Grammar Nazis - public service or public enemy?
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DonDaddyD wrote:MrChuck,
Do you form an opinion of people based on how good there grammar is. There isn't enough oxygen to sustain two people up there, I reckon.
I mean based on the serious discussions but grammar on a forum, really?
What do you do:
'Used one 'o' instead of two for the word 'too'. Therefore must be a chav?'
Seems a tad judgemental to me.
To be fair, presentation does have a great deal to do with how someone's ideas are received by their audience. I mean, theres a good reason why people in positions of authority dress well and don't speak in strong regional accents.0 -
If you want a proper math problem that caused a bit of debate try this one.Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?--
Chris
Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/50 -
DonDaddyD wrote:...within an informal media construct, its about interpretation and understanding first. My posts have been littered with mistakes it hasn't stopped you from understanding them or taking them seriously it hasn't reduced their validity.
Really? I'd be astonished if mistakes in postings didn't devalue their content.
It's a written medium... the quality of the writing must affect the reader's interpretation. A well-written post will surely be more persuasive than an average one, and a post that contains errors will carry less weight.
It's not just about understanding the content. If someone's expressing an opinion, then the reader has to assess their credibility, and they don't have a lot to go on.
Depends what and where you're posting, too, though- This is "chat", so an informal tone is fine, especially if you're just batting ideas about, instead of making a serious point. If you're trying to persuade people that they should vote for AV, though, I think you'll find it easier if you come across as smart, educated and informed.... and it's much harder to get that across if your written English is poor, whatever the reason.
Cheers,
W.0 -
Sketchley wrote:If you want a proper math problem that caused a bit of debate try this one.Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?
:twisted:
Yes, you should always switch. Certainly not intuitive though.0 -
Depends if you want a goat or a car though. The correct answer is indeed Yes, assuming you want a ropey motor over a cheese-machine-cum-lawn-mower. Each to their own.Sketchley wrote:If you want a proper math problem that caused a bit of debate try this one.Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?
Have we come up with the answer to the thread's implicit question yet? Seven pages is pushing it - we normally settle Helmets in four or fewer.0 -
Sketchley wrote:If you want a proper math problem that caused a bit of debate try this one.Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?
'Fraid I know that one already...0 -
I think I'd prefer the goat, and therefore wouldn't switch... or wait, would I switch? If I was going for the goat from the out, I wouldn't... 66% -> 50% is not improving odds. If I changed my mind after I saw the cute li'l goat from door 3, would I?
Mind you, I could just ask politely if I could possibly have the goat from door 3...0 -
Sketchley wrote:Yes sorry I was arguing in binary.
As they say, there are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
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WGWarburton wrote:DonDaddyD wrote:...within an informal media construct, its about interpretation and understanding first. My posts have been littered with mistakes it hasn't stopped you from understanding them or taking them seriously it hasn't reduced their validity.
Really? I'd be astonished if mistakes in postings didn't devalue their content.
It's a written medium... the quality of the writing must affect the reader's interpretation. A well-written post will surely be more persuasive than an average one, and a post that contains errors will carry less weight.
It's not just about understanding the content. If someone's expressing an opinion, then the reader has to assess their credibility, and they don't have a lot to go on.
Depends what and where you're posting, too, though- This is "chat", so an informal tone is fine, especially if you're just batting ideas about, instead of making a serious point. If you're trying to persuade people that they should vote for AV, though, I think you'll find it easier if you come across as smart, educated and informed.... and it's much harder to get that across if your written English is poor, whatever the reason.
Cheers,
W.
You are of course correct, as are the others who have argued this position (CIB, Greg66 etc). However the question isn't wether or not good grammar is important, the question is wether or not it is socially acceptable to take it upon yourself to edcuate others, who have given no indciation that they wish to be edcuated by some random smartie pants on the internet.
Do you really want to be Harry Enfield's "You don't want to do it like that" character?
I would rate my own writing as average. I understand the difference between their, they're and there. Sometimes I use the wrong one when posting on here and trying to get the idea on the page before anyone notices I'm on the internet., occasionally I'll go back and amend it, more often I'll not bother.
I don't know what a split infinitive is nor a preposition. Perhaps I should learn but there are many other thing I would rather learn or be doing and frankly, life is too short.
(I may mean whether instead of wether but hey, let's live dangerously)
(I have however amended 'to short', let's not go too far)
Also this post has been diffcult to type as my scroll bar is doing that wierd sh1t bouncy up and down type thing“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Underscore wrote:Sketchley wrote:Yes sorry I was arguing in binary.
As they say, there are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
For my first year teaching practice, I taught binary to a class of 8-year-olds.
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educate
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indication
I'm blaming the bouncy scroll bar“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Switch, win the car, then politely ask what's happening to the goats. Unless they're on sale or return from the local goat farm you'd be quids in. I can't imagine many game show producers being keen on looking after a couple of goats that they were hoping to palm off to the punters, except maybe Mr & Mrs. They liked small ruminants.lost_in_thought wrote:I think I'd prefer the goat, and therefore wouldn't switch... or wait, would I switch? If I was going for the goat from the out, I wouldn't... 66% -> 50% is not improving odds. If I changed my mind after I saw the cute li'l goat from door 3, would I?
Mind you, I could just ask politely if I could possibly have the goat from door 3...
Let us now recall the Vicar Of Dibley sketch.
Vicar - "Has anyone here ever had sex with a ghost?
Jim - "No, no, no, no. Yes. I have"
Vicar (incredulous) - "What? You've had sex with a ghost?"
Jim - "Oh sorry. I thought you said goat".0 -
CiB wrote:
Switch, win the car, then politely ask what's happening to the goats. Unless they're on sale or return from the local goat farm you'd be quids in. I can't imagine many game show producers being keen on looking after a couple of goats that they were hoping to palm off to the punters, except maybe Mr & Mrs. They liked small ruminants.lost_in_thought wrote:I think I'd prefer the goat, and therefore wouldn't switch... or wait, would I switch? If I was going for the goat from the out, I wouldn't... 66% -> 50% is not improving odds. If I changed my mind after I saw the cute li'l goat from door 3, would I?
Mind you, I could just ask politely if I could possibly have the goat from door 3...
Let us now recall the Vicar Of Dibley sketch.
Vicar - "Has anyone here ever had sex with a ghost?
Jim - "No, no, no, no, Yes. I have"
Vicar (incredulous) - "What? You've had sex with a ghost?"
Jim - "Oh sorry. I thought you said goat".
Spark 'im in da i 1 time! For being nang. ya get mi blud!
Kiss-me-teet!
Then rob his ass for the whip and the goat's, drive the goats to mi nan get her to run me a curry goat. Man iz on big tings cos that's 'ow tings ah gwan round here!Food Chain number = 4
A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game0 -
WGWarburton wrote:DonDaddyD wrote:...within an informal media construct, its about interpretation and understanding first. My posts have been littered with mistakes it hasn't stopped you from understanding them or taking them seriously it hasn't reduced their validity.
Really? I'd be astonished if mistakes in postings didn't devalue their content.
It's a written medium... the quality of the writing must affect the reader's interpretation. A well-written post will surely be more persuasive than an average one, and a post that contains errors will carry less weight.
It's not just about understanding the content. If someone's expressing an opinion, then the reader has to assess their credibility, and they don't have a lot to go on.
Depends what and where you're posting, too, though- This is "chat", so an informal tone is fine, especially if you're just batting ideas about, instead of making a serious point. If you're trying to persuade people that they should vote for AV, though, I think you'll find it easier if you come across as smart, educated and informed.... and it's much harder to get that across if your written English is poor, whatever the reason.
Cheers,
W.
This is chat and therefore grammatical correctness doesn't matter as much over and above to the overall point being made.
Why?
Because after all the seriousness of discussion and well constructed points are made. The conversation derails, we laugh and at the end of it all we close down our web pages and return to the work where grammar and accuracy are likely to matter when putting those points across.
In other words this place doesn't have to be a narky environment too... and some of us don't have to be victims of the bitter.Food Chain number = 4
A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game0 -
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Shirley wrote:...For my first year teaching practice, I taught binary to a class of 8-year-olds.
1000 year olds, surely?
Cheers,
W.0 -
lost_in_thought wrote:I think I'd prefer the goat, and therefore wouldn't switch... or wait, would I switch? If I was going for the goat from the out, I wouldn't... 66% -> 50% is not improving odds. If I changed my mind after I saw the cute li'l goat from door 3, would I?
Mind you, I could just ask politely if I could possibly have the goat from door 3...
Satanist.0 -
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TailWindHome wrote:
I'm blaming the bouncy scroll bar
If anyone knows, please tell me how to fix this. It's insanely annoying, and causes my speelling to go al ovr te plce.0 -
I'm thick with maths, why do you need to switch with the goat thing? Surely once you know door No.3 has a goat behind it, then it is 50/50 whether the car is behind door No.1 or door No.2, so it really makes no difference whether you stick or twist. The original odds when there were 3 doors to choose from are no longer relevant? What am I missing? (all sorts probably... :oops: )0
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BigMat wrote:I'm thick with maths, why do you need to switch with the goat thing? Surely once you know door No.3 has a goat behind it, then it is 50/50 whether the car is behind door No.1 or door No.2, so it really makes no difference whether you stick or twist. The original odds when there were 3 doors to choose from are no longer relevant? What am I missing? (all sorts probably... :oops: )
OK, imagine there are 20 doors, the chances of you picking the right door first time are 20-1, pretty poor odds, to put it another way, the chance of you picking the wrong door are 95%. The quiz-master then removes 18 other wrong answers, leaving you with a 50:50 chance? Not really; he knows where the real one is, so the odds are still 5% that you got it right, and 95% you got it wrong. The odds remain the same, it's just that it doesn't seem that way.0 -
Precisely - you have a 1/3 chance it could be 1 - you have a 2/3 chance it could be 2 or 3. You know whats behind 3 so there is still a 2/3 chance it will be behind 2 or 3 but now of course those odds apply to door 2. 2/3 chance it will be door 2. Of course, I already have a car so I'd stick with door 1.0
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Nah, there are two remaining doors. So assuming one has the prize and the other contains the got the actual real term odds are 50:50.
From the quizmasters perspective the odds may apper to be 5% because he knows the answer and he hasn't given an answer.
The contestant is just being dicked with so doesn't know what to think.
For the outsider looking in there is now only 1 right answer and 1 wrong answer so it's 50:50.Food Chain number = 4
A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game0 -
UndercoverElephant wrote:BigMat wrote:I'm thick with maths, why do you need to switch with the goat thing? Surely once you know door No.3 has a goat behind it, then it is 50/50 whether the car is behind door No.1 or door No.2, so it really makes no difference whether you stick or twist. The original odds when there were 3 doors to choose from are no longer relevant? What am I missing? (all sorts probably... :oops: )
OK, imagine there are 20 doors, the chances of you picking the right door first time are 20-1, pretty poor odds, to put it another way, the chance of you picking the wrong door are 95%. The quiz-master then removes 18 other wrong answers, leaving you with a 50:50 chance? Not really; he knows where the real one is, so the odds are still 5% that you got it right, and 95% you got it wrong. The odds remain the same, it's just that it doesn't seem that way.
but, is there any difference in odds between the two remaining doors? therefore, is there any benefit in changing your choice? Surely the available odds when you made the previous decision are no longer relevant? you have two choices, the chance of making the right decision are equal for each surely? I'm not going to comment further on this as I fear I will end up looking stupid...0 -
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Don't worry I just posted.Food Chain number = 4
A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game0 -
when you choose you have a 1/3 chance - if you switch you are enjoying the sum total of the chance that the car is behind doors 2 or 3 - 2/3. Much better odds (as 3 is now out of the picture).0
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clarkey cat wrote:when you choose you have a 1/3 chance - if you switch you are enjoying the sum total of the chance that the car is behind doors 2 or 3 - 2/3. Much better odds (as 3 is now out of the picture).
The odds are better - but that has no impact on wether or not you should change your choice.
I think“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
If we stay with the 20 doors example for a bit. You make the choice and immediately the quiz-master asks if you want to swap your box for all of the others, you'd swap, right? Nineteen boxes vs. the one you just picked, it's a no-brainer. Just because he shows you what's in the other eighteen boxes doesn't change the fact that he's offering you all of the nineteen other boxes if you swap.0
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DonDaddyD wrote:Nah, there are two remaining doors. So assuming one has the prize and the other contains the got the actual real term odds are 50:50.
From the quizmasters perspective the odds may apper to be 5% because he knows the answer and he hasn't given an answer.
The contestant is just being dicked with so doesn't know what to think.
For the outsider looking in there is now only 1 right answer and 1 wrong answer so it's 50:50.
Yep, that's what most assume at first, myself included.
having 2 remaining doors doesn't mean the odds are 50/50. If you started with 2 doors then yes, but you started with 3 and the quizmaster has opened a door based on his knowledge of the winning door, which is what skews the odds.0
