As for polarized vs. polarizing, they are both correct, they just mean different things. For example, both these sentences are perfectly correct:

Polarizingsynonym

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Polarizing meaningin Chemistry

In rhetoric, a tautology is when a meaning is repeated; this is often done using different words that say the same thing. Most often this is used unintentionally (say the same thing twice), but it can of course also be used for emphasis.

Renowned author Dan Brown got out of his luxurious four-poster bed in his expensive $10 million house and paced the bedroom, using the feet located at the ends of his two legs to propel him forwards.

where R is the radius of the surfaces, n is the refractive index of the glass (roughly 1.52) and F is the desired focal length. So for a 2.5X magnifying glass (focal length = 10 cm), R = 2*(1.52 – 1) * 10 = 10.4 cm.

Polarizingin a sentence

Polarizing meaningslang

Polarized opinions does not necessarily imply two opposite opinions, it implies two different opinions. While in the strictest sense, of magnetic or charge poles, the two poles will indeed be opposite, the same does not necessarily hold true of opinions. In everyday usage, the phrase polarized opinions implies that a group of people have different (usually strong) opinions on a particular subject. Yes, they do tend to be mutually exclusive but they need not be opposite as such.

Famously bad (or good) tautologies: "They are simply going to have to score more points than the other team to win the game" - John Madden "A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls" / "It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it" / "If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure" (all 3 Dan Quayle) "I used to be an agnostic, but now I’m not so sure." Yogi Berra I want to live while I am alive - Bon Jovi

The optical design of a magnifying glass is simple. Both sides must have the same curvature (so it doesn’t matter which way you hold the lens), and the glass is almost always simple soda-lime glass, so the focal length determines the design. The radius is given by

I have friends and acquaintances who for years I've known to be rational, intelligent and competent. Most have careers doing complex sophisticated work... Try it with discipline in parenting, with health care reform, with the recent Zimmerman verdict. Pick any issue or current event which purports to have a "dialogue" associated with it. You'll likely find a pair of polarized opposite opinions, each assuming the other to be untrustworthy and potentially dangerous.

Simple lenses are pretty good magnifiers up to about 5X. If you want more magnification, go on to Advanced Magnifying Glasses.

The question is now, “how can I bring something closer to my eye, but still focus on it?” And the answer is, “a magnifying glass.”

Polarizemeaningin politics

Polarizingpersonmeaning

The idea behind a magnifying glass is to make something look bigger, but how does this work? Well, the principle is so simple you probably already know it. The farther away something is, the smaller it looks, right? So to make something look bigger, just move it closer to your eye.

Seems straightforward, right? Unfortunately, it’s not. The problem is that your eye can only focus on something that is far enough for your eye’s lens to “accommodate.” Bringing something closer makes it bigger, but fuzzy, and that doesn’t help. Typically, this distance is about 10″ or 25 cm. Children can often focus closer than 25 cm, and people over 50 can’t normally focus even this close, so take the 10″/25cm as a rough approximation. If you’re as nearsighted as I am, you can focus 4″/10cm from your eye. It’s great for inspecting things, but not so good for driving.

It can also be used for irony or satire, which is the reason I believe Mr. Muzeo is using it, especially as the article is titled "Our Opinions Are Dumbing Us Down". If he is not using it intentionally, then he is proving his point, as tautologies are usually taken as an example of sloppy writing.

Focal length is basically the distance from the magnifying glass to where it forms an image of a distant object. For example, you can make a small image of the moon by holding a magnifying glass a few inches (6-12 cm) from a piece of paper.

The magnifying power of a magnifying glass is 10″ (25 cm) divided by its focal length. For example, if you have a lens with a focal length of 4″ (10 cm) it will have a magnifying power of 10 divided by 4 (or 25 divided by 10), which is 2.5X.

A magnifying glass has two essential properties: its focal length and its diameter. The diameter, or how big the lens is doesn’t really matter that much. If you want to hold the lens far from your eye, then bigger is better, but it doesn’t change the magnifying power. The magnifying power is determined by the focal length.

English is a foreign language to me, and one word that is particularly confusing is "polarize". In physics, it has contradictory definitions; when polarizing waves you remove inequality, but polarizing can also mean to cause something to acquire polarity, or in other word emphasize inequality. When applied to opinions, however, people usually seem to have the second definition in mind.