn to practical use or account.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/utilize)

Thus we see that “utilize” is a special case of “use.”  In a similar manner, “cat” is a special case of “useless 4-legged animal,” which is in turn a special case of “4-legged animal,” which is a special case of “animal,” and so forth.  All cats are 4-legged animals, but not all 4-legged animals are cats (as an example, see “dog,” which is a special case of “useful 4-legged animal”).  Similarly, one can bludgeon a sentence and use “use” wherever “utilize” is appropriate, but some meaning is lost. One cannot, however, utilize “utilize” wherever “use” is used, because the former is just not up to the task.

So when is it appropriate to use “utilize?”  Whenever one doesn’t have to utilize “utilize.”  As the dictionary points out, “utilize” brings with it the connotation of being used for something other than its original purpose.  You cannot, for example, utilize a hammer to drive in a nail.  Since hammers were made for that purpose, driving in a nail with a hammer is an example of “using” a hammer, not “utilizing” it.*  In a pinch however, one could utilize a wrench to drive in a nail.  As a further example, one can very well utilize a Macintosh computer to accomplish serious work.

If you’re still here after all this time, you may wonder what this has to do with Dell.  Well, they say, “To fully utilize your blah blah blah.”  First, since I haven’t purchased it, it isn’t mine.  Second, what does it even mean “to fully utilize?”  “Fully” would imply that there is some intended level of use.  But since I’m utilizing it, I’m using it for something other than what it was intended– some other use that I came up with.  Well, how would they know if I’m fully using something when they haven’t even come up with the use?  I fail to see how Dell is the authority on whether or not I’m succeeding in some tangential use of their product.  Thus, I am left spinning in an irreducible cloud of logic, which frankly irritates me to the point that I will not be purchasing the 30″ Dell LCD any time soon.

Why does this even matter?

“Clear language engenders clear thought,” wrote Richard Mitchell in his masterpiece The Graves of Academe.  As human beings we really can’t function and explore the full potential of our existence without one another.  We accomplish more in society than we’d be able to individually.  The trouble is that we aren’t mind-melded in the same way that Vulcans can be.  Our sole means of communication is translating our thoughts to words and communicating those words to another who must the re-translate those words into thoughts.  At each step of that process, intent is lost.  Words mean different things to different people (see discussion of “cat” and “dog” above).  And it is through words that we teach brain surgeons to be brain surgeons, for example.  Since we’re already at an inherent disadvantage, we ought to labor to use clear language.  This sort of thing can cost lives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammability#Linguistics:_Flammable_vs._inflammable).

I concede that “use” vs. “utilize” will probably not kill anyone; I am unable to contrive an example.  But 1 cigarette won’t kill you either.

* -  Sledge hammers are an exception, but note that they are a special case of hammer.