|
| |
|
“Uh ... no.” - Michelle P., a friend, when I wanted a real kiss on New Year's Eve
|
| |
|
|
|
-
It's the beginning of September and I have already seen three Halloween stores open on the route I take to work. Three stores that sell nothing but Halloween costumes and…
-
The Fading LPThe world is constantly evolving. It is inevitable; all that is now, will be no more. Traditions are but man's futile attempts to preserve a way of life. …
-
I have a legitimate question. Why can't food stains be pretty? One day, you're sitting there minding your own business, eating a perfectly good chili burger and when you bring…
-
As a child during the 70s, when sugar was cheap and inflation a virtual myth, we were privy to a selection of breakfast cereals that, like 60s rock music, can…
-
"Housesitter" ran on TBS this past weekend (written in mid-July). I kept the sound off while I tried to write about different things. I read through the paper where it…
-
I've been married twice, to two completely different women. Number One was 5-5, long blond hair, green eyes, curvy, smart, from West Palm Beach with a strong Catholic upbringing and…
-
The Original Rudolph BookletThe song of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer dates from 1939, when the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company asked one of their copywriters to come up with a Christmas…
-
For the last 2 Sundays, I've worked on the patio at my new place. Before, it was a dangerous sort of walk from the back door because you had to…
-
Look out for the newest fitness fad that's sweeping the nation! It's the exercise craze that's got Hollywood stars Matthew McConaughey and Katherine Heigel looking like a million dollars. It's…
-
Moose Tracks is one of the most popular ice cream flavors around. Created by Denali Flavors , it first came on the market in the mid-90s and has…
|
|
| |
|
Written by Ross Cavins
|
|
Monday, 06 August 2007 02:54 |
|
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?
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
