I honestly think the internet is making me stoopider - Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras

Kevin M · 2004-06-18, 09:59 PM

I swear, I feel like Charlie from "Flowers For Algernon." Over the past few months I noticed myself making many typos, which I attribute to my never-very-good 1337 typing skills. But in the past few months, I noticed myself making egregious spelling errors of things I know are wrong... upon second look. Things that I never used to do, like misusing their, they're, there, etc. Homonyms are bad enough, but sometimes the errors are astounding, like spelling words (or parts of them) phonetically. I never used to do that. My title here is "El Phonics Monkey" for a reason- my grammar and spelling were perfect when I was in school. Anyways, it's quite honestly getting to the point that it's starting to scare me. My current theory is that my leet skillz eroded because I stopped reading books like I used to, but in the past 6-8 weeks I've read like 10-12 novels. Not always the best way to improve one's writing style, but how often do you find grammar and spelling mistakes in a bestseller. Anwyays, questions, comments, suggestions, or radical drug therapy opinions?

Nick Koan · 2004-06-18, 10:07 PM

dont bee suck a pizoshwhort.

Kostamojen · 2004-06-18, 10:31 PM

It took me a decade to figure out the whole their, theyre there thing, and I still dont get it right 100% of the time. My problem is I hardly ever re-read anything after writing it... Even stuff I turned in for grades in college! (Still got A's and B's easily, which amazed me) Like the last paper I wrote for my final serious writing class (modern art history) was one of the few times I sat down and seriously put together an all out cohesive effort to write something decent. Feels good to do something like that every now and then.

I dont think that minor grammar errors are a bad thing, as long as you know you can get it done when you need to.

Kevin M · 2004-06-18, 11:28 PM

It's not that I never knew that stuff, it's that I seem to have forgotten. A far graver situation in my mind.

Kevin M · 2004-06-18, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKoan

dont bee suck a pizoshwhort.

You're an IT nerd. You couldn't spell in high school anyway.

Nick Koan · 2004-06-18, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

You're an IT nerd. You couldn't spell in high school anyway.

Actually, I totally agree with you on this post. I was almost an english major in college, I just figured CS would be better for a job (hah!), so I fancy myself pretty decent in the ways of spelling, gramar, etc. And I didn't really do much chatting on message boards or IM until about a year ago. In this last year, there is a marked decline in my spelling and gramar. I find myself using your a lot when I should use you're.

Bah.

And don't even get me started on how I think computer science has fucked up my thought processes.

sperry · 2004-06-19, 10:27 AM

Code:

#include &lt;stdio.h>

enum ExeInstructions = { exeSUBMIT_POST, exeSUBMIT_REPLY };

class PostReply
{
  private:

  char* text_buf;
  char* quote_buf;

  public:

  PostReply(void)
  {
    text_buf = NULL;
    quote_buf = NULL;
  }

  ~PostReply(void)
  {
    if (text_buf) delete[] text_buf;
    if (quote_buf) delete[] quote_buf;
  }

  void setQuote(char* author, char* text)
  {
		int buf_len = strlen(author) + strlen(text) + 20;
		
		if (quote_buf) delete[] quote_buf;
		quote_buf = new char[buf_len];
		
		strncpy(quote_buf, "[quote=\"", buf_len);
		strncat(quote_buf, author, buf_len);
		strncat(quote_buf, "\"]\n", buf_len);
		strncat(quote_buf, text, buf_len);
		strncat(quote_buf, "[/quote]", buf_len);
  }

	void setMessageText(char* text)
	{
		int buf_len = strlen(text) + 1;
		
		if (text_buf) delete[] text_buf;
		text_buf = new char[buf_len];
		
		strncpy(text_buf, text, buf_len);
	}
	
	void execute(ExeInstructions exe)
	{
		switch (exe)
		{
			case exeSUBMIT_POST:
				printf("New Post:\n%s", text_buf);
				break;

			case exeSUBMIT_REPLY:
				printf("Reply:\n%s\n\n%s", quote_buf, text_buf);
				break;
		}
	}

};

int main(void)
{
  PostReply* pr = new PostReply("nKoan");
  pr->setQuote("nKoan", "And don't even get me started on how I think computer science has fucked up my thought processes.");
  pr->setMessageText("tell me about it!");
  pr->execute(exeSUBMIT_REPLY);
  delete pr;
  return 1;
}

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKoan

And don't even get me started on how I think computer science has fucked up my thought processes.

tell me about it!

sonicsuby · 2004-06-20, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Homonyms

huh huh huh huh huh, you said "homo".

dknv · 2004-06-20, 11:33 AM

Ha ha, I too used to be grammer & spelling-perfect in school. I've found that for me, the web and technology influences how I write and sometimes even my thought pattern. (Take Scott's code example, you can think out what the language is saying, and then find that your own thought process is following the same pattern -- set lib, set cmds, set classes, chars and buffers, blah blah blah, actually do something, end.) It's structured, but unnatural when used in human language interactions.

dknv · 2004-06-20, 11:45 AM

And then here's the other problem with this: I started out going somewhere with a point about this, and found I got nowhere.

Kevin M · 2004-06-20, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dknv

And then here's the other problem with this: I started out going somewhere with a point about this, and found I got nowhere.

That may sum things up in my life perfectly.

Nick Koan · 2004-06-20, 12:49 PM

So Debbie, you work in IT?

Your company isn't by any chance looking for a bright young recent college graduate who is a hard worker and technically adept to help solve their mounting technical needs?

If so, I know of just the kid that is looking for a job.

Kevin M · 2004-06-20, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKoan

So Debbie, you work in IT?

Your company isn't by any chance looking for a bright young recent college graduate who is a hard worker and technically adept to help solve their mounting technical needs?

If so, I know of just the kid that is looking for a job.

Hey! Get out of my self analysis thread!

Nick Koan · 2004-06-20, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Hey! Get out of my self analysis thread!

Plz hre me. Teh intarweb hs nt mde me stpd. l0lz!!1!

dknv · 2004-06-20, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKoan

So Debbie, you work in IT?

Your company isn't by any chance looking for a bright young recent college graduate who is a hard worker and technically adept to help solve their mounting technical needs?

If so, I know of just the kid that is looking for a job.

Hey! Get out of my self analysis thread!

Great!

Go!

Assert yourself! The intarweb is 1derful!

sperry · 2004-06-20, 10:49 PM

cp this.thread /dev/null

Kevin M · 2004-11-11, 12:42 AM

sigh. It's seriously getting worse... I used to make typos. Now I read my own posts in other people's quotes and realize I flame people for writing like I do. Damn I need to go back to college and do some *real* writing, even though I mostly hate it, jsut for the sake of my self image as a reasonably intelligent person. Anybody else remember El Phonics Monkey?

Dean · 2004-11-11, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

sigh. It's seriously getting worse... I used to make typos. Now I read my own posts in other people's quotes and realize I flame people for writing like I do. Damn I need to go back to college and do some *real* writing, even though I mostly hate it, jsut for the sake of my self image as a reasonably intelligent person. Anybody else remember El Phonics Monkey?

I thought you traded your El Phonics Monkey for an El Phonics Sloth... Maybe that's the issue... The sloth just can't keep up...

Nick Koan · 2004-11-11, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

... hate it, jsut for the sake ...

Just quoting something to rub it in

Not that I'm error free myself. I hate seeing quoted stuff of mine and realizing that I made a horrid grammar error or typo or something.

dknv · 2004-11-11, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Damn I need to go back to college and do some *real* writing, even though I mostly hate it, jsut for the sake of my self image as a reasonably intelligent person.

You're right, something structured & disciplined which requires you to write, and to meet a deadline, will help. Hold on, let me find my whips & chains ...

sperry · 2004-11-11, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dknv

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Damn I need to go back to college and do some *real* writing, even though I mostly hate it, jsut for the sake of my self image as a reasonably intelligent person.

You're right, something structured & disciplined which requires you to write, and to meet a deadline, will help. Hold on, let me find my whips & chains ...

"Rabbit, I want you to got over there and cuff her!"

"Now we getting zee kinky, no?"

khail19 · 2004-11-11, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry

"Rabbit, I want you to got over there and cuff her!"

Apparently this is a widespread problem

dknv · 2004-11-11, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khail19

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry

"Rabbit, I want you to got over there and cuff her!"

Apparently this is a widespread problem

bwahahaha!

Kevin M · 2004-11-11, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nKoan

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

... hate it, jsut for the sake ...

Just quoting something to rub it in

Not that I'm error free myself. I hate seeing quoted stuff of mine and realizing that I made a horrid grammar error or typo or something.

I saw it when I was done, and I was like "SEE????!?!?!??!"

Kevin M · 2004-11-11, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dknv

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Damn I need to go back to college and do some *real* writing, even though I mostly hate it, jsut for the sake of my self image as a reasonably intelligent person.

You're right, something structured & disciplined which requires you to write, and to meet a deadline, will help. Hold on, let me find my whips & chains ...

:shock:

2004-06-18, 09:59 PM	#1
Kevin M EJ22T Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Reno Posts: 9,445 Car: '93/'01 GF6, mostly red Class: 19 FP	I honestly think the internet is making me stoopider I swear, I feel like Charlie from "Flowers For Algernon." Over the past few months I noticed myself making many typos, which I attribute to my never-very-good 1337 typing skills. But in the past few months, I noticed myself making egregious spelling errors of things I know are wrong... upon second look. Things that I never used to do, like misusing their, they're, there, etc. Homonyms are bad enough, but sometimes the errors are astounding, like spelling words (or parts of them) phonetically. I never used to do that. My title here is "El Phonics Monkey" for a reason- my grammar and spelling were perfect when I was in school. Anyways, it's quite honestly getting to the point that it's starting to scare me. My current theory is that my leet skillz eroded because I stopped reading books like I used to, but in the past 6-8 weeks I've read like 10-12 novels. Not always the best way to improve one's writing style, but how often do you find grammar and spelling mistakes in a bestseller. Anwyays, questions, comments, suggestions, or radical drug therapy opinions? __________________ FWD is the new AWD

2004-06-18, 10:07 PM	#2
Nick Koan JDM Cowboy Real Name: Nick Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Somewhere Posts: 8,642 Car: 2015 Mazda 3	dont bee suck a pizoshwhort. __________________ While a standard engine is powered by a belt connected to the crankshaft, a turbo engine runs on its own exhaust steam, making it more energy efficient. -- CNN

2004-06-18, 10:31 PM	#3
Kostamojen EJ22 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 380	It took me a decade to figure out the whole their, theyre there thing, and I still dont get it right 100% of the time. My problem is I hardly ever re-read anything after writing it... Even stuff I turned in for grades in college! (Still got A's and B's easily, which amazed me) Like the last paper I wrote for my final serious writing class (modern art history) was one of the few times I sat down and seriously put together an all out cohesive effort to write something decent. Feels good to do something like that every now and then. I dont think that minor grammar errors are a bad thing, as long as you know you can get it done when you need to. __________________ K-man

2004-06-18, 11:28 PM	#4
Kevin M EJ22T Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Reno Posts: 9,445 Car: '93/'01 GF6, mostly red Class: 19 FP	It's not that I never knew that stuff, it's that I seem to have forgotten. A far graver situation in my mind. __________________ FWD is the new AWD

2004-06-20, 12:49 PM	#12
Nick Koan JDM Cowboy Real Name: Nick Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Somewhere Posts: 8,642 Car: 2015 Mazda 3	So Debbie, you work in IT? Your company isn't by any chance looking for a bright young recent college graduate who is a hard worker and technically adept to help solve their mounting technical needs? If so, I know of just the kid that is looking for a job. __________________ While a standard engine is powered by a belt connected to the crankshaft, a turbo engine runs on its own exhaust steam, making it more energy efficient. -- CNN

2004-06-20, 11:33 AM	#9
dknv EJ207 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: 39n53, 119w90 Posts: 2,698 Car: RX-8 Class: CS maybe	Ha ha, I too used to be grammer & spelling-perfect in school. I've found that for me, the web and technology influences how I write and sometimes even my thought pattern. (Take Scott's code example, you can think out what the language is saying, and then find that your own thought process is following the same pattern -- set lib, set cmds, set classes, chars and buffers, blah blah blah, actually do something, end.) It's structured, but unnatural when used in human language interactions.

2004-06-20, 11:45 AM	#10
dknv EJ207 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: 39n53, 119w90 Posts: 2,698 Car: RX-8 Class: CS maybe	And then here's the other problem with this: I started out going somewhere with a point about this, and found I got nowhere.

2004-06-20, 10:49 PM	#16
sperry The Doink Real Name: Scott Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 20,335 Car: '09 OBXT, '02 WRX, '96 Miata Class: PDX/TT-6 The way out is through	cp this.thread /dev/null __________________ Is you is, or is you ain't, my con-stit-u-ints?

2004-11-11, 12:42 AM	#17
Kevin M EJ22T Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Reno Posts: 9,445 Car: '93/'01 GF6, mostly red Class: 19 FP	sigh. It's seriously getting worse... I used to make typos. Now I read my own posts in other people's quotes and realize I flame people for writing like I do. Damn I need to go back to college and do some real writing, even though I mostly hate it, jsut for the sake of my self image as a reasonably intelligent person. Anybody else remember El Phonics Monkey? __________________ FWD is the new AWD