But the problem with spell checkers is that they only spell American, not
English, and are therefore useless.
regards  ...  Terry

At 09:20  12/09/00 -0700, Steve Dirickson wrote:
> > >There is no excuse for this when spell and grammar checkers
> > are built into just about every application today.
> >
> > Actually, the profileration of spell-check and grammar
> > checkers *is* the
> > excuse.  That's because they are part of the cause of the
> > problem in the
> > same way that the proliferation of calculators (and to my
> > horror when my
> > children were in elementary school a required school supply!)
> > has lead to
> > no one under 30 seeming to be able to do basic arithmetic
> > anymore.
>
>I completely disagree. Correcting erroneous knowledge requires two basic
>steps:
>  1) Determining that current knowledge is incorrect
>  2) Obtaining correct knowledge as a replacement
>
>Spell checkers, and to some extent grammar checkers, provide both.
>
>The comparison to calculators is inappropriate. Calculators provide a way to
>avoid having to apply a skill, by giving the user a "shortcut" method
>whereby some other agent knows the skill and performs the operations.
>Correct spelling is not a skill, it is learned knowledge; the more often you
>see the correct answer, the more likely you are to retain it. Grammar is
>somewhere in between, but I think it also benefits from repetition of "that
>is wrong, this is correct" demonstrations.
>
>Steve

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Terry Prime
System Adninistrator, Shift Team Leader
Central Systems Services
Information Technolgy Services
Queensland University of Technology

phone (07) 38642425
mobile 0404 057292
speed dial 6833
email [log in to unmask]

growing old is mandatory, acting old is optional

outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.  -- Groucho Marx