grammargirl

grammargirl, 1 year ago to random

I love clever uses of incentives and tech: Cities are using traffic lights near schools that start red and turn green if an approaching car isn't speeding.

If you're good, you get to keep driving. If you're bad, you have to stop and wait for the light to turn green.

The average speed on the road almost immediately dropped to the speed limit as people learned the rules.

Instead of punishing people with tickets after the fact, it creates the behavior the city wants.

https://mass.streetsblog.org/2023/05/05/steal-this-idea-in-quebec-a-new-traffic-light-only-turns-green-for-safe-drivers/

grammargirl, 5 months ago to random

My feeds are filled with people who have COVID right now.

Please test before you get together with friends and family (especially vulnerable people like those with diabetes or those over 65) and stay home if you have symptoms.

In the U.S., you can still get four free tests at https://special.usps.com/testkits

And if you've stopped wearing a mask while you're out running errands, it's a good time to start again.

grammargirl, 4 months ago to ai

A team at the University of Chicago just released a tool called Nightshade that makes invisible changes to digital images. The selling point is that these changes “poison” AI models that try to use the images as training data.

https://venturebeat.com/ai/nightshade-the-free-tool-that-poisons-ai-models-is-now-available-for-artists-to-use/

#AI

grammargirl, 1 month ago to random

Shocking news today that Dictionary.com has laid off all its lexicographers.

I already had a line in next week's podcast about dictionaries being a tough industry, and now it's even more true.

Some great company should hire them all; they're a real dream team

Check out @korystamper, @grantbarrett, John Kelly and more.

They're posting at LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/john-kelly-content_dictionarycom-meanings-definitions-of-activity-7184630769942695936-r6Vr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

grammargirl, 4 months ago to random

I could hardly believe that statistic I just reposted was true: more than half of U.S. adults 16 to 74 read at below a 6th grade level?

But I checked, and Snopes says it's true. https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/08/02/us-literacy-rate/

How discouraging and infuriating.

grammargirl, 5 months ago to random

My computer failed tonight, and I lost the entire hard drive. Fortunately, I have everything doubly backed up: once on a local hard drive and once on a cloud service. It's still stressful, but it could be a lot worse.

Consider this your reminder to back up your computer.

grammargirl, 10 months ago to random

I love this 16th century term for being depressed or in low spirits: "mubble fubbles."

The OED says the use was chiefly "in one's mubble fubbles," as in "Mignon is in her mubble fubbles."

Obviously, we should bring back this word. It's so much fun that just saying it could help rescue people from their mubble fubbles!

What other words should we bring back?

grammargirl, 3 months ago to random

I was organizing files on my desktop and came across a screenshot of this old post about an 1884 usage guide that still makes me laugh:

"Don't say ‘gents' for 'gentlemen, nor 'pants' for 'pantaloons.’ These are INEXCUSABLE VULGARISMS. (emphasis added)

grammargirl, 4 months ago to random

A follower asked me to share a piece on Substack, but I didn't think it was the best take.

Here's what I think is the clearest summary:

Substack says allowing self-proclaimed Nazis to use their service is a free speech issue, but they don't allow sexually explicit content published by sex workers.

Since they're willing to disallow some content but not Nazi content, it means they want to do business w/Nazis (and are full of shit about "free speech").

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/26/substack-turns-on-its-nazis-welcome-sign/

grammargirl, 7 months ago to random

"The Grammar Daily" comes out one month from today!

I'm going to ramp up my promotion, and I hope you'll bear with me.

About 11 months ago, I walked away from ~280K followers on Twitter, so I'd really appreciate your support!

https://amzn.to/48R4T69

grammargirl, 6 months ago to ai

I've been thinking about the new Associated Press guidelines to avoid referring to #AI in ways that could imply humanness, sentience, or intent:

Don't say, "It WANTS you to enter more information," for example.

I've often used that kind of wording for computers in the past.

But more precise wording matters now because it's the first time we've widely had systems that could be mistaken for being human or having sentience, and it's important not to reinforce that idea.

#ChatGPT

grammargirl, 7 months ago to random

A quick reminder that "table the motion" means to stop debate American English and to begin debate in British English.

https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-table.html

grammargirl, 5 months ago to random

Since everybody seems interested in weird-looking electric cars today, I'll share that I'm especially excited about the Aptera.

It's a solar-electric car that is supposed to have up to 1,000 mile range and will be able to charge up to 40 miles a day using the built-in solar panels. Imagine off-the-grid commuting.

I'm watching it closely. The target launch date is late next year, and I can't wait!

https://aptera.us/

grammargirl, 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to random

OMG! I still need to fact check this, but I'm praying it's true because I am dying to use this example the next time I talk about the ethics of using ellipses. It's perfect.

I can still use it if it's fake, but it's so much better if it's true.

(Do any of you happen to know what this book is?)

[UPDATE: It's "Spartina by "John Casey." Thanks, everyone!]

grammargirl, 8 months ago to random

This is a fascinating story about the foreign language effect, which finds that making decisions in a second language often leads to more logical choices.

For example, when given the trolly problem, more people will kill one person to save many when considering the scenario in a second language.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/17/how-learning-thinking-in-a-foreign-language-improves-decision-making

grammargirl, 1 year ago to books

I just moved to a new instance, so here's a new #introduction

I'm the host of the Grammar Girl #podcast. You may have hit my website searching for something like "semicolons." I love #writing books, #teaching online courses, and I founded the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

I post about #usage, #editing, #etymology, #books, and other #wordnerd stuff. I'm a fan of #linguistics, #librarians, #podcasting, #journalism, #scifi, #fiction in general, and I'm on the #nanowrimo writers board.

grammargirl, 5 months ago to Etymology

Here's a fun etymology tidbit I came across in my research tonight:

The word "forget" comes from the word "get," meaning to grasp or grip.

"To forget" essentially means to lose your grip on a memory.

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=forget

#etymology

grammargirl, 7 months ago to random

An obviously minor complaint, but does my Oxford English Dictionary account really need to be more secure than my bank?

I have to log in fresh every time I go there, even if it's just an hour later than when I was there before.

Also, did you know there are 8 different British pronunciations of "orangutan"?

grammargirl, 4 months ago to random

My favorite snow picture. As the snow melted and refroze, it slid off the roof and curled under itself.

grammargirl, 8 months ago to Etymology

I just came across another interesting word from the "ped-" root: "pajamas"!

It literally means "leg clothing" in the Persian "paejamah," and that "pae-" goes back to the "ped-" root.

How fun that such disparate words as "pajamas," "pejorative," "pedicure," and "pawn" (foot soldier) are all related.

You can find many more at https://www.etymonline.com/word/*ped-

https://zirk.us/@grammargirl/110935631144260407

#etymology

grammargirl, 9 months ago to random

I just discovered a new and wonderful thing about being able to edit your posts here: When you ask a question, you can update the post once you get the answer (since lots of people won't see your reply or follow-up post with the answer).

grammargirl, 3 months ago to random

I used to run the dishwasher when I ran out of spoons. I finally bought 6 more spoons, and now I go days longer without running the dishwasher.

I'm saving time, energy, and water every week because I bought 6 spoons. I can't believe it took me years to think of it!

Look for your version of "spoons."

grammargirl, 3 months ago to random

I find this hard to believe but supposedly "Your fingerprints can be recreated from the sounds made when you swipe on a touchscreen." If true, that is some of the most sci-fi shit I've ever seen in the real world.

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/your-fingerprints-can-be-recreated-from-the-sounds-made-when-you-swipe-on-a-touchscreen-researchers-new-side-channel-attack-can-reproduce-partial-fingerprints-to-enable-attacks?utm_source=aitoolreport.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=north-korea-using-chatgpt-to-scam-linkedin-users

grammargirl, 11 months ago to random

The thing I will never stop hating about algorithmic social media is that when a flame war breaks out in comments, the post reaches way more people.

It incentivizes discord.