Despite having previously stated that dyslexia is rare, I decided today that my boss may be slightly dyslexic. He admitted that he doesn't read much, he has a short attention span, and he sometimes uses the wrong words, or the right words in the wrong order (and I don't mean he says, "No, you can't have that oscilloscope," when he really means, "Certainly, and would you like a current probe to go with that?")
Shoog said:
No. But unlike psychologists learning about it second-hand, I have had to mark work from many hundreds of students, each over an extended period, so I got to know each student. Amongst those hundreds were three genuine dyslexics (as opposed to the ones who tried to claim dyslexia when they were worried about their poor marks). Each genuine dyslexic could communicate in spoken speech perfectly well (until they got excited), but their prose was a mindtwister. I wouldn't be able to imitate the way they wrote, but there's a pattern that once seen is never forgotten, so it suddenly clicked when my boss got excited and tried to explain something using the wrong words. I then looked back and reviewed his comments about not reading much, thought about his attention span and thought, "I bet you're slightly dyslexic."
Rarity or otherwise of dyslexia
I think the continuum notion is probably correct. My name is often (30%?) mispronounced "Ag-nes"; for the first year after my wife and I met she called me Mac to avoid having to (mis-)say "Aengus". And I notice that if I mis-dial a telephone number it's often because I've transposed two digits, which I take to be a related sort of brain-fart.
Aengus
[edit] EC8010 posted while I was writing - if he is correct about spoken vs. written, then my assumption may be invalid.
Ae
I think the continuum notion is probably correct. My name is often (30%?) mispronounced "Ag-nes"; for the first year after my wife and I met she called me Mac to avoid having to (mis-)say "Aengus". And I notice that if I mis-dial a telephone number it's often because I've transposed two digits, which I take to be a related sort of brain-fart.
Aengus
[edit] EC8010 posted while I was writing - if he is correct about spoken vs. written, then my assumption may be invalid.
Ae
Shoog said:
I'll grant you mild dyslexia exists, but some of the most irritating mistakes are people typing a word as it sounds in their way of speaking - 'your' for 'you're' for example, seemingly ignorant of the fact that it's a contraction of 'you are'. That's not dyslexicological.
If someone has grown up in an English-speaking country without noticing how common words are used in books and newspapers then that person is mentally behind the door. And, by bad example, is contributing to the appalling standard of English (and possibly other languages, I can't believe we're unique in this respect) on the internet facing the next generation of monkey-see, monkey-do humanity.
Unfortunately, whether for good or bad, theres a generation who really believe this is a major issue. The rest don't really care. Its a reflection of the globalisation of English and the evolution of culture. Grousing about it isn't going to turn the clock back.
Education standards are probably increasing and becoming more inclusive. In the past there were vast numbers of people who couldn't read or write - and no one cared. I think we have made real progress.
Shoog
Education standards are probably increasing and becoming more inclusive. In the past there were vast numbers of people who couldn't read or write - and no one cared. I think we have made real progress.
Shoog
mpmarino said:
My apologies - I guess I'm the only person left who write is as >its'< when I mean the possesive, and >it's< when I mean a contraction of "it is".
Sorry, but I was tired for that post. Being agnostic (and mildly dyslexic), I had been up all night wondering if there was a dog...
2 reasons 4 that prolly:
The first being untrained typists who are just dying to be heard via the keyboard; they use the method to cut keystrokes.
The second being stow away on some sushi ship. The name escapes me now, but the Japanese have a relatively new system of symbols in their language. Their language consists of 50 syllables and there is one character assigned to each of these. This system is primarily used for importing foreign words into their language where no traditional Kanji character exists. It works like:
ate = 8
for = 4 etc...
...Not such a bad thing really, although the way it is developing is...
The first being untrained typists who are just dying to be heard via the keyboard; they use the method to cut keystrokes.
The second being stow away on some sushi ship. The name escapes me now, but the Japanese have a relatively new system of symbols in their language. Their language consists of 50 syllables and there is one character assigned to each of these. This system is primarily used for importing foreign words into their language where no traditional Kanji character exists. It works like:
ate = 8
for = 4 etc...
...Not such a bad thing really, although the way it is developing is...
Misspellings that wind me up:
Complimentary (freebie), complementary (inverse, partner). "I was given a complimentary amplifier with a quasi-complementary output stage."
Principle (standard, mode of thought), principal (head of school etc). "We hope our principal has principles and doesn't sell exam papers."
Oh, and as for the greengrocer's apostrophe, I lay the blame for that firmly at the door of Micky$oft. I was forced to use MS Turd the other day and it kept suggesting "'s" for plurals.
Complimentary (freebie), complementary (inverse, partner). "I was given a complimentary amplifier with a quasi-complementary output stage."
Principle (standard, mode of thought), principal (head of school etc). "We hope our principal has principles and doesn't sell exam papers."
Oh, and as for the greengrocer's apostrophe, I lay the blame for that firmly at the door of Micky$oft. I was forced to use MS Turd the other day and it kept suggesting "'s" for plurals.
Que ?
An hour ago, the fishmonger asked me if i wanted sausage following my request to repeat his words.
And i still don't get the bear riddle.
While the blondy Samian bloke Pete in the bar is convinced the bear is still 4 clicks off, my rap friend MC Escher said it is more likely a coke bear on the rocks.
edit-edit-edit.
An hour ago, the fishmonger asked me if i wanted sausage following my request to repeat his words.
And i still don't get the bear riddle.
While the blondy Samian bloke Pete in the bar is convinced the bear is still 4 clicks off, my rap friend MC Escher said it is more likely a coke bear on the rocks.
edit-edit-edit.
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