Thread: What is exact meaning of «diagnosis»?

Can I say «Diagnosis of sexual harmony», «Diagnosis of happiness»? Or only «Diagnosis of cancer»?

May be, it will be better «Diagnostics of sexual harmony»?

Diagnosis - диагноз
Diagnostics - диагностика

Diagnosis is typically the end result, although can also refer to the process itself. Diagnostics are carried out to reach that result.

For example:

"My diagnosis is that you have the flu."

or

"I have performed diagnostics on your car."

You diagnose a problem by performing diagnostics, to reach a diagnosis.

As I said though, diagnosis can also refer to the process of dianosing so, "I have been performing a diagnosis of your condition," is roughly the same as "I have been diagnosing your condition."

It might help to know the context though. Sexual harmony and happiness are not things that are generally diagnosed. I imagine you would have to be carrying out a scientific study or similar to phrase it like that.

"Diagnosis of happiness" could mean that you are either diagnosing the condition of "happiness" (to better understand it), or that your diagnosis is that the person is happy.

"Diagnostics of happiness" would refer to the actions taken in performing your diagnosis (and are generally performed "on" something, not "of" it). It also sounds very odd to me and none of this would be used in a typical conversation (with the possible exception of the bit about cancer but that is not a conversation anyone wants to have).

«You diagnose a problem by performing diagnostics, to reach a diagnosis.»
«Sexual harmony and happiness are not things that are generally diagnosed.»

That is what I'm talking about. Happiness is not a problem, is it?

Imagine, that I've invented the questionnaire, which can help to determine if two given people will have a sexual harmony, or, for example, if the person is happy (in case when he/she doesn't know whether he/she happy or not).

The question is: what should be written in the title of such questionnaire? «Diagnosis of sexual harmony» or, may be «Diagnostics of sexual harmony» or «Measurement of sexual harmony», or something else?

Hm... Sorry, but I can't get the sense of measuring of happyness or harmony. It's just conditions of your soul at the moment. And there are only 2 variants: either they live in harmony or not.
It's not a problem or desease, so for me it's strange to pronounse a diagnosis.

I think the simple answer is that words like "diagnosis" and "diagnostics" are not suitable in this context.

Were you to create such a survey, I think a more suitable name would be something like "Sexual Compatibility Questionnaire". It would also not be out of place for a questionnaire like this to have it's title phrased as a question. "How happy are you?", for example or "Is your man right for you?". It largely depends on the target audience. I would generally expect this kind of thing to be used in a light-hearted manner. The kind of thing you might see in gossip or lifestyle magazines, for example.

I also think words like "study" or "investigation" would be more appropriate for this kind of situation, especially if used in a more academic setting. For example, "I am studying/investigating what makes people happy", as opposed to "I am diagnosing happiness".

«Hm... Sorry, but I can't get the sense of measuring of happyness or harmony»

How about this: «DIAGNOSIS: You have 79% of sexual harmony and 65% of happiness.»

«It would also not be out of place for a questionnaire like this to have it's title phrased as a question»
Have I correctly understood that this phrase means «You can also phrase the title as a question»?

My logic is: «out of place» = bad, «not be out of place» = not bad = good.

Pretty much, yes.

Out of place = unexpected, unusual or even incorrect.

Not out of place therefore means normal, acceptable or correct.

Hm... Sorry, but I can't get the sense of measuring of happiness or harmony. It's just conditions of your soul at the moment. And there are only 2 variants: either they live in harmony or not.
It's not a problem or disease, so for me it's strange to use the word "diagnosis" in this context.

You're right, I think using "diagnosis" when talking about happiness or harmony sounds strange. "Diagnosis" is normally used when refering to diseases, as you've said. Also, remember that the plural is "diagnoses".

Jack

Originally Posted by Karras

I think a more suitable name would be something like "Sexual Compatibility Questionnaire".

Karras's suggestion is excellent. "Diagnosis" is mostly used for diseases; definitely don't use that. "Diagnostics" are possible on things that aren't diseases, but it sounds very odd for sexual happiness. Go with “compatibility.”

Originally Posted by SAn

Can I say «Diagnosis of sexual harmony», «Diagnosis of happiness»? Or only «Diagnosis of cancer»?

May be, it will be better «Diagnostics of sexual harmony»?

I imagine diagnosis and diagnostics mean the same thing in Russian as in English; would you use these terms if you were writing in Russian?