Monday, October 21, 2019
Technology and Typos
Technology and Typos Technology and Typos Technology and Typos By Mark Nichol Just a week after a typographical error in campaign materials for Mitt Romney prompted newspaper headlines, more spelling mistakes by the Romney campaign and the Obama administration alike made the news. A misspelling of America in Romneyââ¬â¢s iPhone ââ¬Å"With Mittâ⬠app was followed by a reference to Ronald Reagan spelled ââ¬Å"Ronald Reganâ⬠in a slide show at a donor event, a misspelling in a video of ââ¬Å"sneak-peakâ⬠instead of ââ¬Å"sneak-peekâ⬠(tsk! nobody pointed out that in addition, the hyphen is extraneous), and an invitation to buy ââ¬Å"officalâ⬠campaign gear. (The latter two errors appeared on Romneyââ¬â¢s Facebook page.) The Obama administration has a few red check marks on its assignments, too: Last year, the White Houseââ¬â¢s Twitter account misspelled Libya, and Obama himself was seen misspelling Syracuse. He was also called out for a couple of mistakes in the spelling of the names of historical figures in his 1995 memoir. What is the world coming to? In the vicious world of politics, these flubs have provided hooks to hang vitriol on. The misspelling by Romneyââ¬â¢s staff of America and Reagan, two key words in Republican ideology, and the other mistakes associated with his campaign have been exploited to attack his suitability for higher office a specious argument, regardless of what you may think about just that. The same goes for Obama, though he is directly responsible for the mistakes in his book. But these errors do provide valuable lessons for everyone. Most important, just as evolution does not mean ââ¬Å"improvementâ⬠(the basic definition is ââ¬Å"changeâ⬠), progress does not mean ââ¬Å"things get better.â⬠And a corollary point is this: Just because you can doesnââ¬â¢t mean you should. How did these errors happen? Because it was easy for them to happen. I wasnââ¬â¢t at the scene of any of these misdemeanor crimes against the English language, but my guess is that in the case of the Romney campaignââ¬â¢s typos, and the Obama administrationââ¬â¢s misspelling of Libya, a single person was involved: Tap on a few keys, click a couple of buttons, and presto! the app is launched, the video text is entered, the website copy is live. In the past, political campaigns, like other organizations, took a more measured approach to getting the words out: Drafts were circulated, revised, vetted. Errors occurred, but seldom, because the process rendered the environment hostile to mistakes. Now, however, technology allows one person to have control over dissemination (and sensible people will realize that even if multiple pairs of eyeballs were involved in any of these boo-boos, none of those sensory organs belonged to Romney or Obama himself). Why is it any different now? Why are decision makers so careless in assuming that just because a procedure can be simplified, the protocol for effecting the outcome of the procedure can be minimized as well? Because easier translates to faster and cheaper. But what about quality? Youââ¬â¢ll notice nobody defended these errors by saying, ââ¬Å"You know what we meant by Amerciaâ⬠or ââ¬Å"Everybody knows who ââ¬ËRonald Reganââ¬â¢ refers toâ⬠or ââ¬Å"The Libyans spell their countryââ¬â¢s name al-Là «biyyah, so go figure.â⬠Nor were any announcements made about any heads rolling as a result of the mistakes. We shouldnââ¬â¢t shrug these errors off, however. There are more pressing issues in politics than an apparent aversion to spell-checking, but clear communication is compromised when the ease of use of technology enables carelessness. These mistakes are symptoms of a decline in quality control in our written language and an attendant apathy about the issue. And when impressionable younger people, already inured to the attraction of text-speak, see that our society is blasà © and blithe about how sequences of alphabetical characters are displayed (spelling errors are already ubiquitous, whether on billboards or chalkboards), they receive a subliminal message that precision and perfection are not worthy (if ultimately unattainable) goals. I donââ¬â¢t mean to come across as an alarmist reactionary. Again, weââ¬â¢ve got more important things to take care of. But in the meantime, we shouldnââ¬â¢t let the little things slip away unheeded. And Iââ¬â¢ve admitted making errors myself. But as we use our handy little keyboards and keypads, letââ¬â¢s all be more careful out there. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureRules for Capitalization in TitlesWoof or Weft?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.