Minority is something of little value or importance.
Minutia is something that lacks importance or value . The etymology of this word takes us to minutia , a Latin word that can be translated as smallness .
Trifle or trifle
It can be said that a minutia is a trifle or a trifle . The term is usually used to refer to that which is negligible or inconsequential and which, therefore, does not deserve further attention or analysis .
For example: “This time the coffee is on me and I do not accept arguments, we are not going to waste time with a minor thing,” “Instead of referring to the main issue of the session, the deputy oriented his speech to a minor thing that “No one was interested,” “The truth is that I distanced myself from my girlfriend over a small thing and now I regret it.”
In the first sentence, the sender states that he is not willing to dwell on the decision to pay for the coffee or allow his interlocutor to do so, since in his opinion it is a minor thing, something that is of no major importance . For him, the main thing is spending time with the other person. Finally, a person claims to have separated from his girlfriend for minor reasons, and would like to annul his decision.
The second sentence presents us with a situation in which the term minutiae serves to denounce a lack of ethics: a deputy decides to ignore relevant topics during his speech, focusing instead on others that are not of interest to the listeners.
Minutia in a negative sense
The term minutiae has a meaning with relatively negative nuances, since it refers to things of little value . However, it is not always used in unfortunate situations: as we saw in the previous examples, it can simply serve to focus attention on the issues that really matter, leaving aside the irrelevant ones. However, in some cases its use does denote the serious error of thinking first about the insignificant details rather than the essential ones.
Suppose a man enters a concert armed and starts shooting at random, killing eight people and wounding another thirty. A journalist, when narrating the terrible event, points out that the subject entered the venue without paying his entrance fee. As can be seen, emphasizing this minutiae makes no sense given the magnitude of the tragedy. It is very worrying that an information professional pays attention to the detail of the bill, given that he is faced with a tragedy that could be framed in an act of terrorism.
Take the case of a documentary focused on the figure of a famous singer. Although many viewers expected to find interesting facts about his personal life or his artistic career, the film revolves around minor anecdotes and inconsequential details. That is why it can be said that the work presents minutiae and not substantial content . This example does not have a severity comparable to the previous one, but it is also a poorly done job, which does not comply with the principles of the chosen genre or satisfy the expectations of the public.
The meticulous person pays attention to inconspicuous details.
Thoroughness
Thoroughness is the quality of someone who is thorough, who pays special attention to small things, details that for other people may not have any importance. As can be seen, this term is related to the noun minutia . Let's look at some example sentences: "In his new book, the Swiss tells in detail how he became the best tennis player in the world" , "I am going to study the project carefully before giving an answer" , "You should not sign a contract without first carefully reading all its clauses.”