Monday, June 29, 2015

Between You and Me by Mary Norris

I just started this book but I want to write out a quote already. Mary Norris calls herself a "comma queen" at the New Yorker. She checks the grammar and other aspects of stories in the magazine.

In this quote Norris is talking about autocorrect, and it made me laugh out loud.
Autocorrect I could do without. It thinks I am stupid and clumsy, and while it's true that I don't know how to disable it and I can't text with my thumbs like a teenager (though I am prehensile), why would I let a machine tell me what I want to say? I text someone "Good night" in German, and instead of "Gute Nacht" I send "Cute Nachos." I type "adverbial," and it comes out "adrenal," which is like a knife thrust to my adverbial gland. Invited to dinner, I text my friend to ask whether I can bring anything, and she replies that the "food and dissertation" are under control. Good news, I guess. I understand to bring wine and not ask anyone the topic of his PhD thesis.