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“Go get me the paper stretcher.” - My Dad, getting rid of me at age 15
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I had a birthday this past Thursday. I turned 37. Getting older means different things to different people. Thirty-seven isn't a magic number by any means, to most people, but…
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I don't remember just how old I was, probably around seven or eight. We had taken a family vacation to the beach and were staying with my aunt and uncle. …
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The other day, I was visiting with my parents and my Mom exclaimed with the fervor of a teenager that she found a six dollar store. A six dollar store? …
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Stacy's Mom - Rachel Hunter.MILF. A term I believe was made widely popular by the movie American Pie . It means Mother-I'd-Love-to-Fornicate. The F doesn't really stand for…
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Men can be defined in more ways than having a penis. We like our sports, whether we're playing them or watching them. We fart in our sleep even if we…
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Stress is one of those realities of life that we all experience. Whether it's stress on our job or stress in our relationships, eventually this harbinger affects us all. It's…
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I was talking with a friend the other day and he suddenly turned to me and said, "Do you smell that?" My instinctive reaction was to say, "It wasn't me,"…
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Hackwriters.com published another of my stories, a creative non-fiction piece based on a true story. You may go HERE to read it. ...
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It's not Cheers or Friends or even MASH. It's not Who's The Boss or Leave It To Beaver or The Brady Bunch. Nor is it Scooby Doo or Monday Night…
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Yesterday, someone asked me how my day was. I took a few seconds and then told them, "Pretty good, got a lot done. Yep, it was a pretty good day." …
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Written by Ross Cavins
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Monday, 06 August 2007 02:54 |
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It's true. The world's spelling acuity, and America's in particular, has suffered immensely due to one major reason. The advent of the Internet.
This new medium has single-handedly opened up communications for the masses. The tables have been turned. Now, more than ever in the history of man, almost anyone can publish their words and thoughts for the whole world to see.
The traditional publishing stronghold has collapsed, newspaper readership is down 30% in the last two years. The world is turning to the internet for its entertainment and news. For its laughs and insights. For its everyday thoughts and personality. And its misspellings.
 Spelling Bee Contestants
Humans are a visual species, we learn spelling by seeing the words repeatedly. Remember in school when you realized that you learned better when you rewrote your notes? The combination of tactile and visual stimulation teaches the neurons in our brains how to retain information. How many sitcoms can you count that had an episode where a character was going to cheat on a test, wrote the answers on his shoe or hand, then when the time came, he didn't need them because he'd inadvertently learned the material?
With the internet at practically everyone's fingertips, we are now bombarded with incorrect spellings repeatedly, rewiring and confusing our memories. Good spellers, like me, now have to look words up that we've known our whole life. In college, before the onslaught of the internet, I don't think I ever used spell-check a single time. Now I dare not post anything, not even a small paragraph, without running it through some program first.
I recite the "i before e, except after c" phrase every time I type "receive" or "believe." Its and it's. Their, there and they're. To, too and two. English can be confusing enough without being lambasted constantly with incorrect grammar and spelling.Don't get me wrong, the internet is probably the most important invention man has ever achieved (except maybe the bathroom exhaust fan). It has opened up our borders and introduced us all to new and amazing cultures.
A Brit can chat with an American, then turn around and compare ideas with a Ukrainian the next minute. Then share it all in a blog for everybody else in the world to see. Everyone is our neighbor.
But not everyone can spell. I bet most of you noticed the word "ruined" was misspelled in the article's title, but did you pick up on the typo of "abilities?" The internet is greatly enhancing our culture while simultaneously dismantling it. What do we do about it? I don't know. There's an old Confucian saying that goes, "Fool talk, wise man listen." But I ask you this, why does the wise man listen to the fool?
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