[Foundation-l] Wiki-revolution

Sun Apr 3 07:35:50 UTC 2011

I'm glad to learn that you're already feeling better. That post is a 
lot better than *cough*. There's no humor in the "choice" of word 
misspelled. It just so happen that I was "betrayed" by my mother 
tongue. That's how intellectual is spelled. That is a common mistake 
both in words or numbers. I didn't criticize anybody in particular. 
This is not a place for personal attacks, and that should not be a 
one way street. Unfortunately, in practice, it is, and I can bear 
witness to that. Please be so kind as to remember that next time you 
feel like coughing. It is terrible manners to cough on any list, and 
even worse on anybody's post. If spelling mistakes puts a dumper on 
an argument, there is a serious case of discrimination on this list 
against those that don't have a perfect command of the English 
language, and there are plenty. Please consider this other version of 
your example, a bit rough on the edges : "If I was getting heart 
surgery [in France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, 
Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway (should I go on?)], I would 
want my surgeon to know how to spell the body part he is working on 
[in English]." Good luck. :-) I don't have to be defensive about 
English being my second language. Considering that I only have three 
years of formal schooling in English, and that it was over 46 years 
ago, I take it as compliment that I can perplex anybody with my 
English skills. Just think of what I could do using my mother tongue, 
with nine (three times as much) years of formal schooling completed 
also that long ago. I concur that this friendly and polite exchange 
might be off-topic, but it's certainly not off-list.

Please accept my best wishes of a complete recovery from you cough.

Warmest regards,

Virgilio A. P. Machado

At 07:26 03-04-2011, you wrote:
>I think you're missing the humor in the "choice" of word misspelled. 
>If you're going to criticize Fred's intelligence, you should take 
>care to ensure that you spell intellectual correctly. Otherwise, it 
>puts quite a damper on your argument. If I was getting heart 
>surgery, I would want my surgeon to know how to spell the body part 
>he is working on. Is it too much to ask that someone making a 
>statement about someone else's intellectual level actually be 
>capable of "intellectual"? Finally, considering I don't have the 
>slightest clue what your primary language is and you seem to use 
>complex English words quite well, your defensiveness about it being 
>a second language is rather perplexing. That being said, I have no 
>interest in taking this further off topic, I just thought the error 
>was funny. Apparently, sarcasm is a one-way street on this list.
>
>-Dan
>On Apr 3, 2011, at 1:47 AM, Virgilio A. P. Machado wrote:
>
> > When I misspelled the word intellectual I wasn't referring to certain
> > people whose language skills revolve around being spell checkers. It
> > is always a thrill to trample on somebody else's language, mostly
> > when they can't utter a single word on any other except their own
> > language, much less address you in your own language. Misspelling or
> > mispronouncing any other language except my own? What, me worry?
> >
> >
> > At 06:14 03-04-2011, you wrote:
> >
> >> On Apr 3, 2011, at 1:02 AM, Virgilio A. P. Machado wrote:
> >>
> >>> intelectual
> >>
> >>
> >> *cough*
> >>
> >> -Dan
> >
> >
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Prof. Virgilio A. P. Machado            vam at fct.unl.pt
Engenharia 
Industrial 
http://web.archive.org/web/20070824105539/www.ipei.pt/GDEI/
DEMI/FCT/UNL                    Fax:   351-21-294-8546 or 21-294-8531
Universidade de Portugal                or 351-21-295-4461
2829-516 Caparica                       Tel.:  351-21-294-8542 or 21-294-8567
PORTUGAL                                or 351-21-294-8300 or 21 294-8500
                                         Ext.112-32
96-577-3726
Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia/UNL (FCT/UNL)

(Dr. Machado is Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at the
School of Sciences and Engineering/UNL of the University of Portugal)  