I have dyslexia and it affects me sometimes when I'm interpreting words.

For example someone recently pointed out that Lens of the Day didn't mean a lens every day but that a special lens chosen for THAT day. I'd always thought it meant a lens every day and it never even occurred to me the other meaning.

The result?? I'm careful about strong reactions to something until I've double checked that I fully understand what's going on.

My advise to others....after writing something, look at it with a fresh eye to see if it could be interpreted in a different way then the one intended.

Found another example of this:

The blue pay box has a "close forever" button on the bottom. For the longest time I never closed out the blue box because I took it literally that it would never open again and I thought....how will I know what my monthly earnings are if it closes forever?

Dumb, I know, but that's my brain.

Last edited by Ener-G (09/17/2009 6:48 am)

Ener-G wrote:

Found another example of this:

The blue pay box has a "close forever" button on the bottom. For the longest time I never closed out the blue box because I took it literally that it would never open again and I thought....how will I know what my monthly earnings are if it closes forever?

Dumb, I know, but that's my brain.

Don't feel bad.  I had the same problem. 


Okay so here is my story.  I am an Electrical/Systems/Software Engineer.  I am not a writer.  When I was working it was the joke of the office that my emails were totally contained in the subject line.  I had a code inspection once and misspelled a comment and during the inspection closeout my lead documented that my mistake was due to lack of education.  He was very funny and we laughed for years about that.  Anyhow, I am great at math and science but my grammar and spelling just plain old S U C K.  It is not easy for me to write with fluff.  So what I write sounds hard/harsh/blunt???.  I try not to post very much.  I also do not post in the critique me section because I do not have anything to offer in return.

HorseAndPony wrote:

Okay so here is my story.  I am an Electrical/Systems/Software Engineer.  I am not a writer.  When I was working it was the joke of the office that my emails were totally contained in the subject line.  I had a code inspection once and misspelled a comment and during the inspection closeout my lead documented that my mistake was due to lack of education.  He was very funny and we laughed for years about that.  Anyhow, I am great at math and science but my grammar and spelling just plain old S U C K.  It is not easy for me to write with fluff.  So what I write sounds hard/harsh/blunt???.  I try not to post very much.  I also do not post in the critique me section because I do not have anything to offer in return.

Well, this is eloquent and wordy as far as I'm concerned. Maybe you've picked up a writing trick or two.

Thanks for your input everyone and also to those of you who have emailed me - I will be getting back to you soon.

BFuniv.com wrote:

I always try to remember that communications are never perfect. Problems in understanding come from the sender or receiver, and usually from both. Thomas Jefferson famously said "If angry count to ten before you respond, if very angry count to one hundred." Most of us follow Mark Twain's paraphrase, "if angry count to ten, if very angry, curse." (quotes from memory, not concise)

No excuse for being obtuse. It comes naturally.

ie: Just because what I think I heard you say is not what you thought i understood does not mean my reply is very different than it would have been if we had actually communicated. If we have something to say, do we ever really listen to what comes before? In forums it is worse; is this a reply to the thread, another comment, or just a tangent that sprang to mind?

Add other's very real conditions and circumstances we may not know about - we all need to slow down and breath deeply; and maybe count to seventy times seven.

Thump. One, two, three, four, five etc.etc. Just kidding It's why I use smileys to try and convey a form of body language. I have been totally deaf for 37 years now but have a 'Cochlear ear implant' for the last 18 years now. I have written about it, but what I really want to say is that it gets frustrating. People just do not understand. I personally, even prior to going deaf have always battled with following instructions. My maths teacher once told me that I was the most unusual boy he had ever seen, because all the easy things I find hard and all the hard things I find easy.  However, once I'm shown something I pick up fast. Simple put, I have spent hours on the Answer Deck, it just goes through one ear and out the other. People don't believe me when I say they have the same problem. My children will say," no one taught me how to use my cellphone." IMO they are wrong, they talk to their mates at school and there is always some one who is ahead with the same phone and they show them. Viola they now know what they didn't before.

Doesn't happen with me and cannot use the phone, so no one to talk me through this. Video's don't help me much but a good lens done diagramatically is a boon. A well dressed bullit, did a few like this.


Anyways, the long and short of this is I have a life long habit of putting my foot in it, completely unintentionally. Due to my life experiences, I like people to be blunt and to the point. All this pussyfooting around and innuendo on the forum drives me nuts. I do however try my best to accede to this. At times it's a tough job. I miss The Bard.

I agree with you Granny, the internet is the great equaliser.  It doesn't matter what you look like or sound like, and I think in forums like this we excuse grammar a lot too, especially since a lot of people online don't write correctly anyhow.  It's partly because some don't know how to use good grammar or can't spell too well of course, but we also get lazy when writing online, whether it's forums or emails, and it's excused these days.

The thing that it is hardest to get round is a person's attitude, because you don't get to see their personality, not until you have read their forum posts and got to know them better.   It's sometimes easy to upset someone, because you can't see if they have a disability, or a dislike of a particular topic etc.

On SquidU at least I think most of us are easy going, and accept that we all have different personalities, nationalities, religions, handicaps etc.   

My biggest handicap is like Spook - things go in one ear and out of the other.  These days more than ever I have trouble focusing on things, and it makes me wonder if I have been ADD all my life.  I just asked Debbie, and she says probably yes, the first person that has ever backed me up on this thought.

I think this will make a great article AJ.  We are so proud of what you are doing and the articles and lenses that you are creating.

poddys wrote:

My biggest handicap is like Spook - things go in one ear and out of the other. ....................

I think this will make a great article AJ.  We are so proud of what you are doing and the articles and lenses that you are creating.

Tony - things going in one ear and out the other - you are a bloke for goodness sake

Aw - thank you for what you said about the articles and lenses. I am blushing now.

And thank you everyone for joining in this discussion. The whole thought process started as a result of me focussing on the whole Etiquette thing and Bambi starting a thread about how we are with people on here.

I started to wonder about how many times we may be rubbed up the wrong way by people because we just look at the words and we never wonder about the person behind them.

Sometimes we can be so quick to judge and not stop to think about the invisible conditions that affect some people and the way they go about networking.

I have had some great feedback via email and will be sending some specific questions out soon to those who have volunteered to give me their views. I am hoping it will not only make for an interesting article but it may stop us from being so quick to judge others. And yes, sometimes I know I am guilty about that. As Grannysage says, I have typed up an instant response many a time only to delete before I publish - thank goodness

Spook wrote:

As to spelling, I find that the PC seems to hypnotise you. Writing by hand I make very few spelling mistakes but as soon as I get on here, I'm riddled with them. Using Chrome at least you get a red alert (although doesn't tell you how to spell it.) In IE 8, no such thing.(Using at the moment.)  I never would have spotted that in my first post I put 'simple' instead of 'simply' without your post Poddy.

Actually/also, there's a lot of proven science on the 'muscle memory' of handwriting - a lot of people may not remember the spelling visually, but CAN write it out...

Oh, I'm willing, I don't think i said ^_^

Ach, that's alright. I forgot to say earlier.


(..goes back to making people fill out MY survey about marine reserves )

The article has now gone "live" on Squidlog and I have started a new thread to that effect on here so I wont leave the link .

Thank you everyone who contacted me directly and answered my specific questions (in which case you should have had a thankyou note from me) and thank you everyone who has left notes on here.

There's been some very thoughtful and insightful comments left on the article on SquidLog and it is clear that so many people really care about this issue. Makes me proud to be part of this Community.

Thank you all

Much love 'n hugs
AJ