Illiteracy in America
08-01-2002, 06:31 PM
#31
[quote]Originally posted by Manning:
<strong>Tim Strayer said:
Tim,
I think the biggest problem is that oftentimes what is posted to the board is incomprehensible. If someone wants an answer to a question, at least pose the question in such a way so that it can be understood. It's funny that some of the folks on this board who don't speak English as a first language write better than a lot of those who do.
I'm not really going to flame someone for being an illiterate oaf, or for not taking the time to check what they type here, but I have to agree with Mark's sloppy/careless comment.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I actually should have just commented on spelling and not sentence structure. I actually do go back through my post to see if my post makes sense before I click the "Add Reply" button. I don't worry about the spelling. I understand what you mean when people ask questions and you can't even tell what they are talking about. That is pretty annoying.
<strong>Tim Strayer said:
Tim,
I think the biggest problem is that oftentimes what is posted to the board is incomprehensible. If someone wants an answer to a question, at least pose the question in such a way so that it can be understood. It's funny that some of the folks on this board who don't speak English as a first language write better than a lot of those who do.
I'm not really going to flame someone for being an illiterate oaf, or for not taking the time to check what they type here, but I have to agree with Mark's sloppy/careless comment.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I actually should have just commented on spelling and not sentence structure. I actually do go back through my post to see if my post makes sense before I click the "Add Reply" button. I don't worry about the spelling. I understand what you mean when people ask questions and you can't even tell what they are talking about. That is pretty annoying.
08-01-2002, 06:37 PM
#32
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Between people, politics, religion, countries and continents, I never have figured out what seems to be so hard about just not FUC*ING with other people.
Offended ?? I wonder if there might be someone with a learning disability that might be offended, or do emotions run high only when it comes to Japanese tires ?
Offended ?? I wonder if there might be someone with a learning disability that might be offended, or do emotions run high only when it comes to Japanese tires ?
08-01-2002, 06:49 PM
#33
Maybe this isn't the best place to grouse about it as you say. Actually it is quite pointless. But I am going to ramble some more anyway.
What gets me is how this and other boards so graphically illustrate the point of how insidious this can become. That was why I brought up the point of my sister and her daughter. That poor child isn't going to know up from down when she hits the first grade, or do they simply teach chat room spelling and grammer now?
As long as I can understand what you are on about, I don't care too much if a word is spelled incorrectly here and there, or your structure and grammer are off on a web board . Hell, we all screw up, especially when we think our boss might be about to catch us posting to the board
To wander back to my comment about my co-worker, and touch on what Joe944 said, kids don't care about learning stuff they aren't interested in, and some teachers don't know what they are talking about. I had a civics teacher in HS (20 years ago) who, looking back, was so full of **** I cannot comprehend how he was able to teach on a high school level. Oh no wait, I remember, he was an excellent football and wrestling coach and was required to teach a course.
Oh, and Jon, I had learning disabilities from grade one on. I am not offended by people setting high standards. Actually, I am proud that I have overcome most of my problems with being able to concentrate and remain focused.
And Shaun, please, no pictures of Peter Pan.
What gets me is how this and other boards so graphically illustrate the point of how insidious this can become. That was why I brought up the point of my sister and her daughter. That poor child isn't going to know up from down when she hits the first grade, or do they simply teach chat room spelling and grammer now?
As long as I can understand what you are on about, I don't care too much if a word is spelled incorrectly here and there, or your structure and grammer are off on a web board . Hell, we all screw up, especially when we think our boss might be about to catch us posting to the board
To wander back to my comment about my co-worker, and touch on what Joe944 said, kids don't care about learning stuff they aren't interested in, and some teachers don't know what they are talking about. I had a civics teacher in HS (20 years ago) who, looking back, was so full of **** I cannot comprehend how he was able to teach on a high school level. Oh no wait, I remember, he was an excellent football and wrestling coach and was required to teach a course.
Oh, and Jon, I had learning disabilities from grade one on. I am not offended by people setting high standards. Actually, I am proud that I have overcome most of my problems with being able to concentrate and remain focused.
And Shaun, please, no pictures of Peter Pan.
08-01-2002, 07:00 PM
#34
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Let's not tar this issue with judgemental terms such as 'bad spelling', let's all call it 'creative form and structure in non-verbal communication' or in deference to the American proclivity for verbing nouns, 'individual centred vocabularization'
I hate 'a myriad of', it's myriad on its own - 'myriad possibilities'
Don't even mention the over reliance on calculators infecting society. A young guy in a shop persisted in using his calculator to subtract 32 from 87, despite my constant stream of 55's. A recruitment consultant reliably informed me on the 'phone that 37.5 x 10 was 1875 - the calculator said it, so it must be true.
I love words and elegant writing, the lack of delicate wordplay is no more apparent than in big movies, the scripts are 'focus grouped' down to the comprehension level of an average eight year old. Set pieces have replaced meaningful dialogue.
This is, however, a board about cars and I do not judge the person by the quality of the English they use - unless I disagree with them - and then they are obviously drooling idiots
.
I hate 'a myriad of', it's myriad on its own - 'myriad possibilities'
Don't even mention the over reliance on calculators infecting society. A young guy in a shop persisted in using his calculator to subtract 32 from 87, despite my constant stream of 55's. A recruitment consultant reliably informed me on the 'phone that 37.5 x 10 was 1875 - the calculator said it, so it must be true.
I love words and elegant writing, the lack of delicate wordplay is no more apparent than in big movies, the scripts are 'focus grouped' down to the comprehension level of an average eight year old. Set pieces have replaced meaningful dialogue.
This is, however, a board about cars and I do not judge the person by the quality of the English they use - unless I disagree with them - and then they are obviously drooling idiots
.
08-01-2002, 07:03 PM
#35
Race Director
[quote]Originally posted by Mean old Manning (can we call you mom?) :
<strong>I am not offended by people setting high standards.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Apparently some people are.
I guess in the high jump of life, some people are content to crawl under the bar rather than try to jump over it.
:<strong>I am not offended by people setting high standards.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Apparently some people are.
I guess in the high jump of life, some people are content to crawl under the bar rather than try to jump over it.
08-01-2002, 07:33 PM
#36
21st Century reconstructionism: "A Porsche and a condominium" (not necessarily below the Mason-Dixon line). . . and a million dollars for ancestoral enslavement.
You know, my back still aches from building those damned pyramids!
richard
'87 Carrera-3.6L
You know, my back still aches from building those damned pyramids!
richard
'87 Carrera-3.6L
08-01-2002, 07:47 PM
#38
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I think on a day to day basis I get more put out with people that don't know math than people that cant spell correctly. The day has arrived im afraid that we will be corrected for incorrect grammar or spelling by a recent collage graduate. I will be a bit miffed if I get incorrect change for my Big Mac in the process. : )
08-01-2002, 07:54 PM
#40
Seriously? From Wales? I had a friend in college whose granny was from Wales and she proudly spoke that ancient language. Pretty neat if you ask me, but hard to understand her when she spoke common English.
08-01-2002, 08:00 PM
#41
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[quote]Originally posted by Tim Strayer:
<strong>I could care less how I spell on here.
I also feel sorry for those that judge people for the way they type and set up their sentences. Some people may be in a hurry. Big deal.</strong><hr></blockquote>
This is exactly the kind of stuff I am sick of.
So you are saying that you dont give a crap about how many of us think you are an illiterate boob?
Or are you saying that we are not worth the effort for you to type properly?
Or are you trying to tell us that you think we are all too stupid to care if you choose to disrespect us all by blatently admitting that we arent important enough to bother with?
Learn to spell, show some respect for the rest of us, and show a little more respect for the image you convey to the world. Everyone drops a ringer every now and then, but show some pride in yourself. When did it become so unfashionable to have a brain? I thought geek was in?
You are limited in life by only two things. The amount of effort you are willing to expend to meet a goal, and the ability you have to express yourself to others. Vocabulary is a big part of that. If you can tell someone exactly what it is that you need, the chances of getting it are higher.
I blame MTV and network television. Like someone else mentioned, this is all part of the dumbing down of America. My grandparents never finished high school, but they could both do the multiplications tables to over 1000. And they both spoke and wrote beautifully. The education system now only expects you to learn to the 10's tables. What a joke. I have friends with advanced degrees that can barely add 4+7 or write a simple paragraph.
Show some pride, if you have any.
Do you like coming across as a 3rd grade dropout?
<strong>I could care less how I spell on here.
I also feel sorry for those that judge people for the way they type and set up their sentences. Some people may be in a hurry. Big deal.</strong><hr></blockquote>
This is exactly the kind of stuff I am sick of.
So you are saying that you dont give a crap about how many of us think you are an illiterate boob?
Or are you saying that we are not worth the effort for you to type properly?
Or are you trying to tell us that you think we are all too stupid to care if you choose to disrespect us all by blatently admitting that we arent important enough to bother with?
Learn to spell, show some respect for the rest of us, and show a little more respect for the image you convey to the world. Everyone drops a ringer every now and then, but show some pride in yourself. When did it become so unfashionable to have a brain? I thought geek was in?
You are limited in life by only two things. The amount of effort you are willing to expend to meet a goal, and the ability you have to express yourself to others. Vocabulary is a big part of that. If you can tell someone exactly what it is that you need, the chances of getting it are higher.
I blame MTV and network television. Like someone else mentioned, this is all part of the dumbing down of America. My grandparents never finished high school, but they could both do the multiplications tables to over 1000. And they both spoke and wrote beautifully. The education system now only expects you to learn to the 10's tables. What a joke. I have friends with advanced degrees that can barely add 4+7 or write a simple paragraph.
Show some pride, if you have any.
Do you like coming across as a 3rd grade dropout?
08-01-2002, 08:20 PM
#43
Jon, can't we start a seperate thread about bad math skills (just kidding)? I had to go to summer school for geometry and failed trig. Mixing pot with learning disablities is not a good thing, but cleaning up my act was.
08-01-2002, 08:41 PM
#44
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Nah, no math threads, I don't think we should have a spelling thread either. I went to summer school MANY times. It just surprises my how many well educated failures there are in this world. Some of the stupidest people I know are the most educated. Psychics isn't a problem for the well educated, getting home from the grocery without getting hurt or lost is quite another. I especially wouldn't have the plumbs to correct someones spelling or grammar. You never know if that dumb country boy you belittled might be your boss one day. I tend only to take advice from people who have achieved more in life than I have.
P.S. I remember a LONG time ago my grandfather telling me that a day would come that the plumber or painter that didn't mind getting his hands dirty would earn more than the AVERAGE attorney. Are we there yet ?
P.S. I remember a LONG time ago my grandfather telling me that a day would come that the plumber or painter that didn't mind getting his hands dirty would earn more than the AVERAGE attorney. Are we there yet ?
08-01-2002, 09:34 PM
#45
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Illiteracy is increasingly widespread in the UK - people don't read much anymore. I spoke to someone recently and they said they would like to read more but they couldn't afford books. When I pointed out that there is such a thing as a public library, they said they probably wouldn't be able to afford the rental charges 
I immediately surmised from this that they had never ventured into a library in their life.
When I was at school, my art teacher refused to teach us art - he taught us how to draw. Creativity stems from core skills, Picasso could draw (Anyone who has ever seen his life studies could not dispute that he was one of the finest draftsmen in history). The great writers usually served their apprenticeships in journalism, they had been taught their craft by the more experienced staff and editors. Unbridled creativity is like a racing driver capable of blistering laps but unable to finish a race due to crashing.
Education can be free of charge, I am upset when someone says 'I know all I need to', as there is always more.
The brilliant quantum physicist Richard Feynmann once said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "There is only one thing I can claim to know with absolute certainty - I know nothing"
BTW my girlfriend is Welsh, though she grew up in Northern Ireland.
I immediately surmised from this that they had never ventured into a library in their life.When I was at school, my art teacher refused to teach us art - he taught us how to draw. Creativity stems from core skills, Picasso could draw (Anyone who has ever seen his life studies could not dispute that he was one of the finest draftsmen in history). The great writers usually served their apprenticeships in journalism, they had been taught their craft by the more experienced staff and editors. Unbridled creativity is like a racing driver capable of blistering laps but unable to finish a race due to crashing.
Education can be free of charge, I am upset when someone says 'I know all I need to', as there is always more.
The brilliant quantum physicist Richard Feynmann once said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "There is only one thing I can claim to know with absolute certainty - I know nothing"
BTW my girlfriend is Welsh, though she grew up in Northern Ireland.