Life In 19x19

Writing is sooo old school. How emoji fluent are you? http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014 ... -quiz.html

Hhm, never seen that before and cannot quite see the point. I have no idea what the input method would be for creating a message using them but it would have to take way longer than simply typing. And the typed message would be much less cryptic.

I guess the thinking is that if it was good enough for the ancient Egyptians then it should be good enough for the modern illiterates.

Apparently I'm an emoji whisperer. But if I didn't have those four choices to select from, I would not have had any idea what most of them meant.

DrStraw wrote:Hhm, never seen that before and cannot quite see the point.

Well … you were probably born around mid-last century or before, and you’re living in the “Western” hemisphere, right? (me too, BTW)

I have no idea what the input method would be for creating a message using them but it would have to take way longer than simply typing.

Nope. Either you install a font that contains these emoji, or, for example, a plugin like Chromoji - Emoji for Google Chrome™ (not that I’d expect you to run and install this now)

And the typed message would be much less cryptic.

Mh… I know some folks who’d do better with emoji than they do w/ text

I guess the thinking is that if it was good enough for the ancient Egyptians then it should be good enough for the modern illiterates.

Are “we” being somewhat judgemental here? I know very well, though, how tempting it is to put down things that others like and I don’t.


Cordially, T☺m

Bonobo wrote:

I guess the thinking is that if it was good enough for the ancient Egyptians then it should be good enough for the modern illiterates.

Are “we” being somewhat judgemental here? I know very well, though, how tempting it is to put down things that others like and I don’t.

Kind of like disliking video and preferring the spoken word. Reading ability has declined in the last 50 years and so people find it easier to see a pictorial version. For myself, I usually immediately close a link if I see it has a video instead of a written article.

Bonobo wrote:Are “we” being somewhat judgemental here? I know very well, though, how tempting it is to put down things that others like and I don’t.

What do we call people who put down things that they like and others don't?

DrStraw wrote:

Bonobo wrote:

I guess the thinking is that if it was good enough for the ancient Egyptians then it should be good enough for the modern illiterates.

Are “we” being somewhat judgemental here? I know very well, though, how tempting it is to put down things that others like and I don’t.

Kind of like disliking video and preferring the spoken word. Reading ability has declined in the last 50 years and so people find it easier to see a pictorial version. For myself, I usually immediately close a link if I see it has a video instead of a written article.

Tempted to go on a rant about my recent suspicion that most of the human race is actively trying to demolish all civilization and go back to basic animal behavior (except keeping video games, modern weapons, and smart phones.)

I got a 6, so I'm just average.

DrStraw wrote:Reading ability has declined in the last 50 years and so people find it easier to see a pictorial version.

I rather expect that reading ability has in fact increased overall in the last 50 years. There is currently an enormous propaganda effort in the US aimed at public schools and public school teachers with the aim of privatizing schools and paying teachers less. Much of it rests upon the fact that US students do not test as well as students in other countries. But that was the case 50 years ago, as well. Meanwhile, there is evidence that poor tests scores in the US are associated with poverty, and furthermore, that the scores of poorer students have improved markedly in the past 20 years. That is a success story that gets buried by the propaganda.

I got 7 and never heard of those before. I also wouldn't have had a clue if this was not a multiple-choice-test.

Bill Spight wrote:

DrStraw wrote:Reading ability has declined in the last 50 years and so people find it easier to see a pictorial version.

I rather expect that reading ability has in fact increased overall in the last 50 years. There is currently an enormous propaganda effort in the US aimed at public schools and public school teachers with the aim of privatizing schools and paying teachers less. Much of it rests upon the fact that US students do not test as well as students in other countries. But that was the case 50 years ago, as well. Meanwhile, there is evidence that poor tests scores in the US are associated with poverty, and furthermore, that the scores of poorer students have improved markedly in the past 20 years. That is a success story that gets buried by the propaganda.

I disagree. The majority of the college students I try to teach cannot write a good sentence, do not understand if I write anything with a slightly sophisticated grammar or vocabulary, and complain when I write on the board in cursive because they cannot read it. As for there ability to compose a good e-mail, let's not talk about that.

DrStraw wrote:

Bill Spight wrote:

DrStraw wrote:Reading ability has declined in the last 50 years and so people find it easier to see a pictorial version.

I rather expect that reading ability has in fact increased overall in the last 50 years. There is currently an enormous propaganda effort in the US aimed at public schools and public school teachers with the aim of privatizing schools and paying teachers less. Much of it rests upon the fact that US students do not test as well as students in other countries. But that was the case 50 years ago, as well. Meanwhile, there is evidence that poor tests scores in the US are associated with poverty, and furthermore, that the scores of poorer students have improved markedly in the past 20 years. That is a success story that gets buried by the propaganda.

I disagree. The majority of the college students I try to teach cannot write a good sentence, do not understand if I write anything with a slightly sophisticated grammar or vocabulary, and complain when I write on the board in cursive because they cannot read it. As for there ability to compose a good e-mail, let's not talk about that.

Funny, I rather agree with both of you. First, I do not believe that reading has ever been a popular pastime, at least in the U.S. While basic proficiency has most likely increased for the general population, I'm almost certain that the average number of books read per year per person has been declining for several decades. Second, I totally agree with Bill's observation concerning poverty and privatization. (Are we dangerously encroaching on political turf?

Third, my experience is quite similar to DrStraw's concerning college students, as well as the high school students from a private school who took a college math course I was "tricked" into teaching. But we are conflating vastly different eras if we compare students from many decades ago. Instead of seeing the top 20-25 percent of high school students--often limited to those who were in advanced placement classes or the so-called college placement track--we are getting students from the bottom quintile. And many of these students have totally unrealistic goals. For example, I had a student in a basic algebra class who told me that he wanted to be an accountant. Considering that he could not do the most basic arithmetic (such as consistently adding two single digit numbers correctly), I asked him what math he had taken in high school. He volunteered that he was in special education classes, so this was the first time he ever encountered algebra. Of course, I would abolish algebra as a requirement for non-STEM students! Nurses don't need to solve or graph quadratic equations. Ivy Tech has finally changed the requirements for nurses, to the relief of them and me...

DrStraw wrote:

Bill Spight wrote:

DrStraw wrote:Reading ability has declined in the last 50 years and so people find it easier to see a pictorial version.

I rather expect that reading ability has in fact increased overall in the last 50 years. There is currently an enormous propaganda effort in the US aimed at public schools and public school teachers with the aim of privatizing schools and paying teachers less. Much of it rests upon the fact that US students do not test as well as students in other countries. But that was the case 50 years ago, as well. Meanwhile, there is evidence that poor tests scores in the US are associated with poverty, and furthermore, that the scores of poorer students have improved markedly in the past 20 years. That is a success story that gets buried by the propaganda.

I disagree. The majority of the college students I try to teach cannot write a good sentence, do not understand if I write anything with a slightly sophisticated grammar or vocabulary, and complain when I write on the board in cursive because they cannot read it. As for there ability to compose a good e-mail, let's not talk about that.

I think that the greatest improvement has come among students who do not go to college, or go to community college.

Edit:

Aidoneus wrote:Third, my experience is quite similar to DrStraw's concerning college students, as well as the high school students from a private school who took a college math course I was "tricked" into teaching. But we are conflating vastly different eras if we compare students from many decades ago. Instead of seeing the top 20-25 percent of high school students--often limited to those who were in advanced placement classes or the so-called college placement track--we are getting students from the bottom quintile.

OIC. Maybe so many people are going to college now that the average skill level of college students has dropped considerably. And maybe my statement above is wrong for that reason.

Bottom quintile? Really?

DrStraw wrote: .... As for there ability to compose a good e-mail, let's not talk about that.

Putting us for a test, Doctor?

The younger generations (I'm no longer sure whether I fall in their ranks or not) are much more illiterate, uncivil and uncultured than their elders. Where they shine is in not believing self-serving myths about how their generation is the best. But give them time. Eventually they'll be old and will start posting crap on the forums.

Bill Spight wrote:

DrStraw wrote:Reading ability has declined in the last 50 years and so people find it easier to see a pictorial version.

I rather expect that reading ability has in fact increased overall in the last 50 years. There is currently an enormous propaganda effort in the US aimed at public schools and public school teachers with the aim of privatizing schools and paying teachers less. Much of it rests upon the fact that US students do not test as well as students in other countries. But that was the case 50 years ago, as well. Meanwhile, there is evidence that poor tests scores in the US are associated with poverty, and furthermore, that the scores of poorer students have improved markedly in the past 20 years. That is a success story that gets buried by the propaganda.

I disagree. The majority of the college students I try to teach cannot write a good sentence, do not understand if I write anything with a slightly sophisticated grammar or vocabulary, and complain when I write on the board in cursive because they cannot read it. As for there ability to compose a good e-mail, let's not talk about that.[/quote]

I think that the greatest improvement has come among students who do not go to college, or go to community college.

Edit:

Aidoneus wrote:Third, my experience is quite similar to DrStraw's concerning college students, as well as the high school students from a private school who took a college math course I was "tricked" into teaching. But we are conflating vastly different eras if we compare students from many decades ago. Instead of seeing the top 20-25 percent of high school students--often limited to those who were in advanced placement classes or the so-called college placement track--we are getting students from the bottom quintile.

OIC. Maybe so many people are going to college now that the average skill level of college students has dropped considerably. And maybe my statement above is wrong for that reason.

Bottom quintile? Really? [/quote]

You have to consider the fact that many colleges in the USA are, for the most part, open admissions. This is specifically true of community colleges. Another point to consider is the fact that many students with learning handicaps (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia) go to college and university when they would not have 30 or so years ago. These students often get support services but that may not completely remediate the handicaps. As for not being able to read or write cursive, cursive writing is increasingly not taught in elementary school and students who can't handle cursive probably function well printing. As for cursive not being taught, I'm not sure this is something to rant about. We have progressed from quill pen to fountain pen to ball point pen to typewriter to word processor to voice recognition software and programs that read, and we can't go back no matter how nostalgic we feel.