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Pendarvis Theory of Technology: "..., it is my theory that everything wrong with everything is the fault of language teachers. "If a child is taught that it is

Pendarvis Theory of Technology: "..., it is my theory that everything wrong with everything is the fault of language teachers. "If a child is taught that it is all right if you mis-spell a word occasionally, or don't always punctuate exactly correctly, then you are teaching that child that small mistakes are okay, as long as people know pretty well what is meant. I feel this is a dangerous attitude to foster in a highly technological society." from William Tuning's novel Fuzzy Bones He goes on with an example that could have come from what I have read about one of the difficulties that contributed to the problems at Three-Mile Island; not paying enough attention to what the instruments were saying (as an example of inadequate attention to detail). Steve Allen's Dumbth ( http://www.amazon.com/Dumbth-Thinking-Reason-Better-Improve/dp/1573922374/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344942834&sr=8-1&keywords=dumbth http://www.amazon.com/Dumbth-Thinking-Reason-Better-Improve/... ) discusses how things have broken down in general over decades; and it long pre-dates the texting and Twitter used as excuses for sloppy grammar several of the essays' writers fall back on.

gte910h 14y ago
To this I retort with Steven Fry's piece on language pedantry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY
- rsanchez1 14y ago
  There's a difference between being pedantic about language and desiring clarity, as Fry pointed out in that piece. Additionally, apathy and ignorance about language, not just grammar but all that encompasses language as a means of communicating ideas, makes it very easy to be deceived with language. Here is a piece by George Orwell on Politics and English Language which touches more on the degradation of English used to express ideas: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm "It has nothing to do with correct grammar and syntax, which are of no importance so long as one makes one's meaning clear, or with the avoidance of Americanisms, or with having what is called a "good prose style." "What is above all needed is to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way around. In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is surrender to them." The gist of it is that good grammar should arise naturally from the clear communication of ideas. When you are sure of what you want to say, the words to say it should naturally come to you. Ideas should hunt for words, instead of words hunting for ideas. If you're writing with bad grammar, why should I worry about what you're saying if you yourself don't even know what you mean to say? If you don't know what you mean to say, how can you know what a politician or a CEO means to say? How can you avoid being deceived if you don't have a good grasp of language and meaning? Why should I hire you if you are so easily deceived?

gte910h 14y ago

To this I retort with Steven Fry's piece on language pedantry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY

rsanchez1 14y ago
There's a difference between being pedantic about language and desiring clarity, as Fry pointed out in that piece. Additionally, apathy and ignorance about language, not just grammar but all that encompasses language as a means of communicating ideas, makes it very easy to be deceived with language. Here is a piece by George Orwell on Politics and English Language which touches more on the degradation of English used to express ideas: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm "It has nothing to do with correct grammar and syntax, which are of no importance so long as one makes one's meaning clear, or with the avoidance of Americanisms, or with having what is called a "good prose style." "What is above all needed is to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way around. In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is surrender to them." The gist of it is that good grammar should arise naturally from the clear communication of ideas. When you are sure of what you want to say, the words to say it should naturally come to you. Ideas should hunt for words, instead of words hunting for ideas. If you're writing with bad grammar, why should I worry about what you're saying if you yourself don't even know what you mean to say? If you don't know what you mean to say, how can you know what a politician or a CEO means to say? How can you avoid being deceived if you don't have a good grasp of language and meaning? Why should I hire you if you are so easily deceived?