needed skills
Been reading a lot of Tales from Tech Support, as well as other videos about Reddit posts.
I've noticed a ubiquitous problem that I first noted in second or third grade. People can't read something out loud.
Oh, they can "read" it. But what they say is *not* what the text says. They change words. Usually to some other word that they *think* is the same thing, but isn't. Other times it's a *completely* different word that only shares a few characters.
Some people go as far as "hearing* things this way. That it's, they are told X, and "hear" Y.
An example from one of the tech support stories was the tech telling the guy he needed to clean out his mailbox and the guy hearing it as "wash the computer". "Clean" and "wash" do *not* mean the same thing!!
More commonly this sort of thing comes up when the tech asks the person what the error message on the computer is. What they tell you is paraphrased, usually *badly*.
Now, I don't expect end users to know all the "technical terms" (though they really should know the difference between a monitor and a computer for just one example). Details *matter* with many, MANY things in modern life.
But people *really* need to be able to read back the *exact* wording on an error message. And to read the *actual* instructions on the screen or on a page *without* rewording them.
Yet even back in grade school I noticed folks misreading stuff when asked to read a passage from a book aloud. And the teachers rarely said anything about it.
Yeah, being able to get across the gist of something in your own words usually (but not always!) indicates that you understood what you read.
But we *really* need to start teaching people that young that details matter. When asked to *read* something aloud, you need to read what's written. Not give your interpretation odf the text. If you are asked what it *means* that's a different situation.
The concept that *details matter* needs to be taught. As well as the concept that there are times when you should *not* paraphrase things. Especially when some asks you to read back something that they can't see but you can.
Maybe also spend more time on the concept that different words really do mean *different* things. They don't exist just to be fancy or something. Synonyms *do not* mean the same thing. They have *similar* weirds, but they aren't the same.
Crimson and burgundy are *not* the same color even if both can be called "red".
these skills would prevent *(so* many problems and misunderstandings...
This entry was originally posted at https://kengr.dreamwidth.org/1153688.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I've noticed a ubiquitous problem that I first noted in second or third grade. People can't read something out loud.
Oh, they can "read" it. But what they say is *not* what the text says. They change words. Usually to some other word that they *think* is the same thing, but isn't. Other times it's a *completely* different word that only shares a few characters.
Some people go as far as "hearing* things this way. That it's, they are told X, and "hear" Y.
An example from one of the tech support stories was the tech telling the guy he needed to clean out his mailbox and the guy hearing it as "wash the computer". "Clean" and "wash" do *not* mean the same thing!!
More commonly this sort of thing comes up when the tech asks the person what the error message on the computer is. What they tell you is paraphrased, usually *badly*.
Now, I don't expect end users to know all the "technical terms" (though they really should know the difference between a monitor and a computer for just one example). Details *matter* with many, MANY things in modern life.
But people *really* need to be able to read back the *exact* wording on an error message. And to read the *actual* instructions on the screen or on a page *without* rewording them.
Yet even back in grade school I noticed folks misreading stuff when asked to read a passage from a book aloud. And the teachers rarely said anything about it.
Yeah, being able to get across the gist of something in your own words usually (but not always!) indicates that you understood what you read.
But we *really* need to start teaching people that young that details matter. When asked to *read* something aloud, you need to read what's written. Not give your interpretation odf the text. If you are asked what it *means* that's a different situation.
The concept that *details matter* needs to be taught. As well as the concept that there are times when you should *not* paraphrase things. Especially when some asks you to read back something that they can't see but you can.
Maybe also spend more time on the concept that different words really do mean *different* things. They don't exist just to be fancy or something. Synonyms *do not* mean the same thing. They have *similar* weirds, but they aren't the same.
Crimson and burgundy are *not* the same color even if both can be called "red".
these skills would prevent *(so* many problems and misunderstandings...
This entry was originally posted at https://kengr.dreamwidth.org/1153688.html. Please comment there using OpenID.