Words are important to writers. I think I have written enough to be called a writer. I don’t make my living writing, so perhaps I am not a professional writer, but I have been paid for writing in the past and expect to be paid again.

When I run across an inappropriate use of a word, two things come to mind. Is my assumption about the usage correct and should I inform the user of the inappropriate use? Generally, I find I am usually correct and tend to not point out the poor usage.

I often run across instances of people using the word proof when they really mean evidence. After seeing an instance earlier today, I first ran to a dictionary to confirm that they were not synonymous. I then did a Google search to find a comparison of the terms.

Sure enough, I hit this little thread. I’m not going to sum that page up. It’s short enough to read and get a great idea of the difference between proof and evidence. It still amazes me how easy it is to do research in the World Wide Web. What an amazing time to be alive.