Editing 1238: Enlightenment
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | <!-- if anyone re-adds the {{incomplete}} tag, remember to set parameter 1 as this page's title, since otherwise people viewing this from the main page will see the wrong thing when they click "edit"--> | |
− | + | This comic is a reference to a scene from {{w|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace}} in which {{w|Yoda}} expresses doubt in a young {{w|Anakin Skywalker|Anakin}}'s potential to join the {{w|Jedi}} order. Yoda delivers a speech similar to the one that [[Ponytail]] gives here, except that the end of the sequence he presents is {{w|Dark side (Star Wars)|the dark side}}. (Yoda is ultimately correct; Anakin's fears lead him to join the dark side so that he may keep his loved ones from dying; this is at the expense of the stability of the galaxy, however, and his actions are in vain, as {{w|Padmé Amidala|his wife}} dies nonetheless.) | |
− | + | Here, [[Randall]] compares Anakin's decision to join the dark side to the propensity of many Internet commenters to correct others on their spelling and grammar. Randall's point is that correcting people, like joining the dark side, ultimately stems from insecurity. | |
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− | + | Ponytail and [[Cueball]] challenge [[Megan]] to type the sentence "I heard you're idea's and their definately good", which contains four {{w|Commonly misspelled words|common misspellings}}: ''{{w|wikt:you're|you''''re'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:your|you'''r'''}}''; ''{{w|possessive|idea'''''''s}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:ideas|ideas}}'' (see {{w|greengrocers' apostrophe}}); ''{{w|wikt:their|the'''ir'''}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:they're|the'''y're'''}}''; and ''{{w|wikt:definately|defin'''a'''tely}}'' instead of ''{{w|wikt:definitely|defin'''i'''tely}}''. Megan, however, can't bring herself to do it, having spent so much time judging others for their trivial errors, even when they're saying helpful things like the sentence in question. Instead, she smashes the computer and runs away. Cueball and Ponytail remark on this, both failing to use {{w|apostrophe}}s. (Or, since, of course, you <s>don't</s> dont use apostrophes when you talk, you could think of it as Randall himself who's dropping them, to put his money where his mouth is.) | |
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+ | The particular sentence choice is also interesting: In {{w|software development}} (a frequent topic in ''xkcd'') an initial "{{w|wikt:+1|+1}}" can make a big difference. For instance, if a developer posts somewhere asking for input on how to design part of a software, and an end-user or a volunteer programmer posts some suggestions, it can really make that user feel validated if the developers follow up and say "yeah, that's a good idea"; if they just shoot it down, then the user feels discouraged, and next time might not be as likely to share their ideas. So, in other words, the sentence "I heard your ideas and they're definitely good" can be a very meaningful one in some circles; to care about whether or not the sentence is spelled right is to focus solely on its superficial elements, ignoring its meaning. Randall is saying that, if we spend more time appreciating what people say, and less time complaining about how they say it, ultimately we'll help make the Internet a more friendly place. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Internet]] | [[Category:Internet]] | ||
[[Category:Language]] | [[Category:Language]] | ||
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