Shouting into the Void: Part Deux
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on April 26, 2016, 10:07 a.m. by Gidgetimer
I think I may be getting old. It isn't aches or pains or not being able to do things I used to. I am now supposing that people who do something that irritates me are younger than myself and am blaming their education for not teaching them how to do it correctly.
It will not surprise anyone who has had a modicum of interaction with me that what set me off was poor communication skills (again). I see many people when answering a question posed to them that instead answer a tangential question instead of the one posed.
I instinctively want to blame the education system and the notion that some people just "don't test well". If someone has the knowledge, but can not display it when asked a question, then they are not answering the question given them. I blame a culture of intellectual coddling for people not taking the time to read and understand before just saying the first thing that comes to mind.
Such behavior was never tolerated in any school I went to. Not in high school and definitely not in advanced technical training in the Navy. When I was going to one of my technical schools in the Navy there was an acronym used when this came up. ATQA. It ostensibly stood for "Answer the Question Asked". Knowing the people in charge of these acronyms and their prior history of "cleaning up" the meanings as to not have to stop using them ("WTF" does not mean "what's this for") I have doubts about what that last "A" stood for.
Sometimes I just want to post ATQA as a response to people that decide they want to take the time to weigh in on something, but don't want to take the time to understand what they are replying to first.
Souljacker says... #3
I blame social media, people get rewarded by likes when spouting out something. Also, we have more and more ways of indirectly communicating with each other, so we aren't confronted with a response or feedback immediately (or at all, in case of most social media). This way we do not learn if our communication is perceived properly.
April 26, 2016 10:59 a.m.
PookandPie says... #4
Dude, this is Tapped Out. If it isn't Dunning-Kruger cranked up to 11, it's the fact that the person who bloviates endlessly about their opinion doesn't have the English skills to comprehend what was said.
April 26, 2016 12:44 p.m.
grumbledore says... #6
many things bother me in this world. chief among them is abuse of the english language.
Boza says... #2
Good call, I like the thought. Tangents can be fun to explore too, from time to time.
April 26, 2016 10:15 a.m.