Live data from Hacker News

Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

wsj.com

301–310 of 316 posts

Re: Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

#301

I see this at my $megagorp job. The top brass don't do that much written communication, but when they do they are absolutely shooting from the hip. It's not as bad as Epstein but it's a strong "I've already started reading the next email while I'm typing this one" vibes. FWIW I don't have a problem with it at all. As the article mentioned there's an aspect of power politics (I'm important enough not to have to worry…

> capitalisation is just unimportant Capitalization is the difference between: - helping your friend Jack off a horse, and - helping your friend jack off a horse. (Not original, but memorable!)

Frankly, using correct English grammar is the difference between knowing your shit, and knowing you're shit.

Re: Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

#302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same reason we all still wear suits I guess.

Yep. By going out of your way to dress up for an important occasion, you signify that you understand its special nature and are trying to help honor that.

Norms on that have changed over the years. Some people used to wear suits every day no matter what they were doing. It turns out that norms on formal attire and correspondence are subject to change and are no more fundamental than what time we have our clocks set to. People are free to interpret that as disrespect at their own peril. I personally do not appreciate other people's outdated notions of respect being imposed on me. I don't recall signing a waiver when I was born indicating I agreed to be subject to the fashion whims of those who came before.

It's probably smart to wear a suit to a formal occasion but IMO it's quite silly to interpret casual emails as disrespectful. As long as the email respects your time with efficient communication, that should be enough, and will save everyone busywork in the long run.

Re: Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

#303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> capitalisation is just unimportant Capitalization is the difference between: - helping your friend Jack off a horse, and - helping your friend jack off a horse. (Not original, but memorable!)

Contrived examples are fun but have nothing to do with the actual reasons people demand "correct" writing. These confusions do not happen in real life. The reason people actually care is only ever to do with in-group signalling or power politics.

It's just an amusing example, not intended to be illustrative.

Confusion can be real though, and certainly speed of comprehension is enhanced by proper grammar.

> The reason people actually care is only ever to do with in-group signalling or power politics.

This is just silly. If you believe that, you may have some half-baked adolescent agenda that you haven't grown out of. Good luck out there.

Re: Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

#304
post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> capitalisation is just unimportant Capitalization is the difference between: - helping your friend Jack off a horse, and - helping your friend jack off a horse. (Not original, but memorable!)

Natural languages have inherent ambiguity. That includes your grammar with capitalization, any kind of standard english grammar of which there are dozens Which person does Jack refer to? What if you have 2 friends named Jack? Does "horse" refer to a member of a class of animal or something else? Sorry but your examples are full of indecipherable nonsense. But I guess if you just pretend that everything you write is w…

This is perhaps the silliest possible response I could imagine to what is intended to be an amusing example and non-illustrative of the more common real-world confusions.

Which are real.

> I guess your teacher gave you that example, but you ABSOLUTELY FAILED to understand the meaning of their lesson.

Wow, you sure are defensive about the notion that communications protocols are most useful when they are consistent and predictable. You may think you've nailed me as an illiterate, but I conclude that you've nailed yourself as a tilter at windmills.

Re: Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

#305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony of replacing one coping mechanism (the elites are 4D chess players) with a different one (the elites are morons) is not lost in me.

¿Por Qué No Los Dos?

Yeah, that one right there.

It takes a truly abnormal degree of intelligence/deviousness to manipulate global narratives.

That doesn't mean you have the basic bare minimum intelligence/decency to at least try and leave the world a better place than you found it; a concept most 'simpler' folk understand with a minimum of guidance.

The Epstein class are 'intelligent' enough to rationalize away their misdeeds in all sorts of ways, sometimes even intentionally - but not intelligent enough to realize that they're doing so, or what they're losing.

Re: Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

#309

Please stop overthinking and listening to publications that insist on creating some kind of a caste system. I didn't bother to even read the article (it's behind a paywall, I don't read articles with nonsense headlines). There is this need to separate the behavior of wealthy/powerful people vs those who are poorer/hold less powerful positions. The behavior's the same when it comes to writing and sending messages. I'v…

Also the use of the word "elite" that ties into the same kind of wordplay training that's used in cult-like subservient thinking. Are we suppose to bow? Come on!

The word is ruling class - not elite, not special, not more important. The current ruling class is everyone tied to the epstein file, including a malignant foreign government and some members of our own intelligence agencies. Not elite!

Re: Why the global elite gave up on spelling and grammar

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It is funny that spelling and grammar matter more when writing to an admissions officer than to a potential business partner Things that matter in academia world don't always matter in the real world and vice versa.

Right, the deeper question is why it “matters” in academia and not business. Because in some sense academia is the real world.

> Because in some sense academia is the real world

Isn't at all, it's a completely different system that exists beside the real world with different incentive and reward systems.

Post reply on HN