I could care less!
There are many people that will tell me this statement is grammatically incorrect. It should be you couldn't care less, which at first thought makes a lot of sense. But after more thought, it is no longer declaring what I mean!
Think of the general pain scale rating. Rate your level of care about something.
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
If you care 1 or 2 you can care less. If you care 8 or 9 you can care more. If you rate your level of care a 10, even ask yourself are there things that you care about more than said example. Similar to the pain scale, you are asked to rate your pain level 1-10, but if you have no pain it is a zero. Therefore, if my pain level is a 1 can I have less pain?
Thus, to say "I couldn't care less" = "I don't care," because even if a care an "insignificant" amount I could still care less. If you rate your level of care a zero, that means you do not care at all. Any care level above zero means that you could care less. If you rate your care level at 1, does that mean there is nothing you could possibly care less about.
This is simply understanding what is meant by less, "of lower rank, degree, or importance." The definition of could according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary: "past of can [Middle English couthe, coude, from Old English cūthe; akin to Old High German konda could] 13th century — used in auxiliary function in the past 〈we found we could go〉, in the past conditional 〈we said we would go if we could〉, and as an alternative to can suggesting less force or certainty or as a polite form in the present 〈if you could come we would be pleased〉"
The truth is that when we use the term could, we mean the potential of something in the past. Similarly, I can go to the bathroom, but am I going to go? No, because I don't need to or want to go to the bathroom, right now. Therefore, I could do it, but it does not mean I want to do it.
Thus, "I could care less," does not mean I am going to try to care less. It can mean: maybe I should not care at all, but I have a minimal level of care. Remember to say "I couldn't care less" does not allow for the potential of caring any less than your current care level, thus you do not care at all. On the other hand, "I could care less" means there is a potential that you can actually care a less, or not care at all. Remember there are an infinite number of points between 0 and 1.
I am sure this will not sway most people's minds. But one last grammatical point: You should not use contractions, unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, "I couldn't care less" is still worse than "I could care less." So maybe I do not speak the best. But I will still use, "I could care less" to mean there is a lower amount of care I can potentially have, and "I do not care" or "I don't care"when there is no amount of care that I have, and thus there is no amount which I can care below my current level of care, which is none.
So I can legitimately say, I could care less about how you feel about this topic. But since I wrote this post, I can not say "I couldn't care less." So if you actually do not care about something, just do as I usually do say, "I don't care!" Thank you.
Think of the general pain scale rating. Rate your level of care about something.
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
If you care 1 or 2 you can care less. If you care 8 or 9 you can care more. If you rate your level of care a 10, even ask yourself are there things that you care about more than said example. Similar to the pain scale, you are asked to rate your pain level 1-10, but if you have no pain it is a zero. Therefore, if my pain level is a 1 can I have less pain?
Thus, to say "I couldn't care less" = "I don't care," because even if a care an "insignificant" amount I could still care less. If you rate your level of care a zero, that means you do not care at all. Any care level above zero means that you could care less. If you rate your care level at 1, does that mean there is nothing you could possibly care less about.
This is simply understanding what is meant by less, "of lower rank, degree, or importance." The definition of could according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary: "past of can [Middle English couthe, coude, from Old English cūthe; akin to Old High German konda could] 13th century — used in auxiliary function in the past 〈we found we could go〉, in the past conditional 〈we said we would go if we could〉, and as an alternative to can suggesting less force or certainty or as a polite form in the present 〈if you could come we would be pleased〉"
The truth is that when we use the term could, we mean the potential of something in the past. Similarly, I can go to the bathroom, but am I going to go? No, because I don't need to or want to go to the bathroom, right now. Therefore, I could do it, but it does not mean I want to do it.
Thus, "I could care less," does not mean I am going to try to care less. It can mean: maybe I should not care at all, but I have a minimal level of care. Remember to say "I couldn't care less" does not allow for the potential of caring any less than your current care level, thus you do not care at all. On the other hand, "I could care less" means there is a potential that you can actually care a less, or not care at all. Remember there are an infinite number of points between 0 and 1.
I am sure this will not sway most people's minds. But one last grammatical point: You should not use contractions, unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, "I couldn't care less" is still worse than "I could care less." So maybe I do not speak the best. But I will still use, "I could care less" to mean there is a lower amount of care I can potentially have, and "I do not care" or "I don't care"when there is no amount of care that I have, and thus there is no amount which I can care below my current level of care, which is none.
So I can legitimately say, I could care less about how you feel about this topic. But since I wrote this post, I can not say "I couldn't care less." So if you actually do not care about something, just do as I usually do say, "I don't care!" Thank you.
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