Dismiss Notice
Thanks for being a member of our community. Please donate toward site expenses if you can.

Don't get the big head, but you write well

Discussion in 'Member Casual Chat' started by Le Chef, Mar 27, 2023.

Page 2 of 2
  1. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

    Joined:
    May 31, 2015
    Messages:
    10,688
    Likes Received:
    3,816
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Better than Finland?

    How so?
     
    Le Chef, Mar 28, 2023
    #26
  2. chris155au

    chris155au Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2017
    Messages:
    41,176
    Likes Received:
    4,365
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    "Northern Ireland has some of the best primary school students in the world in mathematics, according to major international tests. According to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Northern Irish students ranked seventh among 64 countries and regions."

    https://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/the-english-schooling-system-a-comparison-with-wales-and-northern-ireland/#:~:text=Northern Ireland Education System Best,according to major international tests.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2023
    chris155au, Mar 28, 2023
    #27
    Le Chef likes this.
  3. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    7,698
    Likes Received:
    4,178
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    When I was in college, there were two types of grammarians--prescriptive and descriptive. That made me question the idea of proper grammar and the proper way of speaking and writing.

    The understanding I came to was not so much what's proper, but what people understand. I also came to realize that language is always changing and what used to be proper becomes clunky and archaic. Who still speaks that old Elizabethan style, and why did the common vernacular of those horrid commoners replace it? Why can we not read or understand Old English? The times always be changing.

    As far as the common errors of grammar and spelling, I do believe it's, in part, because we're more focused on fast and snarky replies. We're not writing novels or anything academic, so it seems to boil down to hammering out quickies and hoping for cheers.

    I also think what plays a role is the fact that we really don't like those long, intellectual replies. How many of those get tagged with a TLDR?

    As far as any skills, I do think it boils down to the environment. If it's expected, if it's used, we're more likely to do the same.
     
    Adfundum, Mar 28, 2023
    #28
    557 and Overitall like this.
  4. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

    Joined:
    May 31, 2015
    Messages:
    10,688
    Likes Received:
    3,816
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Glad to read that. My people are from Northern Ireland and France.
     
    Le Chef, Mar 28, 2023
    #29
    chris155au likes this.
  5. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

    Joined:
    May 31, 2015
    Messages:
    10,688
    Likes Received:
    3,816
    Trophy Points:
    113
    My criteria for good writing include clarity, simplicity, and focus.

    "Call me Ishmael."

    Right away, you want to know more.
     
    Le Chef, Mar 28, 2023
    #30
    Adfundum likes this.
  6. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    Messages:
    27,948
    Likes Received:
    21,251
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    A lot of that can be traced back to the scientists we prized from Germany at the end of WW2.
     
    modernpaladin, Mar 28, 2023
    #31
  7. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    Messages:
    27,948
    Likes Received:
    21,251
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Proofreading. I don't always proofread my posts, but I'm certain yall can tell when I do and when I dont.
     
    modernpaladin, Mar 28, 2023
    #32
  8. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

    Joined:
    May 31, 2015
    Messages:
    10,688
    Likes Received:
    3,816
    Trophy Points:
    113

    I git it.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2023
    Le Chef, Mar 28, 2023
    #33
    modernpaladin and Lil Mike like this.
  9. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2011
    Messages:
    51,629
    Likes Received:
    22,933
    Trophy Points:
    113

    I'm not going to count myself among them, but I agree that the general quality of writing here is pretty good, at least compared to places like Reddit. I think the reason has to do with the average age of the posters here. Most of them are seem to be on the older side; a good many of them are retired. So people have had entire careers doing presentations and writing for business. It helps.
     
    Lil Mike, Mar 28, 2023
    #34
    Le Chef likes this.
  10. Overitall

    Overitall Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2021
    Messages:
    12,210
    Likes Received:
    11,567
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    One of the best phrases that anyone has written is "A picture is worth a thousand words." If a person has a good command of words, they can craft them in as few of words as necessary, communicating a concept just as much as the person that thinks they need a thousand words to convey the same concept. The thoughts of the latter can be lost, mired in way too many words, losing the attention of the reader. Word walls can be an impediment to communication, and isn't communication - conveying understanding - what we seek?
     
    Overitall, Mar 28, 2023
    #35
  11. AARguy

    AARguy Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2021
    Messages:
    14,265
    Likes Received:
    6,651
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    The biggest problems I see with communicators today are:
    I totally agree. Some key points:
    - Avoid "lingo". Different specialists use their own words. Avoid words that cannot be understood by everyone listening. That includes kidspeak like "baiting", "gaslighting", and such. Use universal English.
    - Keep it short. When I was in the military, there was an unwritten rule to limit your PowerPoint presentations to 10-12 slides. Folks are busy and will lose interest with more. Be short and concise. If the listener wants to know more they can ask.
     
    AARguy, Mar 28, 2023
    #36
    Overitall likes this.
  12. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    7,698
    Likes Received:
    4,178
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Indeed it is.
    Reminds me of two writers on opposite sides of that idea. Ernest Hemingway wrote in a short, simple and basic style. Thomas Wolfe used long and at times, a rambling style. I like both. Hemingway got to the point and told his story.

    Now, which one is Wolfe and which one is Hemingway?

    “My dear, dear girl [. . .] we can't turn back the days that have gone. We can't turn life back to the hours when our lungs were sound, our blood hot, our bodies young. We are a flash of fire--a brain, a heart, a spirit. And we are three-cents-worth of lime and iron--which we cannot get back.”​


    "The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. "​
     
    Adfundum, Mar 28, 2023
    #37
  13. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    7,698
    Likes Received:
    4,178
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Would that be the Ishmael from Daniel Quinn's book? :)
     
    Adfundum, Mar 28, 2023
    #38
  14. Overitall

    Overitall Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2021
    Messages:
    12,210
    Likes Received:
    11,567
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    I would guess that Wolfe wrote the first one.
     
    Overitall, Mar 28, 2023
    #39
  15. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    7,698
    Likes Received:
    4,178
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    A+
     
    Adfundum, Mar 28, 2023
    #40
    Overitall likes this.
  16. AARguy

    AARguy Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2021
    Messages:
    14,265
    Likes Received:
    6,651
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    "But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. "

    HIMARS does the same thing.
     
    AARguy, Mar 28, 2023
    #41
    Lil Mike likes this.
  17. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2018
    Messages:
    53,089
    Likes Received:
    49,452
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Punctuation is very important, it can actually be a matter of life and death.

    Let's eat grandma.

    Let's eat, grandma.

    See the difference? :)
     
    FatBack, Mar 28, 2023
    #42
    Injeun likes this.
  18. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    7,698
    Likes Received:
    4,178
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Hah! But Hemingway was talking about life. Maybe they're working together.
     
    Adfundum, Mar 28, 2023
    #43
  19. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    7,698
    Likes Received:
    4,178
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Yes.
     
    Adfundum, Mar 28, 2023
    #44
  20. AARguy

    AARguy Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2021
    Messages:
    14,265
    Likes Received:
    6,651
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    He said he went to the store.

    How many people are we talking about?
     
    AARguy, Mar 28, 2023
    #45
  21. Overitall

    Overitall Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2021
    Messages:
    12,210
    Likes Received:
    11,567
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Yea, that simple little comma can make all the difference in interpretation. The translators of the Greek texts of the Bible were somewhat haphazard when it came to adding punctuation where none existed.
     
    Overitall, Mar 28, 2023
    #46
    FatBack likes this.
  22. chris155au

    chris155au Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2017
    Messages:
    41,176
    Likes Received:
    4,365
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Additionally:

    "Northern Ireland emerged as Europe's top performing education system for primary maths, according to global school rankings.

    We are also the highest ranking English-speaking country in primary reading — beating England, Ireland and Canada."     Northern Ireland primary schools on top of world... so what goes wrong when pupils move up to secondary level? | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2023
    chris155au, Mar 29, 2023
    #47
    Le Chef likes this.
  23. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    7,698
    Likes Received:
    4,178
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    They said they went to the store. Could be the same in each case (these days).
     
    Adfundum, Mar 29, 2023
    #48
Page 2 of 2

Share This Page