I believe in language almost religiously. I spent a third of my life studying it, scrutinizing it, creating it--and spent even longer using it--pushing its limitations, exploring how it works, because I want to know how to use it best. Language is how we organize, how we help each other. Or don't. And when we don't, it's often because we can't help each other, we don't have a mutually understood language, and without that, it's difficult to feel the empathy necessary to move us. If we're on this planet for any reason at all, I believe it's at least to help one another. And that puts language right at the heart of human purpose. Our languages are our culture, our laws, our education and information.
I came to a point where I felt like there was little left to explore. I had to create. And I dedicated my life to writing, to using what I'd learned, and use it best. Mark Twain is one of my favorites. He revolutionized how we write by glorifying the way that we actually talk. He loved the sound of local accents, and adored the charm of his own. His work is directly, though not fully, responsible for the shift in how the world treats education. It was only available to the upper classes, but when literature changed, so did where we thought education would benefit.
That's the power of language. That's what each and every language user can do, and does everyday. But there are problems, like I said. We often misunderstand, often intentionally. I'm writing this mostly in the hope that I can put a few thoughts in your head to play with, so I won't bother trying to change people's intentions. But the misunderstandings--what can we do about them?
I don't believe in a global language. I don't believe we should have one. I love language, not hate it, and I want to keep alive every possible means of telling a story. A global language encourages people to leave their regional languages behind. There are six thousand languages on this planet, and the five largest are spoken natively by 2 billion people. Twenty languages die every year. That means the last person to speak that language natively passes away. Many of those languages were never written down, never recorded. Our ancestors, the grandparents of your and my grandparents-plus-a-few, told each other--in languages we will never know, never see, never hear--how their day went. Think about that. New languages are born, we call them creole languages, in as little as twenty years--a single generation. Surprisingly fast, but not a rate that stops the downward trend. And yet, if we did stop it, we would halt all the progress we are making by growing global languages.
That's just one of many problems the world is facing with communication. It's not even the most pressing, just one of the most interesting. In Mark Twain's time, he invested in a machine called the automatic typesetter, which failed where the linotype succeeded, because a problem they faced was the labor it took to put out a newspaper on a daily basis. A funny little anecdote: Alexander Bell approached Mark Twain about investing in the telephone as Twain was investing in any nifty invention he thought would turn a profit. Twain apparently thought to himself, "Well, I'd have one, and my publisher would have one, and the newspaper--but where's the real market?" And turned down the opportunity to invest in the telephone.
That anecdote brings me to the thrust of my point. Yes, surprise, I have one. The telephone, it turns out, is the answer to a whole host of problems we've been banging our heads on tables about. Nobody would have reasonably guessed that in as little as five years ago. We have the tools to translate languages in almost real-time conversation. This will only improve. We communicate with thousands of people at once, almost no matter where we are or the time of day or how else we're multi-tasking. Not just with our voices, but with our text, and even our faces and our hands. Deaf people use phones. Think about that. Even people who refuse to socialize, who refuse to talk to other people, could easily find a reason to get a tablet or a smartphone.
I summarize the portal news on XDA TV each week. A lot of people wonder why I do that. They either don't think I fit or don't think it's what I should focus on. But in a world where the answer to so many problems I'm passionate about fixing is in my pocket, and the fact that whether or not those answers will come to fruition has a lot to do with what happens on this forum, I simply must be a part of it. I believe in xda-developers, in all of the reasons a person would come here, from developing to using, and I believe in the results of that process. You make our communication better, making our languages better. I'm writing this to thank you for those efforts, and for letting me tell people about them.
Jeff
i believe in the power of language- the beauty of words- the essence of a sentence, a paragraph or even the smallest simplest piece of writing- the word itself- which holds much meaning.
i am a writer and an artist and i have seen -how- over the years- those i mentioned above- have lost their meaning, changed, clashed, combined, simplified. many people just do have TIME devoted to such powerful, amazing and important concepts such as these. reading has become hurried- many just do not have the patience or the attention span. Charles Dickens and many other amazing authors- my favorite, gothic literature, wrote glorious masterpieces- having depth, detail- just so much more than novels of today- because those readers- DID not have television, computers, mobile devices, anything else attention grabbing. their time was definitely simpler and a time when language was at its height. now- unity of language comes from what we have at our hands- the internet, our devices- tablets, phones, mp3 players, etc.
to me, i see many simplifying- shortening- decreasing anything that has to do with writing or language. i feel so many just want the easier simpler path and i do fear as you wrote- we are missing out on so much. even i am guilty of this. i used to ONLY text- now i call my peoples, for i feel, they are missing out on MY MEANING- when i text. i hate shortening words- i like writing "ha.ha.ha.ha.ha" or "oh.my" instead of the "lol" or "omg."
my roots- deep in the sticks PA- there are so many eccentric red.neck.methods and particular dialects- which i fear- as i age- i lose (probably because i am getting older and my brain is turning into damaged goods of forgetfulness- and well i live in south.florida- the cornucopia of peoples).
language is an amazing beauty- that i will never conquer- for that i am grateful. i believe in what you do here on xda- many need it. cliff and spark notes are so popular- people search the internet looking for the summary to books of yore- but i believe, deep within, that xda unites many from all over. there is a tech advantage- simple words power/run/etc our devices- bring people together- and we all take moments- read the forums, the private messages, the newest thread- me, i read every single page of a rom i am interested in. i love when people go above and beyond helping new people, i love the arguments- because therein lies passion for a simple device- we all cherish, adore and LOVE!!!!
i am addicted to mobile device technology. the more i know- the more i understand- the happier i am. if it were not for xda- jeez- i probably would have lost my mind last year. my sincere thanks go to everyone here on xda- there is so much knowledge, such deep rooted interest, passion and incredible awareness from so many- xda begins my day and ends my day!!!
thank you- for your words, ideas, thoughts, and everything you do for xda. for your words- your notion- your very thread- has initiated your very concept. that- my friend, is a beautiful thing!!!!
Sadly the telephone has done more harm to the written language than anything else i could mention. Txt spk innit!
As of what I know, there are currently 2000 lanuages that are spoken by less than 500 people all over the world. It will be a shame to lose so many lanuages. What I think is that the Modern times made more people speak english, and I can see that on lots of people combining English while they are speaking Hebrew, and it makes me feel bad. Is this what we want? I don't think that we encourage the use of different languages when not all languages are available for devices. For example, Windows only has 35 languages. As for Droids, I can't get the phone to use hebrew as UI OS without flashing another ROM. There are languages that aren't even learnt today, such as Yidish and Ladino (both jewish languages).
I think we could do more to help with this, but we should know where we are headed to.
DirkGently1 said:
Sadly the telephone has done more harm to the written language than anything else i could mention. Txt spk innit!
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Not sure I agree. There is a big plus from texting. Although much of the earlier texting was a basic shorthand, and a lot is communication was thought based rather than form based. The one thing that email, texting and alike did was, it recharged the written word again. Before email/texting the Cell phone was making people more verbal, then the email and then texting brought new life back into the written word.
The one thing that is a decided disadvantage with younger people is the inability to know the difference between correct written form and slang form. So much so, that most of the college grads that work for me write @ a 6-7 grade level ( and they graduated ? go figure). This is what most people who know how to write complain about poor understanding of language. A simple example : "get off the bus" vs "exit the but" The first is informal and a unique use of the language to imply action (phrasal verb) vs the correct written form. It is OK to use either, the problem to me with most people is that they do not know the difference or why........ that is the failing in our modern education..........
All this rant will not change many but if a few pick up the idea of how language is a form of logic just like math with formulas and rules like math, then maybe some will want to know more......... one can hope............
oka1 said:
A simple example : "get off the bus" vs "exit the but"
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I hope you mean bus. Otherwise, hmmmm
I agree 1000% on this. So many beautiful languages that die out every day.
oka1 said:
Not sure I agree. There is a big plus from texting. Although much of the earlier texting was a basic shorthand, and a lot is communication was thought based rather than form based. The one thing that email, texting and alike did was, it recharged the written word again. Before email/texting the Cell phone was making people more verbal, then the email and then texting brought new life back into the written word. )
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Right, writing to communicate real-time is brand new, and its own thing. Literature won't be affected much. On the other hand, because people are speaking through text in real-time, literacy is through the roof. More people can read and write today than ever before, and that's thanks to chat rooms and texting.
On another point you made, I wouldn't worry about people choosing to use more words than necessary. We do that in speech all the time, and rather than a failure of modern education, those variations in word choice are one way that languages change. They always have changed, and always will. We're just more aware of it now than we were.
As of what I know, there are currently 2000 lanuages that are spoken by less than 500 people all over the world. It will be a shame to lose so many lanuages. What I think is that the Modern times made more people speak english, and I can see that on lots of people combining English while they are speaking Hebrew, and it makes me feel bad. Is this what we want? I don't think that we encourage the use of different languages when not all languages are available for devices. For example, Windows only has 35 languages. As for Droids, I can't get the phone to use hebrew as UI OS without flashing another ROM. There are languages that aren't even learnt today, such as Yidish and Ladino (both jewish languages).
I think we could do more to help with this, but we should know where we are headed to.
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Languages mixing is also pretty natural, always happened, just not at the rate they are now. The cool thing about xda and how it can help is that anyone can make the UI you need. Yes, you need to flash it, but then, you could build a Hebrew ROM from stock and make Google, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, or whoever aware of it in hopes that they'll include it. Google published a blog recently about how Africa is a surprisingly fast-growing continent of Android users, probably in response to the fight between Arabs and Blackberry. At any rate, I'm sure they're more than happy to have people do the grunt work for them in bringing new languages to OSs.
Related
Hi all. I've decided to try and make some future Microsoft product "my idea", so I've submitted the following letter to them via billg [at] microsoft [dit] com. I just wanted to know if you guys had any input.
Flaming is sure to happen, and while I won't argue with you, I will probably wish your firstborn child is used as a shot put.
Dear Microsoft,
Lately I’ve been bombarded with commercial after commercial showing random people (and their self perceptions) stating that Windows 7 was their idea for one reason or another. I’m not completely disgusted by these or anything, but it started my mind on one of those winding roads a character in a story might have to take to get home, or to the girl, or to the climax, or… well I guess that is kind of repetitious – but the point is, I started thinking about the variety of Microsoft’s operating systems and the history they’ve had – rather, our history together.
I’ve used just about everything Microsoft has created… I started my computer “education” by soldering a few broken parts back together on a Commodore 64 I found in a dump, and then learning BASIC on it (the BASIC on the Commodore 64 was a variant created and licensed by Microsoft). Right now, I’m typing this in Microsoft Word, on a laptop that has Microsoft Windows Vista, being distracted by a cellular phone that runs Microsoft Windows Phone 6.5.
That was a mouthful when I read it aloud.
But the reason for this letter is not so much a history lesson, but a worry of what is to come. It seems the goal over there the past few years is some cross between being different and being more like Macintosh, or Google, or insert company name here, and I’m here to state that I don’t like the transformation the publicists and tech news sites are ranting and raving about.
A few examples?
- Most recently must be the attempt to remove the clipboard features from my phone. I say “attempt”, because I am willing to bet that will be brought back, either by you or some developers out there.
- Office 2007’s menu structure looks like someone tried to “make it better” and ruined it.
- Windows Vista and Windows 7 both look like some kind of cross-dressing Microsoft product who was “supposed to be a Mac”.
What happens when you become so close to the competition that nobody can tell you apart? Developers and IT teams may not like parts of Windows, but they are able adjust most of what they don’t like to work for them. If this path continues, and all of the contenders out there do the exact same thing, you’re really shooting yourselves in the collective foot by taking away your uniqueness.
I guess what I’m really trying to say is “different” does not equal “better”. Get back to your roots and make something that your current audience will buy. Put them above the “new customers” you’re trying to reach. It’s the same error that many companies make nowadays – neglecting the long time customers for some new ones. You end up losing great customers that way.
See, I am a man. There’s an expression stating that men marry women expecting them to be the same, and women marry men expecting that they’ll change. I feel like Microsoft is giving in to the women out there – the ones who complain about it being too hard to use or not pretty enough – and we have enough of that already. I’m not trying to hate on women out there, but maybe the movie Team America explained it best… something about assholes, dicks, and ******* (I won’t go into it, but watch the movie if you need an explanation). What we need is for Microsoft to be a **** again.
Good luck and happy creating,
(Name Removed)
P.S. This email was sent using Microsoft Outlook.
Thanks in advance for any feedback,
Drunk
oooh nice
so did they reply back and what did the email say?
anyway nice letter
no replies yet, but I just sent it last night.
Mad props for Team America reference =P
the whole my idea is just a commercial not a real deal imho
http://gizmodo.com/5477384/windows-7-was-my-idea-but-to-be-fair-i-dont-know-what-im-talking-about
I don't doubt that it is just a big marketing gimick, but I wanted to explain that it looks like they are listening to people's ideas - just the wrong ones.
I'm waiting for them to show the ads on TV which make the claim that W7 has fewer clicks so I can report it to the ASA.
Starting a program like solitaire with the mouse is either the same number (if you don't mind a 2 second wait) or one more click than XP/Vista.
As for getting to the network card properties that's a heck of a lot more clicks than Vista or XP.
W7 has some very well thought out features, but unfortunately it's got more that just aren't.
I hate MS for putting me in a position where I have to say I prefer Vista! Damn them! Damn them to Hades!
WM7 looks awful, and the restrictions they're putting on it make no user or business sense.
Office 2007 is appauling, what were they thinking? Why make an application which users have to refer to google in order to complete simple common tasks?
Don't expect a reply, Drunk, at least something that isn't just generically polite and thanking you for your thoughtful input.
You blended good points that resonate with much of their shrinking user base, made up partly by people who have no idea they're running Microsoft and also in part by people who are obsessed with modifying them, with that bit on genitals. They're not interested in us anymore, nor would they want to add a lot of attention to your letter by giving you something from them to paste on and spread around. They want to intercept people from buying the other phones with no regard to who's already buying their own phones, and you can't really blame them considering how fast they're still falling (down 4% last quarter) toward obscurity.
Just to offer myself as an example of others reading what you just posted and what may be on their own minds, considering I made two websites about the damn thing, I'd say I was a bonafide WinMo fanatic, one of the last expected to say adios, but I just did, a Nexus One, and not only will I continue to love and go nuts with it I will attempt to take others with me. It's brewing right here on XDA, the place you'd think would be the haven mainly for people who like to do what can mostly only be done exclusively with WinMo phones.
Actually I read this by mistake, forgot to get rid of all my WinMo rss feeds on Google Reader to which my phone's synced. Good read though, glad you posted it. So thanks.
But no matter how much rabble you rouse here nor what signs you wave in front of their Seattle office you won't stop this train, the general direction of which they've made it clear that they are taking with WP7 being mostly the opposite of what a lot of us want. They can't please everyone and they'd rather please would-otherwise-be customers of their competitors even at the expense of estranging themselves from part of their existing customers. On the bright side, in addition to there being other options (specifically the one I took), they claim they'll keep supporting existing versions of WinMo for at least a while, though not forever on new devices I don't think which will have unique hardware that if I heard correctly won't even have removable storage, not to mention any support for decentralized application distribution. You don't like the sound of what's coming but what's coming is in their opinion good for business and I suppose mine too. When you're already failing at this rate in such a critical time of penetrating a huge market with enormous potential that will be realized further and further every day, it's hard to come up with a dumb idea on how to do things differently. Not to mention I've seen quite a few extremists shrug off each new bit of bad news saying Whatever I'll still try it, and once they do, then Microsoft has got them for at least a long enough period of time to figure out how to keep them hooked while they intercept little bits of business from the others. Right now they're handing business away. It's a joke.
Making sure the likes of you and others on sites like XDA remain happy customers as they implement these drastic changes to their mobile operations is not high up on their to do list.
Just sayin'.
Doug
Can't say I don't agree with you on most of that. I honestly don't expect much of a reply... at most a blanket letter or something like that. I've also been working my way to other vendors. I've got some android variant on my TP2 now and Ubuntu on my laptop (both still dual boots, but it's a step that direction). I just didn't want it all to happen without my 2 cents' worth being thrown at them.
Thanks for stopping by.
I hear you man, I'm all about ranting. This and this in particular. Also this.
Take a look at that and mobilitydigest.com (basically the same with a less weird domain), you'd make a great writer. Perfect style, perfect background (impressive by the way), perfect fire in your belly. We can't yet offer you money but what we can give you is an audience. Let me know.
"but I wanted to explain that it looks like they are listening to people's ideas - just the wrong ones."
yeah with the whole win phone 7 seeming like being a copy of the features of org iphone sure sounds like they are getting bad advice
i think i will learn more english than phone knowledge.
my mobile is meizu m9 and i cant find much of it.
reading books and novels taught me good English
The best thing I know to do is to start asking questions and never stop.
Sadly, too many of us here in the U.S. don't care and don't take pride in being able to write properly.
I know I'm new here (in fact I'm *brand new* as of today) but if you have questions, I'm certain there's others on here like me who can help.
Remember: we learn by doing.
I learned English at a strip joint.
Assuming you're in China, get a girlfriend who can't speak Chinese.
Join more activities with people from different countries.
I'm not a proponent of the "immersive" approach to language education, tbh. I don't believe it really works all that well, and I do believe it is an extremely resource-intensive, inefficient approach.
But then again, that's just me talking.
I just got rosetta stone for arabic. The pronunciation is killing me. Can't vouch for it though, just started it.
Cable television helped a lot with my english, back when I was in school (20 years ago)
boborone said:
I just got rosetta stone for arabic. The pronunciation is killing me. Can't vouch for it though, just started it.
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need help?, I am a native
@clown, yup movies, movies and more movies without reading subtitles
husam666 said:
need help?, I am a native
@clown, yup movies, movies and more movies without reading subtitles
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I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I'm saving up for a backpacking trip to the Middle East. That is is some beautiful land and culture yall have out there. Just so much untouched land. I've backpacked around America, but never been outside the US.
EDIT There is one thing that you can help me with. Besides Al Jazerra, what other news sites would be good to watch/read to learn more. Also, do you know of a good way to learn the alphabet and writing? Thanks.
boborone said:
I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I'm saving up for a backpacking trip to the Middle East. That is is some beautiful land and culture yall have out there. Just so much untouched land. I've backpacked around America, but never been outside the US.
EDIT There is one thing that you can help me with. Besides Al Jazerra, what other news sites would be good to watch/read to learn more. Also, do you know of a good way to learn the alphabet and writing? Thanks.
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here's one http://www.alarabiya.net/
with the alphabets, sry idk.
husam666 said:
here's one http://www.alarabiya.net/
with the alphabets, sry idk.
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Thanks man
best advice is to hang out with people who speak the language you want to learn, Then ,read out load every day that language (gets your mouth used to saying the words). That was the biggest help for me
SciFiSurfer said:
I'm not a proponent of the "immersive" approach to language education, tbh. I don't believe it really works all that well, and I do believe it is an extremely resource-intensive, inefficient approach.
But then again, that's just me talking.
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Immersion is pretty well proven to be the fastest way to learn a language actually. I studied Spanish for 5 years in high school and college and learned more Japanese in the first six months I lived in Japan without studying for one minute than I learned in 5 years of Spanish classes.
Btros said:
Immersion is pretty well proven to be the fastest way to learn a language actually. I studied Spanish for 5 years in high school and college and learned more Japanese in the first six months I lived in Japan without studying for one minute than I learned in 5 years of Spanish classes.
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Here's my question on that point: Do you attribute immersion itself, or that by living in Japan you had a credible "need to know" as opposed to a merely arbitrary academic requirement and/or interest when you were still in school?
SciFiSurfer said:
Here's my question on that point: Do you attribute immersion itself, or that by living in Japan you had a credible "need to know" as opposed to a merely arbitrary academic requirement and/or interest when you were still in school?
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*the bold
What's the difference? Not sure what point you're trying to make. Please explain.
Btros said:
Immersion is pretty well proven to be the fastest way to learn a language actually. I studied Spanish for 5 years in high school and college and learned more Japanese in the first six months I lived in Japan without studying for one minute than I learned in 5 years of Spanish classes.
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Can't agree more, they taught us hebrew in my school and I can barely understand that language
sent from a parallel universe
SciFiSurfer said:
Here's my question on that point: Do you attribute immersion itself, or that by living in Japan you had a credible "need to know" as opposed to a merely arbitrary academic requirement and/or interest when you were still in school?
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boborone said:
*the bold
What's the difference? Not sure what point you're trying to make. Please explain.
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I agree, I think that is the point of immersion - that you are forced to find ways to communicate in the native language. The best advice I ever got about learning Japanese in Japan was from a fellow American - he saw me keep looking in my English to Japanese dictionary and told me to throw that thing away and get a Japanese to English one. Instead of looking up words in English and then trying to say the Japanese word I saw there, I would listen to the Japanese speaker telling me something, look up the word IN JAPANESE and then find the meaning on my own in English.
Using the words I learned in an authentic context day after day was the only way I learned to use them naturally.
boborone said:
*the bold
What's the difference? Not sure what point you're trying to make. Please explain.
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Well, just like Btros said, he took Hebrew in school and can't function at all in it. The difference is that when you take a language in school, unless you actually have a personal passion for learning another language, or that language in particular, you don't really have a need-to-know and so you don't really learn it.
Btros said:
I agree, I think that is the point of immersion - that you are forced to find ways to communicate in the native language.
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I suppose one could stumble through this sort of process, but it just seems like a very painful one. For one, how can you look up words in a language you don't know? I mean, if I were listening to a Japanese speaker, I'd have enough of a time trying to hear the individual words, let alone ever attempting to reconstruct their spelling and, from there, look up the meaning of the word.
Without at least some formal instruction, how can someone actually know what they're listening to? It's not like any of us native speakers speak. like. this. when. talking. to. other. people. in. the. real. world. and yet, without conversations being had in that manner. we native speakers speaklikethiswhentalkingtootherpeopleintherealworld and that is basically impossible, aurally, to pick apart when you don't have vocabulary.
SciFiSurfer said:
Well, just like Btros said, he took Hebrew in school and can't function at all in it. The difference is that when you take a language in school, unless you actually have a personal passion for learning another language, or that language in particular, you don't really have a need-to-know and so you don't really learn it.
I suppose one could stumble through this sort of process, but it just seems like a very painful one. For one, how can you look up words in a language you don't know? I mean, if I were listening to a Japanese speaker, I'd have enough of a time trying to hear the individual words, let alone ever attempting to reconstruct their spelling and, from there, look up the meaning of the word.
Without at least some formal instruction, how can someone actually know what they're listening to? It's not like any of us native speakers speak. like. this. when. talking. to. other. people. in. the. real. world. and yet, without conversations being had in that manner. we native speakers speaklikethiswhentalkingtootherpeopleintherealworld and that is basically impossible, aurally, to pick apart when you don't have vocabulary.
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you should work in politics or better yet, samsung pr
"ah yes, that's a nice question, hey look over there"
[flame suit on][rant]
In 2011, why do people use the word “retard” to describe to describe stupidity? It is very offensive to people that have children with special needs. I have seen it more times in the Nook forum then all of the other areas on XDA. Try to remember that many people have loved ones with mental disabilities and it is very insulting to see the insensitive use of the slang term retard or retarded.
[/flame suit on][/rant]
painter_ said:
[flame suit on][rant]
In 2011, why do people use the word “retard” to describe to describe stupidity? It is very offensive to people that have children with special needs. I have seen it more times in the Nook forum then all of the other areas on XDA. Try to remember that many people have loved ones with mental disabilities and it is very insulting to see the insensitive use of the slang term retard or retarded.
[/flame suit on][/rant]
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Retard
From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retard
See 4 b. for the context used.
–verb (used with object)
1.
to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.
–verb (used without object)
2.
to be delayed.
–noun
3.
a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.
4.
Slang: Disparaging .
a.
a mentally retarded person.
b.
a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way: a hopeless social retard.
5.
Automotive, Machinery . an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine so that the spark for ignition in each cylinder is generated later in the cycle.
I understand that you may feel like you need to defend the rights of restards, but in my estimation, it isn't really necessary and you are just muddying the waters. People with mental handicaps don't own the word, and in fact from my perspective it seem that saying it can only be used as such is erroneous in the extreme. Political correctness is self-defeating and should be avoided. I personally hate it.
Be free or don't, political correctness is just a way of enslaving our speech and thought processes.
migrax
Our world is already WAY too PC, i don't need people telling me what to do on the internet. PC needs to die in a fire...
It's only a figure of speech. Lots of things are offensive but you can't rid them all.
Don't worry, I haven't used it and never will use it in an offensive way
Divine_Madcat said:
Our world is already WAY too PC, i don't need people telling me what to do on the internet. PC needs to die in a fire...
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It's not PC. It's simple human decency, which is too conspicuously absent on the internet. I'm surprised that this is too much to ask of anyone.
I'm with painter on this one.
I don't see the point. I have never and will never call a person with special needs a retard. Therefore, calling stupid people retard is not the same. In my head, when I use the word retard, I don't picture a mentally challenged person...I picture some dumbass who just tried to jump a bike onto a apartment building roof or tried to light his farts on fire but instead lit up their pants.
This just is a simple request because to some with children with special needs, this term is derogatory and hurtful. While this could be labeled PC or a defintion can be used to prove its proper use, using this as a derogatory term to define one's ignorance or stupidity, easily offends people with special needs children and many whom have worked with children with special needs, and that's a fact.
The very definition of using an identifying term negatively to generalize a specific group is stereotypical bigotry.
A person can choose to be insensitive by using this term or decide not to and that's fine. But many of us choose to be more sensitive to a very difficult and and challenging life situation, that often involves children, by not using the term and risk adding more harm or offending others. Especially when it involves children born with birth defects.
The op made a simple and kind request, you guys decide what to do.
The word has more than one meaning and is common. My advice, grow thicker skin. People with special needs kids have a lot more to worry about than a freaking word. If you let a simple word get under your skin and offend you then you have issues you need to deal with yourself.
I dont use it because people that do have always sounded really stupid to me. Just like stupid people that say "thats gay" all the damn time and overuse the word fag.
How does rere sound then?
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Im kind of border line on this one. I understand how people with disability children or loved ones could interpret this as a direct offense, but at the same time, it is essential to understand and realize that words like "retard" and "gay" have been adapted by societal culture to take on a completely different meaning then originally intended. I'm willing to put money on the estimation that 99.5% percent of the individuals who have/do use the word mean no disrespect to individuals with disabilities. To be completely honest, I've used the word in every day speech or online posts, am I proud that I support a word that is derived from mentally handicapped people? No. Have I ever once used it to purposely offend a disabled person any way shape or form or commented demeaningly on a mentally handicapped person? Absolutely not. My mother worked with mentally disabled children for many years and I know first hand that many of them are possibly the nicest people to ever live. Take it for what you will.
RileyGrant said:
Im kind of border line on this one. I understand how people with disability children or loved ones could interpret this as a direct offense, but at the same time, it is essential to understand and realize that words like "retard" and "gay" have been adapted by societal culture to take on a completely different meaning then originally intended. I'm willing to put money on the estimation that 99.5% percent of the individuals who have/do use the word mean no disrespect to individuals with disabilities. To be completely honest, I've used the word in every day speech or online posts, am I proud that I support a word that is derived from mentally handicapped people? No. Have I ever once used it to purposely offend a disabled person any way shape or form or commented demeaningly on a mentally handicapped person? Absolutely not. My mother worked with mentally disabled children for many years and I know first hand that many of them are possibly the nicest people to ever live. Take it for what you will.
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Nor have I even used the term to refer to a person that is anything other than a dumbass, come to think of it, I rarely use the word at all. But I stand on the principle that I can police myself without anyone telling me I have to conform to their ideas of stereotypes, I simply resist that with great resolve.
I agree that some take offense at the word, and I also would suppose that it is their problem, and they can simply not read if they are offended.
That I care to contribute should be taken with the appreciation that I know how to be diplomatic, but I don't like people that tell me that I have to worry about offending someone who doesn't even read these forums. It is an empty argument and serves only to stifle the free exchange of ideas.
I register my approval by participating in the conversation, I register my disapproval by not participating. It really is that simple.
migrax
I'M SO GLAD SOMEONE FINALLY PUT UP A THREAD ABOUT THIS. I'VE BEEN WANTING TO GET A SIMILAR CONCERN OFF MY CHEST FOR A LONG WHILE... COULD WE ALL STOP USING THE WORD NOOB? I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE JUST TOSS IT AROUND LIKE IT'S NOTHING WHEN IN FACT, BASED ON A THROUGH READING OF SEVERAL WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES, IT TURNS OUT ITS SOME SORT OF DEROGATORY SLANG USED TO DESCRIBE A PERSON OF LIMITED COMPUTING SKILLS. SURE, I MIGHT NOT BE A COMputer genius, but i am far from a noob. i've helped people with all sorts of computer problems, even stuff that geek squad couldn't fix (turns out it wasn't a wireless mouse until after the cat got to it). so yeAH IF WE COULD JUST PUT AN END TO ALL OF THAT NAME CA LLING THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I'M GOING TO GET BACK TO IMPORTANT STUFF AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY MY NOOK WONT TURN ON AFTER A CLEAN FORMAT OF THE BOOT PARTITION.
findmike said:
I'M SO GLAD SOMEONE FINALLY PUT UP A THREAD ABOUT THIS. I'VE BEEN WANTING TO GET A SIMILAR CONCERN OFF MY CHEST FOR A LONG WHILE... COULD WE ALL STOP USING THE WORD NOOB? I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE JUST TOSS IT AROUND LIKE IT'S NOTHING WHEN IN FACT, BASED ON A THROUGH READING OF SEVERAL WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES, IT TURNS OUT ITS SOME SORT OF DEROGATORY SLANG USED TO DESCRIBE A PERSON OF LIMITED COMPUTING SKILLS. SURE, I MIGHT NOT BE A COMputer genius, but i am far from a noob. i've helped people with all sorts of computer problems, even stuff that geek squad couldn't fix (turns out it wasn't a wireless mouse until after the cat got to it). so yeAH IF WE COULD JUST PUT AN END TO ALL OF THAT NAME CA LLING THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I'M GOING TO GET BACK TO IMPORTANT STUFF AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY MY NOOK WONT TURN ON AFTER A CLEAN FORMAT OF THE BOOT PARTITION.
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As if to emphasize.
migrax
findmike said:
I'M SO GLAD SOMEONE FINALLY PUT UP A THREAD ABOUT THIS. I'VE BEEN WANTING TO GET A SIMILAR CONCERN OFF MY CHEST FOR A LONG WHILE... COULD WE ALL STOP USING THE WORD NOOB? I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE JUST TOSS IT AROUND LIKE IT'S NOTHING WHEN IN FACT, BASED ON A THROUGH READING OF SEVERAL WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES, IT TURNS OUT ITS SOME SORT OF DEROGATORY SLANG USED TO DESCRIBE A PERSON OF LIMITED COMPUTING SKILLS. SURE, I MIGHT NOT BE A COMputer genius, but i am far from a noob. i've helped people with all sorts of computer problems, even stuff that geek squad couldn't fix (turns out it wasn't a wireless mouse until after the cat got to it). so yeAH IF WE COULD JUST PUT AN END TO ALL OF THAT NAME CA LLING THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I'M GOING TO GET BACK TO IMPORTANT STUFF AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY MY NOOK WONT TURN ON AFTER A CLEAN FORMAT OF THE BOOT PARTITION.
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Dear findmike,
If you locate the caps lock key on your keyboard, and disengage it, people might be less inclined to say things like that.
And yes, it is a shortened term for "newbie" to refer to someone new to something. If you are a newb, it means you are new and learning. It's not a derogatory term. If you are a n00b or noob, it means you don't pay attention to existing information given, and ask questions in a demanding manner.
So to summarise no-one means any disrespect to mentally handicapped individuals, most of us can understand and respect the sentiment presented in the OP, and tbh it's not even one of the more useful or important words in our vocabularies. It can stop right there. There's no need to insist on other people growing thicker skins or to ask them to not complain. That's how antisocial people maintain their power, by bullying others into conforming to their wishes and preferences eg. by portraying other positions as being unmanly, cowardly, over-sensitive; by casting other's feelings as being illegitimate; by treating other's wishes as being terrible and unreasonable impositions; etc. No-one here is truly antisocial. Everyone here should be able to appreciate the value of us being able to speak out about things that bother us without fearing summary dismissal or or outright disrespect. It's crucial to a healthy and working group environment.
peace
Now HERE is something disrespectful
comedy gold though.
also see here
rckymtnrfc said:
I don't see the point. I have never and will never call a person with special needs a retard. Therefore, calling stupid people retard is not the same. In my head, when I use the word retard, I don't picture a mentally challenged person...I picture some dumbass who just tried to jump a bike onto a apartment building roof or tried to light his farts on fire but instead lit up their pants.
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Example:
Sarah Palin is a retard.
Trig is a beautiful child of God with special needs.
dsf3g said:
Example:
Sarah Palin is a retard.
Trig is a beautiful child of God with special needs.
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I happen to like Sarah Palin for the most part. But this really made me lol.
The PC thing is causing a nation of wimps. My sister in-law is a 34yr old special needs woman. This does not keep my wife and I from calling each other retards as a term of endearment. We also call each other and the kids dufusses. So maybe when you are called a retard, they are really saying they love you.
painter_ said:
[flame suit on][rant]
In 2011, why do people use the word “retard” to describe to describe stupidity? It is very offensive to people that have children with special needs. I have seen it more times in the Nook forum then all of the other areas on XDA. Try to remember that many people have loved ones with mental disabilities and it is very insulting to see the insensitive use of the slang term retard or retarded.
[/flame suit on][/rant]
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Oh god, we all have to go to sensitivity classes now. This is nonsense.
Hi Folks,
Going through a time in my life when I want to change directions. With all the brilliant folks on XDA who are honest and experienced and most importantly not going to get kickbacks from doling out good advice, I wanted to ask what you think is the best way to begin an IT career.
Some background about me: I am, for worse or better, in my late 30s which is well older than the average for this kind of thing I'm sure.
My jobs background is mostly in office admin but the emphasis has shifted more and more to the technological. That is I have found myself in the e-business world over the past decade almost exclusively, so I have been in the middle of working with other types of IT employee who are more like I want to become: the architects of apps and systems.
I'm very intelligent, a quick and open-minded learner. The strange thing is when I was young I programmed BASIC with great ability on Apple IIe's and Atari PCs, but "grew away" from that and now of course want it back.
I find myself with definite ideas of apps I want to develop and knowledge I want to absorb but need the know-how and a chance to prove myself. Particular strengths I think I have that others don't is a strong sense of design, better "people skills" than the average geek and maturity (a nice way of saying "I'm freaking old, dude," heheh).
Anyway, narrowing it down the career paths that sound good to me they include Computer Applications Software Engineering and/or Computer Systems Analyst. At least for now.
What I'm trying to avoid is the often scummy education industry from soaking up thousands or tens of thousands of dollars from me to learn what's mostly unnecessary. I've been through that once. While some certifications, degrees etc. are good and necessary I know I also know that nothing beats real-world experience.
So please, any ideas from the people who have lived it and been "in the trenches" about how to begin the path would be much appreciated. Maybe this thread could even be helpful for others who are going through the same process.
DroidApprentice said:
Hi Folks,
Going through a time in my life when I want to change directions. With all the brilliant folks on XDA who are honest and experienced and most importantly not going to get kickbacks from doling out good advice, I wanted to ask what you think is the best way to begin an IT career.
Some background about me: I am, for worse or better, in my late 30s which is well older than the average for this kind of thing I'm sure.
My jobs background is mostly in office admin but the emphasis has shifted more and more to the technological. That is I have found myself in the e-business world over the past decade almost exclusively, so I have been in the middle of working with other types of IT employee who are more like I want to become: the architects of apps and systems.
I'm very intelligent, a quick and open-minded learner. The strange thing is when I was young I programmed BASIC with great ability on Apple IIe's and Atari PCs, but "grew away" from that and now of course want it back.
I find myself with definite ideas of apps I want to develop and knowledge I want to absorb but need the know-how and a chance to prove myself. Particular strengths I think I have that others don't is a strong sense of design, better "people skills" than the average geek and maturity (a nice way of saying "I'm freaking old, dude," heheh).
Anyway, narrowing it down the career paths that sound good to me they include Computer Applications Software Engineering and/or Computer Systems Analyst. At least for now.
What I'm trying to avoid is the often scummy education industry from soaking up thousands or tens of thousands of dollars from me to learn what's mostly unnecessary. I've been through that once. While some certifications, degrees etc. are good and necessary I know I also know that nothing beats real-world experience.
So please, any ideas from the people who have lived it and been "in the trenches" about how to begin the path would be much appreciated. Maybe this thread could even be helpful for others who are going through the same process.
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The way I see it, you have 2 major options.
1. Get a degree and learn to code
2. Learn to code on your own, and screw the degree
If you're more interested in the 2nd option. Check out this link. The prof is great, it's basically a Java class for beginners. But at AcademicEarth, you'll also find other more advanced courses. It really is a terrific resource.
http://www.academicearth.org/courses/programming-methodology
Best of luck!
Thanks! I know many people are self-taught and some of the best may even come from that background. I'll check out that resource and try to absorb as much as I can. It might help me clarify for myself what help I need.
Don't forget good old fashioned Mathematics.
If you think you left all that behind in High School, think again, and brushing some of the rust off it will never go amiss. In fact, stuffing as much of it into your brain as it will stand, is not such a bad thing.
Sometimes it lets you see a much better/faster way of doing something.
Books out of the library, or even articles on Wikipedia are a start, and gratis, and you can go at your own pace until it sinks in.
Good Luck!
stephj said:
Don't forget good old fashioned Maths.
If you think you left all that behind in High School, think again, and brushing some of the rust off it will never go amiss. Stuffing as much of it into your brain as it will stand, is not such a bad thing.
Sometimes it lets you see a much better/faster way of doing something.
Books out of the library, or even wikipedia are a start, and gratis, and you can go at your own pace until it sinks in.
Good Luck!
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Excellent point! Binary/Octal number systems. Matrix math. Boolean logic and decision trees...all built on basic concepts that too many have long forgotten.
I think of myself as a predominantly "right brained" person (and am a southpaw to boot) but math and me get along OK and in some ways better than we used to. Higher math is actually in some ways better than lower since I can tend to the abstract. Thanks again.
The purpose behind this thread is to discuss what would be the best way to adapt technological so that it benefits all. By all, I mean old people, young people especially people who are not technologically savvy. People who are not experts at flashing ROMs and debugging ADB logcats.
We see examples of this problem almost every day. Ever tried helping someone over the phone, especially an older person, and get them to install an app using Google PlayStore? I have tried it and found the experience an eye-opener. Simple actions like swiping down to show the notifications or getting into the Settings to change some feature can be difficult for a person who does not essential spend the whole day playing around with the smartphone.
A simple user interface with almost no learning curve would be a great start.
Another factor could be screens with information in the local language, or may be screens that read out options that users touch. The Alexas and Siri's of the world also help to a great extent.
Don't you think a lot more can be done to make technology accessible and understandable to all?
Hi @ManojNairOnline! This is a great initiative. I personally live in a 27-unit cohousing and there are quite a few seniors living there. I'm their go-to-guy for all their Windows/Android perils. The average member of this forum can hardly imagine this but the digital world and its many interfaces can be quite scary to them. They hear about all these phishing/malware/etc horror stories in the news and when they see a popup on their device asking "Allow [app name] to make and manage phone calls?" they freak out. While that notification is usually just there for an app to "know" when to pause itself because a phone call is coming in, for people that do not understand this context it is very alarming.
Another major difference is that roughly the eldest 2 generations didn't grow up surrounded by electronic devices. My dad really struggles to get anything done on a smartphone while my 7yo plays with them. It's taken for granted by the younger generations as they haven't experienced it any other way. Even the current 35-45yo population can hardly remember how on earth we managed to get places and how we handled not being able to contact anyone at any given time about 20-25 years ago, let alone stay up to date with the entire world!
Let's first address the elephant in the room: Apple does this better. iOS is much more limited and simplified and thus more user friendly. Then again, Android has made major advancements in this respect as well. And with an app like BIG Launcher (featured on the portal, I have no experience with it) the user interface can become so much simpler. Taking a glance at 'Accessibility' (which should be its own menu and not hidden under 'System', OnePlus!) does hold a plethora of features to make our devices more accessible to people with a variety of disabilities. So yes, it could always be more understandable, but I think we're already working on that.
I haven't looked around yet but I'm sure there are some interesting projects to be found on XDA as well.
Agree with the comments @Timmmmaaahh! There would already be some threads on XDA with projects around this