Comments on: How I want to lead

By: Stephen Downes

Stephen Downes — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:46:42 +0000

The problem isn’t whether I understood what Gina meant. The problem is whether Gina understood what she said. And I inferred, she didn’t.

And it’s not just a small point, and I’m not just being pedantic. This is an element of basic literacy, and yet a certain proportion of educators don’t even know that it exists.

That this is the case, and that others would actually defend this state, is in a nutshell what is wrong with American education today.

Fortunately, I do not place Gina Minks into that category, which is why I believed it worth while to make the comment.

By: madkat97

madkat97 — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:52:21 +0000

@Stephen Downes, Well, yes, it is you being pedantic. Did you understand what Gina meant? Obviously you did, since you “corrected” it. And is that all you find to comment on in this post?

Good god, you raise navel-gazing to a high art.

By: Stephen Downes

Stephen Downes — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:22:55 +0000

Not a problem – but if you talk loosely like that you should correct the way you talk as well.

You wouldn’t excuse your saying “2+2=5″ because it’s just the way you talk. This is an equally basic principle.

This isn’t just me being pedantic. It’s a question of having people understand what you’re saying. Speaking precisely makes it a lot easier for your listeners. And you leave a more favorable impression.

By: gminks

gminks — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:04:03 +0000

Thank you Stephen. I get very passionate and write like I talk…obviously that does not translate well in every case.

By: Stephen Downes

Stephen Downes — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:04:56 +0000

You wrote: “EVERYONE is not good at reading social cues.”

You mean: “Not everyone is good at reading social cues.”

The sentence “EVERYONE is not good at reading social cues” means the same thing as “Nobody is good at reading social cures,” which is surely false.

What you want to say is “Some people are not good at reading social cues,” which is the same as “Not everyone is good at reading social cues.”

In general:

All A are B = No A are not B
All A are not B = No A are B
Not All A are B = Some A are not B
Not all A are not B = Some A are B