NationStates Jolt Archive

I am, apparently, pretentious. An acquaintance recently called me an intellectual snob and charged me with being pretentious in that area. Once again, this made me think (as I've noted before, this gets me into no end of trouble). Isn't everyone pretentious in some area? Don't we all have our little snobberies?

I've mentioned one of mine, what are yours?

My "friends" call me elitist. I might be.

I've been called snobby, pretentious, elitist, narcissistic, etc. I don't really take it seriously... because I know it's true. XD

Technically, you're only pretentious if you act like you know more than you actually do.

... I've been called "too nice" a looooong time ago...

I still don't know if it was supposed to be a compliment or an insult...

Aparantly I'm an Intelectual Bigot, just because I believe stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

its not pretentious if its true.

Appartly I'm an Intelecual Bigot, just becasue I bellieve stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

or breed.

Technically, you're only pretentious if you act like you know more than you actually do.

Stop being pretentious. :p

Because I am a European (by chance) living in South America (by choice) I am automatically pretentious for all those here that have an inferiority complex.

Appartly I'm an Intelecual Bigot, just becasue I bellieve stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

God, I'm an asshole.

And I'm dyslexic.

He's a snob for turning up his nose at you and calling you pretentious.
*nod*

And I'm dyslexic.

So dyslexic people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Yeah I know they were born that way, but so were the stupid people.

or breed.
or breathe.
So dyslexic people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Yeah I know they were born that way, but so were the stupid people.

Actually most of them weren't, true stupidity takes years and years of neglect and abuse to happen.

Dyslexics however can adapt. Stupid people probably could too, but they are too lazy and useless to try.

Say that too my IQ of 149. I'm dyslexic, not stupid.

How terribly jejune.

Say that too my IQ of 149. I'm dyslexic, not stupid.

I tutor a dyslexic boy, if he uses pastel paper it makes things easier, we figured out if we changed the background of where he types his spelling improves. Have you tried that? (I don't have any science behind it, we just tried it one day)

So dyslexic people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Yeah I know they were born that way, but so were the stupid people.
Why? Because they might misspell 'X'?

Personally, I've been called both a music snob and musically pretentious. Which I'd agree with, but the only reason I've been called either of those things is because I refuse to listen to music I don't like.

No. I just write slowly if it matters, like in an exam. This however does not matter. So I type as quickly as posible and then post it, maybe checking it if I can be arsed.

Say that too my IQ of 149. I'm dyslexic, not stupid.

my dyslexia is mostly with numbers... for instance, I read your 149 as 419.

My IQ is 419.

I usually get called "insensitive little prick" or if they are feeling lazy "arrogant"

I usually just twist it to sound like honest in my head, its a good strategy :wink:

Why? Because they might misspell 'X'?


Of course.

Pretension isn't liking intellectual things, it's wearing it on your sleeve as if it makes you better than everyone else and they should acknowledge it.

God, I'm an asshole.

Not really. He went back to edit and still misspelled "apparently" and "intellectual".

God, I'm an asshole.

Not really. He went back to edit and still misspelled "apparently" and "intellectual".

Do I have to post what being dyslexic means?

Say that too my IQ of 149. I'm dyslexic, not stupid.

You'd think a genius would at least employ a spell check. Firefox has one built in, it's handy. Unless geniuses have no time for the petty spelling rules of the bourgeois!

is there anyone out there who has come into contact with the internet that isn't pretentious :confused:

Pretension isn't liking intellectual things, it's wearing it on your sleeve as if it makes you better than everyone else and they should acknowledge it.

what if its true?

SNIP

an IQ of 149 is genius?!?

You'd think a genius would at least employ a spell check. Firefox has one built in, it's handy. Unless geniuses have no time for the petty spelling rules of the bourgeois!

I'm using internet explorer and am to lazy to downlaod espell for it.

I'm a pretentious dick on the internet, but only to some people. People I don't find interesting, witty, thoughtful, cool, or, usually, so intensely earnest and sweet that I don't want to be an ass to them. So really, I'm only pretentious and egotistical around people that I think suck.

IRL I may be pretentious in my head, but never around other people.

is there anyone out there who has come into contact with the internet that isn't pretentious :confused:



what if its true?



an IQ of 149 is genius?!?

An IQ of 140, considered to be... for lack of a better term, a "regular" genius, falls in the 98.8th percentile. An IQ of 180, considered to be an exceptional genius (the likes of Einstein, Beethoven, etc.) falls in the 99.99th percentile.

MENSA (more or less the least discriminating organization for people with high IQs) puts the cut-off at the 98th percentile.

Make of it what you will.

A high IQ doesn't necessarily indicate high intelligence. I'm living proof of that.

A high IQ doesn't necessarily indicate high intelligence. I'm living proof of that.
but it almost guarantees at least a slightly above average intelligence.

but it has no correlation to common sense.

So dyslexic people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Yeah I know they were born that way, but so were the stupid people.

sigged

A high IQ doesn't necessarily indicate high intelligence. I'm living proof of that.

Very true. While I think I'm a pretty intelligent person, I think my official IQ (that is, as tested by someone actually certified to conduct such tests, not the internets) is probably inflated because I'm just good at taking standardized tests. Some people aren't, and then there are language and culture biases, blah blah blah.

A high IQ does, however, help some of us who are bad at pretty much everything else feel better. I used to look forward to standardized testing every year at school, because it was one of the times I could prove to my teachers I wasn't stupid.

An IQ of 140, considered to be... for lack of a better term, a "regular" genius, falls in the 98.8th percentile. An IQ of 180, considered to be an exceptional genius (the likes of Einstein, Beethoven, etc.) falls in the 99.99th percentile.

MENSA (more or less the least discriminating organization for people with high IQs) puts the cut-off at the 98th percentile.

Make of it what you will.

So.......are you a member of Triple 9? :p

Do I have to post what being dyslexic means?

I didn't mean to imply that you were stupid, and I'm sorry if you thought that. Incorrect spelling irritates me, but that's my pet peeve. I appreciate that dyslexia is a real condition/learning disorder, I've worked with dyslexic students and they're as bright as anyone, just challenged in different ways. I myself have ADD and had a lot of trouble in elementary school with teachers who thought I was stupid or lazy because I made a lot of errors due to not fully reading instructions, forgetting things, rushing ahead, etc. So I do understand, and I apologize.

So.......are you a member of Triple 9? :p

Heh, no. The last time my IQ was tested by a certified professional I was 11 (it was part of a battery of tests for ADD) and at that time the most elite society I would have qualified for would have been the ePiq or CIVIQ society, which both have really lame names (I don't know anything about them, I'm just looking at the wiki). Not sure what my IQ is now, although my SAT scores and slightly more reputable online tests give the same score as my formal test at 11, so I guess I haven't become any smarter. Proof that higher education is useless! :p

Here's a test to find out how pretentious you are:
http://www.helloquizzy.com/quizzy/take

Heh, no. The last time my IQ was tested by a certified professional I was 11 (it was part of a battery of tests for ADD) and at that time the most elite society I would have qualified for would have been the ePiq or CIVIQ society, which both have really lame names (I don't know anything about them, I'm just looking at the wiki). Not sure what my IQ is now, although my SAT scores and slightly more reputable online tests give the same score as my formal test at 11, so I guess I haven't become any smarter. Proof that higher education is useless! :p

With scores like that you could join MENSA. *recruits*

We have tons of fun.

I'm going to test for Triple 9 in the fall. I won't tell anyone if I make it though, there are so few members I would be easily identifiable.

Well, in one of my classes a girl was giving a report on the city of Brussels, Belgium. She proceeded to talk about the multitude of organizations headquartered there, and spoke first about NATO's role in the city.

She pronounced it N-A-T-O instead of NATO. That was the first and last time I ever laughed at something in school, and no one else in class had any idea what was so funny. I consider myself pretentious in the fact that when I come upon a moron in the field of history or geography I can't help but laugh.

With scores like that you could join MENSA. *recruits*

We have tons of fun.

I'm going to test for Triple 9 in the fall. I won't tell anyone if I make it though, there are so few members I would be easily identifiable.
i know it sounds pretentious but

i dont want to qualify for 99.9% status. those people are seriously weird.

i know it sounds pretentious but

i dont want to qualify for 99.9% status. those people are seriously weird.

I know, I live with one. She's insane.

My music tastes are frequently called pretentious (loads of ridiculously OTT avant-garde black metal bands and a host of obscure 'quirky' indie and metal bands). But I like what I like because I think its good, not to be elitist. I just find three minute pop songs generally very dull.

I also have a slight tendency to feel superior to people who adhere rigidly to an ideology (whether it be socialism, libertarianism or whatever). I'm not the sort of person to bother arguing much with them, but I'll just smile and nod patronisingly before walking off. I'm always suspiscious of people who seem to follow a set ideology to the very letter. It sometimes reeks of falling back on dogma and not thinking for yourself. But I'm aware I probably just come across as a total asshat on occasion.

With scores like that you could join MENSA. *recruits*

We have tons of fun.

I'm going to test for Triple 9 in the fall. I won't tell anyone if I make it though, there are so few members I would be easily identifiable.

I thought of joining MENSA once, just because I heard that Geena Davis was a member, and I was going to be damned if I'd let Geena Davis be smarter than me! But then I read the page and you actually have to, like, do stuff, like find my test scores and send them in, and... do more than press keys and buttons on the computer. Downer.

I know, I live with one. She's insane.

One of the Smunklings is in the 99.9th percentile? Which one?

I thought of joining MENSA once, just because I heard that Geena Davis was a member, and I was going to be damned if I'd let Geena Davis be smarter than me! But then I read the page and you actually have to, like, do stuff, like find my test scores and send them in, and... do more than press keys and buttons on the computer. Downer.
and then you have to go to meetings and stuff.

wouldnt it be more interesting to join a gardening society or volunteer at the boys and girls club?

and then you have to go to meetings and stuff.

wouldnt it be more interesting to join a gardening society or volunteer at the boys and girls club?

See, I didn't even read far enough to know you had to go to the meetings. Laziness 1, everything else 0.

Yep. Or sit at my desk and babble to online forums, which takes very little movement and thus makes me more fuel-efficient, I reckon. Someday, cars will run on Ryadn power, and they'll be so efficient! You may have trouble getting them started, though, and they'd tend to stall...

well i just assumed that the point of joining was to go to meetings.

unless all you wanted was a "ryadn is smart" certificate suitable for framing.

Why? Because they might misspell 'X'?

Personally, I've been called both a music snob and musically pretentious. Which I'd agree with, but the only reason I've been called either of those things is because I refuse to listen to music I don't like.

Life is too short to be sonically inconvenienced, brother. I don't listen to shit if I have the option of avoiding it.

I usually get called "insensitive little prick" or if they are feeling lazy "arrogant"

I usually just twist it to sound like honest in my head, its a good strategy :wink:

Well, I respect your intellect, Ctp, but there's a difference between forthrightness or honest and tactlessness or insensitivity. It took me at least 15 years to fully appreciate and learn that fact. Intelligence is no substitute for wisdom, common sense or simple politeness. In the end, there are indeed some intensely and even deliberately ignorant people out there, but until they prove themselves unworthy of consideration, they deserve at least basic levels of respect.

I find that some of my students who look at me as a kind of role model for people who know a lot of stuff over a wide area seem almost disappointed when I make that statement. I cannot defend elitism when it exists for its own sake. The hypocrisy of intellectual elitism in the face of social elitism so commonly present in schools is too thorny to ignore.

Pretension isn't liking intellectual things, it's wearing it on your sleeve as if it makes you better than everyone else and they should acknowledge it.

Much like those with money or popularity should be somehow exalted simply for their money and popularity. The difference is that the intellectuals should know better.

Well, in one of my classes a girl was giving a report on the city of Brussels, Belgium. She proceeded to talk about the multitude of organizations headquartered there, and spoke first about NATO's role in the city.

She pronounced it N-A-T-O instead of NATO. That was the first and last time I ever laughed at something in school, and no one else in class had any idea what was so funny. I consider myself pretentious in the fact that when I come upon a moron in the field of history or geography I can't help but laugh.

I remember a girl in my high school geography class asking aloud "why does it matter where the Pacific Ocean is?" I was in my angry-young-smart-ass phase and had stifled myself too long to not reply. I said "because when your family makes it's tenth trip to Hawaii and the plane goes down on the way, THEY'LL KNOW WHERE TO SEND THE DAMNED RESCUE SQUAD, you ignorant COW!"

That was my third trip to the principal's office and subsequent detention that month. Like I said, I was smart-assed and insensitive, not wise. I've learned since then simply not to trust the asker of such a question and treat them politely. I keep the comments to myself.

One of the Smunklings is in the 99.9th percentile? Which one?

I say it's the youngest... :wink:

I say it's the youngest... :wink:

I wouldn't be surprised with either of them.

I've mentioned one of mine, what are yours?

I correct people's grammar.

Not everything... but omission of the subjunctive in counterfactuals, using "good" as an adverb, and, when I'm being particularly obnoxious and pedantic, ending sentences in prepositions.

I correct people's grammar.

Not everything... but omission of the subjunctive in counterfactuals, using "good" as an adjective, and, when I'm being particularly obnoxious and pedantic, ending sentences in prepositions.

Really? I've always been particularly offended by misuse of adverbs, especially by people who are supposed to know better. It galls me when I hear a newscaster say something like "he did good" instead of "he did well" or "he ran quick" instead of "he ran quickly."

Really? I've always been particularly offended by misuse of adverbs, especially by people who are supposed to know better. It galls me when I hear a newscaster say something like "he did good" instead of "he did well" or "he ran quick" instead of "he ran quickly."

It doesn't "offend" me--I know that rationally it doesn't matter. It's a joke, really... it amuses me, and the people I do it to aren't particularly bothered by it.

Very true. While I think I'm a pretty intelligent person, I think my official IQ (that is, as tested by someone actually certified to conduct such tests, not the internets) is probably inflated because I'm just good at taking standardized tests. Some people aren't, and then there are language and culture biases, blah blah blah.


I think the same applies to me. Apparently there's some disorder or something where one of the effects is scoring ridiculously high on IQ tests. It might actually be ADD, I know that I was given IQ tests when I was being tested for that. Seriously, with the IQ I got I should be like, I don't know, formulating the friggin' Grand Unified Theory.

Really? I've always been particularly offended by misuse of adverbs, especially by people who are supposed to know better. It galls me when I hear a newscaster say something like "he did good" instead of "he did well" or "he ran quick" instead of "he ran quickly."

I correct people on TV when they say things like, "He ran too slow." It's a tic--I try not to do it around other people, because it's obnoxious.

Not nearly as obnoxious as people who say things like, "For all intensive purposes," though. Or "Where's your job at?" :mad:

I think the same applies to me. Apparently there's some disorder or something where one of the effects is scoring ridiculously high on IQ tests. It might actually be ADD, I know that I was given IQ tests when I was being tested for that. Seriously, with the IQ I got I should be like, I don't know, formulating the friggin' Grand Unified Theory.

Same here--that's the only reason I know my IQ, because I found the reports from the assessments they did when I was 7 and then 11. STAR testing (California standardized testing for elementary school) always confounded my teachers. It was like, "You can score in the 98th and 99th percentiles on long, boring, bubble-filling math and language tests, but you can't remember the directions I gave you five minutes ago!"

I correct people on TV when they say things like, "He ran too slow." It's a tic--I try not to do it around other people, because it's obnoxious.

Not nearly as obnoxious as people who say things like, "For all intensive purposes," though. Or "Where's your job at?" :mad:
dont you hate it when you talk to the guy on the tv and he doesnt even acknowledge that you corrected him?

i try hard to only correct people when its important. as a mom its pretty hard to keep that in check. i still correct my 22 year old son's pronunciation on words that are hardly ever spoken outloud.

Same here--that's the only reason I know my IQ, because I found the reports from the assessments they did when I was 7 and then 11. STAR testing (California standardized testing for elementary school) always confounded my teachers. It was like, "You can score in the 98th and 99th percentiles on long, boring, bubble-filling math and language tests, but you can't remember the directions I gave you five minutes ago!"

I don't even know my exact IQ, my parents never told me. I managed to get it down to a 27 point range by careful questioning, though.

I correct people on TV when they say things like, "He ran too slow." It's a tic--I try not to do it around other people, because it's obnoxious.

Not nearly as obnoxious as people who say things like, "For all intensive purposes," though. Or "Where's your job at?" :mad:

Or "He could of" instead of "he could have." It's really bad when you hear English teachers saying it.

You'd think a genius would at least employ a spell check. Firefox has one built in, it's handy. Unless geniuses have no time for the petty spelling rules of the bourgeois!
Spell checks don't catch when you use the wrong to/too/two.

I also doubt this is dyslexia, I think it's either laziness or an inability to pay attention (or understand) basic grammar and spelling rules explained in grade 5.

I correct people on TV when they say things like, "He ran too slow." It's a tic--I try not to do it around other people, because it's obnoxious.

Not nearly as obnoxious as people who say things like, "For all intensive purposes," though. Or "Where's your job at?" :mad:

Or "He could of" instead of "he could have." It's really bad when you hear English teachers saying it.

That's just the way it sounds -- English teachers aren't immune to prevailing pronunciations or using perfectly viable contractions.

Writing it is another matter, though it's less stupidity and more carelessness or inattention. "Should of" is a homophone for the way many people pronounce "should've". As a result, when transliterating what they hear to what they write or type, they write or type what they hear. The carelessness comes from not making the connection between reading "should've" and disassociating it from what they hear.

Other examples include "alot" (a lot -- as if the word "lot" had no meaning in and of itself) and one I read recently, "insight" versus "incite" (ignoring the syllabic stress along with spelling), and lots more. You want pretentiousness? I consider those homophones to be errors of a lesser and more forgivable nature than outright misspellings. Gradients of error tolerance based on the nature of the error? I am a pretentious bastard.

And let's not forget "irregardless" and other non-words.

But irregardless of this, you should of for all intensive purposes be more pacific when your talking alot. It doesnt take alot of good incite to no this.

I've been told that I have a habit of assuming a certain level of physicality from people. For instance, not everybody likes to be tackled off of the side of bridges into several feet of estuarial mud. Hard to believe I know, but apparently true. *nod*

But irregardless of this, you should of for all intensive purposes be more pacific when your talking alot. It doesnt take alot of good incite to no this.

[Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides]THE PAAAIIN!!![/Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides]

I've been told that I have a habit of assuming a certain level of physicality from people. For instance, not everybody likes to be tackled off of the side of bridges into several feet of estuarial mud. Hard to believe I know, but apparently true. *nod*

I'm game. Hit me, brother.

But irregardless of this, you should of for all intensive purposes be more pacific when your talking alot. It doesnt take alot of good incite to no this.

Ahhhh! That was just mean. :p

I have to say, I do take it for granite that most people on NSG are academically orientated and can distinguish between hominems, accept of course for people with old timer's disease.

Ahhhh! That was just mean. :p

It gives me a headache every time I read it. For some reason it makes me squint as my eyes peruse each merciless word destroying my mother tongue.

I have to say, I do take it for granite that most people on NSG are academically orientated and can distinguish between hominems, accept of course for people with old timer's disease.

Your more cleverer than me, thats for shore. Your a reel genus.

Ahhhh! That was just mean. :p

I have to say, I do take it for granite that most people on NSG are academically orientated and can distinguish between hominems, accept of course for people with old timer's disease.
HEY! you leave us old people out of it, you whippersnapper!

HEY! you leave us old people out of it, you whippersnapper!

You guys should be the experts, really. You're closer than us chronologically to the standardization of written language. Do you remember when the first bible came off of Gutenberg's press? :p

*runs away*

You guys should be the experts, really. You're closer than us chronologically to the standardization of written language. Do you remember when the first bible came off of Gutenberg's press? :p

*runs away*

No, but I do remember his starring role in Short Circuit.

[Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides]THE PAAAIIN!!![/Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides]

*enjoys the reference*

*enjoys the reference*

*loves you for it*

she's got electric boots
a mohair suit
and they command you with a gravel-ay-heee vo-hoice
B-B-B-Bene Gesserits

I remember a girl in my high school geography class asking aloud "why does it matter where the Pacific Ocean is?" I was in my angry-young-smart-ass phase and had stifled myself too long to not reply. I said "because when your family makes it's tenth trip to Hawaii and the plane goes down on the way, THEY'LL KNOW WHERE TO SEND THE DAMNED RESCUE SQUAD, you ignorant COW!"


Sigged.

Do I have to post what being dyslexic means?Do I have to post what being dyslexic means?No one would read it as there's no definitive agreed definition of dyslexia so any definition would be pages upon pages long. Indeed it is argued by some that condition does not exist.

Besides I find your excuse of dyslexia for poor spelling whilst typing lame. I'm diagnosed with the same condition, yet I find a huge difference between my spelling when typing and when writing. Furthermore, you've stated that your spelling is more to do with laziness and haste than any other factors. I've also found that I tend to mispronounce many of the words I misspell. Like I used to pronounce 'necessary' as 'ness-es-ary'.

Using your disability as an excuse to not bother trying to improve in the things you find harder sucks.

I am, apparently, pretentious. An acquaintance recently called me an intellectual snob and charged me with being pretentious in that area. Once again, this made me think (as I've noted before, this gets me into no end of trouble). Isn't everyone pretentious in some area? Don't we all have our little snobberies?

I've mentioned one of mine, what are yours?

I totally pretentiously think that other people are pretentious.

No one would read it as there's no definitive agreed definition of dyslexia so any definition would be pages upon pages long. Indeed it is argued by some that condition does not exist.

Besides I find your excuse of dyslexia for poor spelling whilst typing lame. I'm diagnosed with the same condition, yet I find a huge difference between my spelling when typing and when writing. Furthermore, you've stated that your spelling is more to do with laziness and haste than any other factors. I've also found that I tend to mispronounce many of the words I misspell. Like I used to pronounce 'necessary' as 'ness-es-ary'.

Using your disability as an excuse to not bother trying to improve in the things you find harder sucks.

Bingo - dyslexia is such a commonly used excuse for poor spelling. A lot of dyslexia is actually a hearing problem rather than a visual problem, and there's plenty of evidence to show that it can easily be overcome. It's a hugely over-diagnosed industry.

Dispatches did a great program on the dyslexia myth...

The biggest shock was that the 'dyslexia myth' story which sounded so controversial when I first started the research, turned out not to be controversial at all to the experts. The idea that the common understanding of dyslexia is a myth was startling when I first heard it. Yet I found it was a view shared by every academic that I talked to. The scientific consensus about it is overwhelming.

Link (http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/D/dyslexia_myth/dyslexia.html)

You can watch the whole show somewhere.

I have been called a snob, an elitist, terribly pretentious and conceited which I don't mind all that much as it is more or less true.

Here's a test to find out how pretentious you are:
http://www.helloquizzy.com/quizzy/take

Thanks a lot mate, now I have another website that will aid me in my time wasting :)

For the record:

Your result for The Pretentious Test ...

the Ottoman
Behold1 Your pretensh-value is:

Ok, you probably already know this. In fact you're probably having it muttered about you behind your back right now. You're extremely pretentious! You live your life according to what you have been led to believe is cool and will impress people. Stop reading those silly glossy magazines and go jump on a bus out to the countryside. Lie down and roll around in the mud for a while. You'll feel better for it, honestly. Then get up and go home, and work out what you actually do and don't admire and enjoy. You never know, you might get a bit of cash for some of those obscure jazz records you (come on, admit it) never listen to.

Or "He could of" instead of "he could have." It's really bad when you hear English teachers saying it.

Which is a main cause of the problem, grammar is one area where my skills lack. It is something that I want to improve. Although I have never said "he could of" instead of "he could have".

I am sure I have made a few mistakes in this post, please correct them when I do make a mistake and explain the rule to me.

Bingo - dyslexia is such a commonly used excuse for poor spelling. A lot of dyslexia is actually a hearing problem rather than a visual problem, and there's plenty of evidence to show that it can easily be overcome. It's a hugely over-diagnosed industry.I think part of the reason it's over-diagnosed is that the dys- family of disabilities are used to label specific learning difficulties that are rare or don't have a category of their own, but are similar to the disability they are diagnosed as. Or at least this is what the educational psychologist told when I went for my interview.

In my case my specific learning difficulty is that my short term memory is considerably worse than my other abilities (40 IQ points worse). This was linked to a disparity between IQ and educational achievement. Hence, the help I was given is to help me over come my problems with short term memory. Which was basically training in how to use a diary and how to effectively take notes (in various different ways).

Dispatches did a great program on the dyslexia myth...



Link (http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/D/dyslexia_myth/dyslexia.html)

You can watch the whole show somewhere.I find the issue interesting, but I believe the reporter is missing the problem at the heart of the dyslexia controversy.

I think the dilemma that dyslexia presents is that humans are not equal -- they learn in different ways and find different teaching styles more helpful than others; and that the one-size-fits all education system is the root cause of many problems. I think it's about 40% of prison inmates in the UK do not have the reading and writing skills expected of an 11-year-old. So the point I'm clumsily trying to make is although dyslexia may be over-diagnosed it is indicative of a systemic problem in the education system.

I am, apparently, pretentious. An acquaintance recently called me an intellectual snob and charged me with being pretentious in that area. Once again, this made me think (as I've noted before, this gets me into no end of trouble). Isn't everyone pretentious in some area? Don't we all have our little snobberies?

I've mentioned one of mine, what are yours?

'Pretentious' is always the word throw by one person who is not a member of a certian click, towards a person who is a member.

So I guess we all have our pretentions, but it does strike me as a word that is used exclusivly by people against other people. Umm unless anybody here regulary asks them selves 'what are my pretentions?'

Heh 'ark at me, now I'm a languae expert, how pretentuious!:D

So the point I'm clumsily trying to make is although dyslexia may be over-diagnosed it is indicative of a systemic problem in the education system.

I agree and thanks for adding further information.

At the age we teach children to hear/speak/read, there's wide variance in learning and, as you quite rightly say, different responses to teaching methods.

I had written a longer post on education, I think it's the most important aspect of a modern society and it's both criminally underfunded as well as quite immune to change at times.

It's a very sensitive point, certainly for parents.

We're competitive towards homogeneity, we should celebrate difference a lot more, I mean that in terms of individuals because I think governments have tried to push this but are met with the resistance of tradition.

I think part of the reason it's over-diagnosed is that the dys- family of disabilities are used to label specific learning difficulties that are rare or don't have a category of their own, but are similar to the disability they are diagnosed as. Or at least this is what the educational psychologist told when I went for my interview.

In my case my specific learning difficulty is that my short term memory is considerably worse than my other abilities (40 IQ points worse). This was linked to a disparity between IQ and educational achievement. Hence, the help I was given is to help me over come my problems with short term memory. Which was basically training in how to use a diary and how to effectively take notes (in various different ways).

I find the issue interesting, but I believe the reporter is missing the problem at the heart of the dyslexia controversy.

I think the dilemma that dyslexia presents is that humans are not equal -- they learn in different ways and find different teaching styles more helpful than others; and that the one-size-fits all education system is the root cause of many problems. I think it's about 40% of prison inmates in the UK do not have the reading and writing skills expected of an 11-year-old. So the point I'm clumsily trying to make is although dyslexia may be over-diagnosed it is indicative of a systemic problem in the education system.


Yeah I think I remember seeing this a whle back, and basicaly shouting at the TV.

I'm dyslexic, and my two boys are also. In my persoanl case, growing up and going to school in the 70-80's, it was considered that I was lazy and or stupid, and as a result of that my dyslexica was not diagnosed until, 1984, the year I left school, so I got precisly 0 help whilst at school for it.

What I can say is that the term dyskexic, is a misnomer, and really should be re-termed 'specific learning dificulty', as all sufferes show differant levels of disablitiy and in differing areas.

As a sufferer what I can also tell you is that the problem lies in the way the brain processess data. In other words we have to find mechanisms to first get the data into the brain and then to make sure that it gets there in a way that we can use.

I talked about my odd way of doing mental maths a while back, and this is one of such mechainisms that I personaly use. When it comes to spelling, many of us cope by phonetical spelling, and as the years roll by, our patern regonition adapts to the non phoneticlay spelt word and so it appears that we have less problems.

I would love to hear how it effects others though, as obviously I only have my own experiances, and that of my children to draw upon.

6 pages and no one has posted this yet? What is this world coming to?

http://drumsout.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/pretension.jpg