4 ms·

Quote: "Of course, as you can imagine, as a little boy, that peaked my interest." No, it piqued your interest. Should I read on and find more of the same?

by lutusp 11y ago

tyingq 11y ago
The writer is Turkish, and apparently speaks Turkish, French, and English. The article was interesting enough for me that I didn't feel a need to pick grammar or spelling nits.
- pbhjpbhj 11y ago
  I think there's a need for a format of soliciting editorial corrections that allows people to provide errata without feeling like they're being too picky?
  - nitrogen 11y ago
    I think this need extends to other areas of potential improvement, too. We could all be much better at many things if there were widely used, polite ways to give and receive unsolicited feedback.
    - tyingq 11y ago
      Most of the time, just couching the comment with a little kindness works fine... "Great article, enjoyed it. I noticed a couple of minor typos you might want to fix..." or "I see you speak several languages. English is a little tricky with homonyms, "peeked" in this context would be "piqued".
      - pbhjpbhj 11y ago
        Even that seems a bit like it gets in the way. Also, if you didn't like the article does that mean you shouldn't offer a correction? Perhaps what I'm after is a meta-thread content-thread separation in some way.
        bbcbasic 11y ago
        Just email the author using a toastmasters style feedback that is hearty and respectful. No need to pollute the thread or have a meta-thread.
- drdaeman 11y ago
  As a non-native speaker (who does mistakes a lot), I think it's sad most sites (esp. forums - although it's tricky as it could be abused there) don't have an option to select a mistake or typo and silently report it to the original text's author, with optional comments on what's wrong there. I only ever saw such things on news sites, where readers could report problems to the editors. So, many people see the mistake, but stay silent out of politeness or just feeling that it would be off-topic.
  - spacehome 11y ago
    "who does mistakes a lot" -> "who makes mistakes a lot"
Jaruzel 11y ago
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that English isn't his first language based on his name. Focus on the content and not the presentation and you will find a nice story about discovery that we can all relate to.
- eric_h 11y ago
  > I'm going to go out on a limb and say that English isn't his first language based on his name Or the third paragraph of TFA, which states that he was living in Turkey at the age of 9.
CarolineW 11y ago
We were a little happy family living in a modest appartment at Düzce in Turkey. There may be more "errors", but I have to say that the English in this article is significantly better than my Turkish. It may be that the writer would appreciate some proof-reading assistance, or other comments on the details of spelling and grammar, but such offers should perhaps be made as such, and not as bald unsolicited criticisms. Note: It wasn't I who down-voted you. In fact, assuming you really were simply intending to be helpful I've upvoted you to balance some of the downvotes.
onurcel 11y ago
Fixed, thanks! Sorry, english is not my first language so there may be lots of mistakes, I would be very happy if you are kind enough to tell me. The funny thing is that I speak french and I didn't know that the spelling of this word is more french-ish than english-ish.
minikites 11y ago
How many languages can you speak or write in?
- striking 11y ago
  "Some people can read, write, and speak three languages. We call those people trilingual. Some people can read, write, and speak two languages. We call those people bilingual. "And then there are those who speak one language, and those we call Americans."
noonespecial 11y ago
A valid criticism, but only fair if you write it in Turkish. >Should I read on and find more of the same? Omit this part or replace with "I know English may not be your first language so if I may..." to be allowed to use english.
bbcbasic 11y ago
Peaked is perfectly fine too. His interest was at peak. A local maxima.

Quote: "Of course, as you can imagine, as a little boy, that peaked my interest." No, it piqued your interest. Should I read on and find more of the same?

by lutusp 11y ago

Quote: "Of course, as you can imagine, as a little boy, that peaked my interest." No, it piqued your interest. Should I read on and find more of the same?

tyingq 11y ago

The writer is Turkish, and apparently speaks Turkish, French, and English. The article was interesting enough for me that I didn't feel a need to pick grammar or spelling nits.

pbhjpbhj 11y ago
I think there's a need for a format of soliciting editorial corrections that allows people to provide errata without feeling like they're being too picky?
- nitrogen 11y ago
  I think this need extends to other areas of potential improvement, too. We could all be much better at many things if there were widely used, polite ways to give and receive unsolicited feedback.
  - tyingq 11y ago
    Most of the time, just couching the comment with a little kindness works fine... "Great article, enjoyed it. I noticed a couple of minor typos you might want to fix..." or "I see you speak several languages. English is a little tricky with homonyms, "peeked" in this context would be "piqued".
    - pbhjpbhj 11y ago
      Even that seems a bit like it gets in the way. Also, if you didn't like the article does that mean you shouldn't offer a correction? Perhaps what I'm after is a meta-thread content-thread separation in some way.
      - bbcbasic 11y ago
        Just email the author using a toastmasters style feedback that is hearty and respectful. No need to pollute the thread or have a meta-thread.
drdaeman 11y ago
As a non-native speaker (who does mistakes a lot), I think it's sad most sites (esp. forums - although it's tricky as it could be abused there) don't have an option to select a mistake or typo and silently report it to the original text's author, with optional comments on what's wrong there. I only ever saw such things on news sites, where readers could report problems to the editors. So, many people see the mistake, but stay silent out of politeness or just feeling that it would be off-topic.
- spacehome 11y ago
  "who does mistakes a lot" -> "who makes mistakes a lot"

Jaruzel 11y ago

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that English isn't his first language based on his name. Focus on the content and not the presentation and you will find a nice story about discovery that we can all relate to.

eric_h 11y ago
> I'm going to go out on a limb and say that English isn't his first language based on his name Or the third paragraph of TFA, which states that he was living in Turkey at the age of 9.

CarolineW 11y ago

We were a little happy family living in a modest appartment at Düzce in Turkey. There may be more "errors", but I have to say that the English in this article is significantly better than my Turkish. It may be that the writer would appreciate some proof-reading assistance, or other comments on the details of spelling and grammar, but such offers should perhaps be made as such, and not as bald unsolicited criticisms. Note: It wasn't I who down-voted you. In fact, assuming you really were simply intending to be helpful I've upvoted you to balance some of the downvotes.

onurcel 11y ago

Fixed, thanks! Sorry, english is not my first language so there may be lots of mistakes, I would be very happy if you are kind enough to tell me. The funny thing is that I speak french and I didn't know that the spelling of this word is more french-ish than english-ish.

minikites 11y ago

How many languages can you speak or write in?

striking 11y ago
"Some people can read, write, and speak three languages. We call those people trilingual. Some people can read, write, and speak two languages. We call those people bilingual. "And then there are those who speak one language, and those we call Americans."

noonespecial 11y ago

A valid criticism, but only fair if you write it in Turkish. >Should I read on and find more of the same? Omit this part or replace with "I know English may not be your first language so if I may..." to be allowed to use english.

bbcbasic 11y ago

Peaked is perfectly fine too. His interest was at peak. A local maxima.