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Have we lost all ability to focus?

#61
Steve said:
Nature, nurture. We are all very much products of our environment. Focusing on one one thing for any extended period of time is something that would get you killed and eaten pretty quickly around the watering hole in front of your cave. It goes against the entire evolutionary process and we aren't nearly as far or as long out of the trees as we like to think we are.

No wonder the ability is hard to gain, hard to maintain and easy to lose. The current trend of being a mile wide, an inch deep, twitchy and skittish of though is probably far more compatible with what mother nature thinks we need to survive and probably accounts for how effective appealing to that is.

IMHO
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It seems that with all the technology in folks hands they can't walk down the street without falling into very visible and clearly marked holes; will walk into parked cars or step out in front of moving trucks; will fall off the edge of a cliff trying to snap a selfie... The list of oblivious stupidity goes on for ever.

So I think your comparison to animals at the water hole is quite insulting to the animals IMHO.
 
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#63
I do most everything on a kindle. It has the most stubborn auto correct I've ever seen. You will type a word, hit space, and Kindle puts a different word in for you. It is very adamant about the words it chooses. Does not like you to change them. But a poor craftsman blames his tools, so never mind. What was I talking about? Who put this padded wallpaper up? I'm not wearing that coat. The sleeves are way to long, and I don't look good in white.
 
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#65
"Have we lost the ability to focus?"

Some of us have. And some of us always will, for one reason or another. When people lay down The Law - you know - those hard facts and certain truths - sometimes, they'll necessarily be turning their backs on another focus. Sometimes, they'll be ostensibly or literally blind to a better focus - one more worthy of our gaze. Weasel wording wonders, they sometimes may be. If they're not, they could possibly get out a bit more., socialize a bit, with the hoi polloi, the great unwashed. Stray from your path a little and you're likely to discover others.

Some people for instance, those who play some of the more challenging computer games available, have an immense ability to focus, like elite athletes or soldiers or scholars do. These are the types typical of people now under the spotlight - and gaming, game theory, and learning is, today, occurring - sometimes, in epic proportions. Often, this sort of thing's been going on for decades :) So, it's safe then, 'though I may be mistaken, to bellow an emphatic "No.", in answer to the OP's question. We haven't lost our ability to focus. Some of it just may sometimes be a little misdirected :)

Keeping to the question, grammar and typographic errors are really no real, steadfast indication of a loss of focus either. Sometimes, words left out, or left in, are an indication that editing, to a degree, is present. Sometimes, people do this stuff just to frustrate the incurable pedants, sometimes as a more insidious provocation. Not very nice. Sometimes, we're, many of us, just plumb-tuckered-out - nothing left in the tank for any redrafting.

But most times, thinking and striving for better ways to say something presents other challenges in the flow of logic in the vicinity - points attained can be softened or corrupted in the ensuing confusion and this can be easily missed by the sometimes, but not always, lazy, sometimes, but not always, time-poor author. Small screens, 'noise', baby buttons, fading eyes, a less-than-conducive domicile, and crossfire are also culprits, sometimes :) - a lack of focus in another sense then, attractions, refractions and distractions, duly warranted :)

Another point, before I pull the ripcord: Having good ideas is not solely the domain of the erudite, although some would dearly like it to be that way, for one reason or another, again. Anyone can have good ideas, great ideas. Getting the message across then, is the fun part. Learning about the intricacies of language helps but, by hook or by crook, we should always make the effort. Communicate. And, good grammar be dammed.
 
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#71
BurnOut said:
I do most everything on a kindle. It has the most stubborn auto correct I've ever seen. You will type a word, hit space, and Kindle puts a different word in for you. It is very adamant about the words it chooses. Does not like you to change them. But a poor craftsman blames his tools, so never mind. What was I talking about? Who put this padded wallpaper up? I'm not wearing that coat. The sleeves are way to long, and I don't look good in white.
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If you think about it, it's one more example of the widespread efforts to control speech. What goes on at college campuses is Orwellian. And scary.
 
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#76
Well, I follow a lot of discussions all around the interwebz, and what's most striking is how many people are using ellipsis (...) instead of completing sentences. Rather than putting in a period sign where appropriate, they'll put in three or more, as if to let every observation or argument/opinion trail off unfinished. It almost amounts to a new standard for online writing, and is a waste of electrons.
 
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#77
RustyAxe said:
This one (are there more?). That omitting a word isn't a sign of illiteracy. ;) And you omitted "on" ... Can't ya read?

From the OP
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Thank you for wasting your time deciphering my deliberately incoherent post, serving as an example of why omitting words, although not a sign of illiteracy, simply adds confusion and displays a lack of consideration for the reader.

In this case the "reader" is you, and by your standard, it's "on you" to figure out what I (the lazy poster) likely meant. ;)

The English language is arguably the most precise system of communication ever devised. It's clearly in a state of devolution. Our growing inability to speak and comprehend it can only have a negative impact on communicating complex ideas. That aint good.

Can't ya see the big picture? ;)
 
#79
RustyAxe said:
My point being that I understood exactly what you meant. And I don't assume you're illiterate for omitting a single word. I hope you weren't offended, you did notice the ;) didn't you?
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Not offended in the least, nor did I surmise that you're assuming or inferring that I'm illiterate. Why earth would I?

You were meant to quickly realize that the word "on" was omitted. My point, is that even the nanosecond it took for you to fill in the missing word in my sentence was a pointless waste of your time that I needlessly burdened you with, demonstrating (I hope) the value of at least some modicum of correct grammar. Words matter?
 

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