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Journal Chacham's Journal: Verbiage: Slow reader, catch mistakes, continuity. 15

Journal by Chacham

So, i'm a slow reader. I'm still trying to improve it, and with mild success. I now preview books and authors, and overview a chapter before reading it. All in all it helps, but my actual speed is slow.

There is an advatage, however. I catch mistakes. While many people assume what the word says, i don't. And that may be why i am so slow. Which makes me wonder as to which is the cause, and which is the effect.

Oddly enough, i make spelling mistakes myself that i don't catch on the proofread. Yet, if i read it again at a later date, i do. Probably the re-read material is glossed over, since i already know what it says, and thus don't do an actual read.

Latest caught mistake is in "The Career Programmer", reviewed on solidus full-stop a short time ago, by Christopher Duncan. On page 138, third line, at the end, it says "desert" where it should say "dessert".

Other people catch mistakes in movies. That is something i'm not so good at. My conjecture, therefore, is that continuity and accuracy are not related, at least as perceived by the mind. Just something to think about.

[
    Wow. Stop.
    Such short thoughts. Stop.
    Oh well. Stop.
]

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Verbiage: Slow reader, catch mistakes, continuity. More

Verbiage: Slow reader, catch mistakes, continuity.

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  • I'm what could be rudely described as a grammar/spelling nazi... if I would actually correct people all the time (which I don't). As a contrast to you, though, I read at about 500 wpm with relatively high accuracy.
    I have no love for the specific names or parts of language, but I know what "fits" and what looks right. Some claim that's inherent with learning the language natively, but I disagree... some native speakers are the worst spellers and grammaticists I've ever seen.

    I also do not pick out contin
    • but I disagree... some native speakers are the worst spellers and grammaticists I've ever seen.

      So many reason can be said. Perhaps its just if someone cares. Or has an appreciation for language in general.
  • A favorite game of mine is looking for most "obvious" spelling / word mistakes, such as in professionally made signs. I mean, when you're talking about a 50,000 word book and you find one word that was typoed into being a different but still valid word, that's acceptable to me (a pain, but still understandable). Or in the case you describe, where somebody flat out uses the wrong word. Bigger points for finding spelling mistakes, that do not result in a dictionary word (and thus should have been caught by
  • There is an advatage, however. I catch mistakes. While many people assume what the word says, i don't. And that may be why i am so slow. Which makes me wonder as to which is the cause, and which is the effect.

    I suffer from exactly the opposite -- I sometimes read so fast that I make up new mistakes on the go :)

    And yes, I too tend to find typos all the time, although they don't irritate me. But what's much worse is all kinds of errors someone has made in translation. A lousy translation can simply ruin ev

    • I sometimes read so fast that I make up new mistakes on the go

      I've suffered from that when i *thought* it said something else. Then do a double take. :)

      And translations can be bad. In anime, and movies in general, i prefer subs to dubs, to minimize the issue.
  • I think everyone has the problem with proofreading their own work. There are some tricks to get around it. If you read it out loud, you are much more likely to trip over the mistakes. Even then you might still gloss over some, but there's one more trick: read it out loud to someone else. It's really wierd but it works -- I can read it to myself and not have a problem but when I read it out loud to someone the mistakes stop me cold (the mis-spelled word might as well be in a foreign language, it's just impos
    • Even then you might still gloss over some, but there's one more trick: read it out loud to someone else.

      Neat idea.

      Nice comment.

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