I found some software that can be installed to spell check in any program.
http://www.weightlosssoftware.com/SpellAnywhere/
I think that anyone who does get criticized for their lack of spelling finesse should use it…
Four common mistakes that always annoy me:
When your always seeing people that can’t spell there words, and they do it alot, to.
Zenster, you’re right on with your comments!
What amazes me is the horrendous spelling and grammar found in letters and e-mails that I get from librarians and people in the academic community, who really should know better. Use your freaking spell checker! Also, as a manager at my last job, I couldn’t believe the stuff I saw in resumes! I mean, it’s your resume, for cryin’ out loud!! Proof-read it!
It’s just further proof of what I always tell my wife - that the majority of people on this planet are fucking stupid.
And it just keeps getting worse. I hate to sound like my ol’ man, but when I was a kid…
Let me just say one thing:
The spell checker is there for a reason. USE IT!!
my personal peeve is ‘definately.’
this one’s more of a grammar mistake - in high school i remember getting annoyed when spirited students would write the class year like this: class of “86”, because they didn’t realize that '86 was supposed to be a contraction of sorts.
The worst, the absolute worst, the one that makes my skin crawl, the vein in my forehead stand out, and generally puts me into an apoplectic fit is this:
I would of (should of, could of, etc.)done that…
I’m not ranting about ESL speakers and writers; these are people who were raised in and on the English language (albeit in the South).
Stuff that really pisses me off is when you see a sign in the road saying something like “bun’s on sale here”
Also when people put ‘which’ instead of ‘that’ ie ‘the book which I read yesterday.’
I think you are wrong to say tell people to use spellcheckers. Its spellcheckers that are making people forget how to spell. Autocorrect is even worse, as you dont even realise you have made a mistake when the computer automatically puts in an extra l in a word or something.
Good point Nuke Man. Spellcheckers and electronic calculators are atrophying serious portions of the population’s cranial cortex. I suppose GPS will ultimately lead to a people that are unable to drive down to the corner store without an onboard Etak screen. Disturbing to say the least. So much for survival skills, eh?
Just to play devil’s advocate for a second (this is the part where I am either revered as a genius or mocked as a fool)…
Is it possible that the fact that less and less people are able to spell words correctly signifies evolution of society rather than crumbling? That spelling skills are becoming less and less necessary for survival each day?
“Hell , no!” shout the angry voices from the crowd. But hold on a second, hear me out on this.
Think back to the time of the cave man (those of you that are old enough, anyways). What were the necessary survival skills? Two that come to my mind are:
- the ability to catch and kill food
- the ability to move silently through the underbrush
Both of these were essential at the time; however, as humans advanced their civilization, these became progressively less important and fewer and fewer people still knew how to do it. I imagine that while this was going on, some of the cavemen (those who still possessed those skills) shook their heads sadly as they looked around at their neighbors, stomping loudly around the forest and unable to bring home even a simple wild boar without the help of those stupid pointy spear things that the youngsters insist on making out of the local tree branches.
Now, fast-forward to present day. All of the major visual methods of communication rely increasingly on images more than text to convey their message. Whoever said “a picture says a thousand words” was right - in most cases, one can convey more information more easily to a wider group of people with an image rather than a printed word. In addition, this shrinking world of ours puts us in contact with those that speak other languages or a variation of the language that we speak. It becomes increasingly important to recognize alternate spellings of words - If I’m on the right track, it will likely become less important to know which is the “proper” spelling.
I imagine there will still be those who need sharp spelling skills, just as there are those who still need to be able to move silently through the underbrush.
So, anyways, there is an different look at the issue at hand. Feel free to disagree, this whole thing is just conjecture based on a combination of:
- Observations of the world around me
- Things whispered to me by the voices in my head
- A rigorous Q&A session with my magic 8-ball
That’s all.
-Bill
Post edited by Stofsky to make a point. Mammoth painting lessons, anyone?
(ahhh, 'tis to be “mocked like a fool”, then.)
I know that you seem to be disagreeing with me, stofsky, but I honestly don’t get your point. Can you elaborate for me?
what if Elmer Fudd had created this rant? Would it read like this?
OK…I’ve had it. De most sewious pwobwem facing this countwy isn’t taxes, ow gwobaw wawming, ow the commies ow whatevew… IT IS DAT 98% OF DE PEOPWE IN DIS COUNTWY AWE FUCKING MOWONS!! I have found 3 instances of just atwocious spewwing on the intewnet in the past 5 minutes: 1-fwom a website I am going to want about watew on: De pwincipwes in youw book witewawwy “bwue my mind!” 2-In a cwassified ad: Wanted: 2 bedwoom apawtment. Must except pets. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! 3-On a buwwetin boawd: I found the fix youw wooking fow. AUUUUGH!!! I know that spewwing ewwows wiww exist fowevew, but it is just my imagination, ow awe peopwe just weawwy dumb? I seem to wecaww a sci-fi stowy about a giww who divided the wowwd into “Bwights” wike hewsewf, and “Stupids” fow the othew 98% of humanity. I feew wike hew now. Oy. I need to wie down now. Phouchg
Looks like someone’s having fun with the rinkworks site…
BillyBoy, consider this the next time you are outside the envelope of civilization (as in a plane wreck). Wouldn’t it be nice to know how to stalk more than your last girlfriend? Wouldn’t you be glad if you actually had the ability to hunt and gather recognizable foodstuffs. Yes, it seems arcane to cram your brain with infrequently used knowledge, but when you need that knowledge, there isn’t always a nearby library to back you up. Spelling, like hunting and numeracy are marginalized skills in modern society, but these same skills are fundamental to the expansion of your mind. You can’t wrench on a semi truck with a pocket knife. A replete toolbox is the ultimate survival tool. Limit yours all you wish but remember, you might also be the first one thrown out of the life raft, or worse, kept in it for nastier reasons.
Spoken like a person who truly missed that I mentioned that some people will still need to have sharp spelling skills. Yeah, you’re right, it is a good thing to learn as many different skills as possible. All I’m saying is that its possible that the spelling skill might be becoming less important for survival than it used to be.
And how, exactly, is hunting fundamental to the expansion of my mind? I will concede that it is necessary to learn a wide range of skills and experience a wide variety of experiences to expand your mind, but hunting certainly does not HAVE to be one of those skills/experiences. And how do you know I don’t possess these skills, eh?
I can only assume from your response that you are skilled in stalking wild game with no weaponry and moving silently through the underbrush - otherwise, your continued existence refutes your post better than I can.
Eye have a spelling checker
It came with my pea see
It planely marks four my revue
Mistakes Eye can knot sea
The trouble with humans is that they evolve.
If people no longer need to do mental arithmatic or learn things, they start to lose their ability to memorise simple everyday things. It works with everything. Because our homes are so clean, children grow up in a bacteria free environment and get allergies. We are becoming dependent on machines.
How important is TV Guide or the Yellow Pages?
Over at http://www.worldofcoasters.com, there are some guys wondering about what kind of degree(s) they would need to get a job designing roller coasters. I pointed out that if one of them was to hand in a resume as full of grammar and spelling mistakes as their posts, said resume would be returned with a form letter saying, “Sorry. You do not meet our qualifications at this time.”
I’ll probably just get flamed, but who knows?