22 Words

Experiments in getting to the point.

I wrote their instead of they’re in a comment today. Painfully frustrating, but even so.

I’ve decided to never post corrective comments about my own stupid typos.

But people will think I’m an idiot!

Yep, that’s humility.

19 Comments »

  Adam (Tampa, FL) wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 8:54 am

May *we* post corrective comments about your typos? :)

If so, do split infinitives count?

  Rachel wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:12 am

I do it all the time. It is humbling indeed.

  Jenna wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:19 am

but you will post a corrective blog entry instead?

:-)

  Kellie wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:22 am

Abraham I can tell you and it seems your extended family place a high priority on grammar. I wish someone had with me- I am always making mistatkes.

  Abraham Piper wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:30 am

Adam, yes and no.

Jenna, absolutely.

  Lance wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:40 am

I don’t think YOUR an idiot.

  AJ wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:44 am

Can one be proud of being so humble that one let’s his/her typos remain uncorrected?

  Abraham Piper wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:47 am

Yes, AJ. We can’t be too careful.

But at least with that kind of pride the internet is less cluttered.

  rachel wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 9:53 am

best typo ever:

my mom wrote a note for the contractor about fixing the clothes chute.

“close shoot.”

i think she’s an auditory learner …..

for myself, i will absolutely delete my incorrect comment and re-post it correctly. but it’s only because i wouldn’t want to lead anyone grammatically astray ….. at least, that’s what i’m going to maintain for now.

  Frank Turk wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 10:03 am

1. Use Firefox as your browser so you get basic spell-check support.

2. Use Haloscan for comments so you can edit stuff after it is posted.

3. Admit that your blog (any blog actually) is a really big scratch pad, and everyone makes typos. It’s a little weird to think that we should be lavish with grace about (for example) prodigal siblings, but somehow we are red-faced over typos. It should be easy to give grace for a typo, and to receive it when we are the perpetrators.

  Bet wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 10:08 am

Not to rub salt in the wound, but you also recently wrote it’s instead of its. :-)

Easy mistakes to make, but frustrating all the same. (The mistake was in a comment to the post about “People will want to read whatever you tell them not to, so…” ;)

  Robin (PENSIEVE) wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 11:10 am

Adam was outta the gate with my first thought; on second, I think you’ve already addressed split infinitives here (or was that just ending sentences with prepositions?).

On occasion I’m a typo-acknowledger…it’s best when I remain ignorant, so I don’t KNOW I looked like an idiot.

Plus, I use punctuation for effect and at my discretion…I’m Queen of the Ellipses.

  Nancy Scott wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 12:06 pm

What’s more important? The letter of the law…or it’s intent. And, if we neglect the letter…do we necessarily lose the intent?

  tina b wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 1:53 pm

hmm…are you sure it wasn’t “their” instead of “there”? :)

sorry if i’m beating a dead horse…

  Tony wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 3:33 pm

I wonder how having or not having a means of correcting one’s mistakes fits into the discussion…

I got honked at by 2 cars this morning for not paying attention to the green arrow. They honked, I went. I really had no option of trying to correct or explain myself.

If humility is admitting (even if it’s just to myself) that I can be an idiot, then, I was humble. But if it’s not choosing to correct myself when I have the opportunity to, then maybe there wasn’t true humility to have been had in my green arrow incident.

As I think about this more, I think humility is admitting or being OK with the fact that I can be an idiot.

  Chris wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 4:33 pm

I posted a corrective comment in your college post to correct a typo in a previous comment I made. Just proof that one should always read before hitting ‘Enter’ or be considered a humble idiot. With a college degree.

  Abraham Piper wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 4:36 pm

Humble college-educated idiocy is what I’ve always aspired to.

  ED wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 5:54 pm

You’re pretty much running that risk either way.

  karen wrote @ May 1, 2008 at 10:53 pm

on people thinking me an idiot: isn’t that why i blog? to prove i’m not? God have mercy.

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