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do u use ur brain?

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emilymoore

emilymoore

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Feb 21, 2011
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Emily
#1
I personally haven't figured out yet if having a computer in my pocket has made me smarter or dumber. On one hand, I feel more empowered, because I can look up things instantly and learn about subjects I would've never thought to know before. I can watch YouTube videos that show me anything I want to know (and then some).

On the other hand - I am much dumber. I forget to properly punctuate. I don't have to remember how to spell anything. I don't have to know where I'm going or where I've been. I don't have to remember much of anything really, because that's what Google is for... and text messaging has totally corrupted my writing skills. Now when I need to type or write, I have to make a conscience effort to not abbreviate everything, capitalize "I" when used, use apostrophes (which I always leave out), and form complete sentences. I find myself wondering while I'm typing, why my computer didn't suggest spellings for the word that I was stumbling through - my phone would've known. And then I get frustrated with myself, because it is a word that I really should already know how to spell without something telling me how. And then there is simple math. I will still use my calculator on my phone or adding machine even if it is something that I should be able to do in my head, just because my brain is so rusty from the lack of use. :huh?:

I am not the only one. This becomes readily apparent when conversing via online chat with customers. I used to be able to detect the gender and approximate age just by the context of the incoming messages. Now, I find a disappointing trend in adults writing the same way their 16 year old kids do. It is also disturbing that it is becoming more acceptable.

What about you? Do you rely on your phone or computer to think for you instead of using your brain? (Examples are always entertaining)
 
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#2
I can see how that could certainly happen. I write code for a living where syntax is non-forgiving, so I think that bleeds over into my everyday writing. I even attempt to use proper English when sending text messages, and I find it somewhat annoying when others don't. I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I tend to find it a little disrespectful, or worse, I find it colors my perception of the sender's intelligence. More so in a professional environment.
 
#5
I'm not here for ur'alls amusement. :)

But yes, my brain moves faster than my hands on the keyboard. And if I didn't have spell check, I would not win a spelling bee.Emily, I only hope that not knowing smaller less important trivial things (like spelling), allows me to free up my RAM to consume the more important. Hopefully.
 
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#6
I'm not just talking about spelling and I certainly don't disagree with utilizing the modern tools that we have to make us more efficient. But, what I have found personally is that I use them as a crutch. And rather than using my brain to think something through, I simply grab for my phone.
 
#7
I completely agree with you Emily. I get that in a fast communication through a text or chat window some spelling and grammatical errors may occur. (I corrected 3 in this sentence) The more concerning thing to me is that spelling and grammatical errors are prevalent where there are NO excuses for them. Some communication NEEDS to be carefully screened.

Three examples off the top of my head:

  1. Screen a resume lately? Flat Scary!
  2. A vendor I used to work for spent months and a lot of resources developing an add-on software product that they had high hopes would generate a huge amount of incremental business and get them in the black. They launched it with a press release they mass emailed to all existing prospects and customers and had it published in a couple trade mags. The first line read "(Company name) is proud to announce the release of (new product name), a COMPLIMENTARY tool for (existing product)!" Oh the difference one letter makes, "no Mr Dealer Sir, our COMPLEMENTARY product is actually not COMPLIMENTARY. Yes Sir, I know what the email said."
  3. I'm a little hesitant to post this last one because I don't want to seem pithy, but it really makes the point. There is a self-proclaimed "Reputation Management" company that is advertising heavily on another automotive forum. The copy of their ad is just 16 words, and they have misspelled 3 of them. Worse than that, two of the misspelled words are "Reputation" and "Management."
I think the little things like spelling and grammar still have their place in this fast-paced digital era and they are certainly worth the effort in important communications. It isn't the cultural norm in my area for my kids to answer "Yes Sir" or "Yes Ma'am" when they speak to an adult, but it is still worth the effort for me to teach them to do so because it impacts the way that we are both perceived.
 
#8
I understand Ryan, that's a funny screw up, but I think that this is just an evolution of the languaje. In all it seems that we can still understand Jeff (seems that the topic is moving in that direction) but in reality what's bad about it? Just our natural disposition to fight change. I understand the fact that a company must be proffesional when writting things, but our way of communicating is evolving all the time and mobile is speeding up that process.
 
#10
Ryan Leslie said:
I'm a little hesitant to post this last one because I don't want to seem pithy, but it really makes the point. There is a self-proclaimed "Reputation Management" company that is advertising heavily on another automotive forum. The copy of their ad is just 16 words, and they have misspelled 3 of them. Worse than that, two of the misspelled words are "Reputation" and "Management."
Click to expand...

Is this the one?

ScreenHunter_03Jul261535.jpg
 
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