pongo Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I won't hire people who use poor grammar - Harvard Business Review Quite interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 An excellent article. "In the same vein, programmers who pay attention to how they construct written language also tend to pay a lot more attention to how they code. You see, at its core, code is prose. Great programmers are more than just code monkeys; according to Stanford programming legend Donald Knuth they are "essayists who work with traditional aesthetic and literary forms." The point: programming should be easily understood by real human beings — not just computers." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Remember when the computer mags used to pring basic listings (usually in a poor dot-matrix format) ? you couldn't make out a lot of the commas or dots, so got loads of 'syntax error' messages until you weeded out all the typos. That's when you realise the importance of accuracy, if it ain't right it not going to work ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Remember when the computer mags used to pring basic listings (usually in a poor dot-matrix format) ? you couldn't make out a lot of the commas or dots, so got loads of 'syntax error' messages until you weeded out all the typos. That's when you realise the importance of accuracy, if it ain't right it not going to work ! Never bought PC mags back in those days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeliX Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Good. In my eyes this is the same as saying "I'm only going to hire intelligent people". Which seems like a reasonable business strategy. EDIT: Hah, just seen what the URL truncates to. Wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 He complains about mangling the language and then comes out with "You see, at it's core, code is prose" - a real groanworthy pun if ever there was one. Mind you, he's obviously never broken his soul over machine code..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moghrey Mie Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Good for him. There is a right way to write English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 "You see, at it's core, code is prose" He wrote its not it's. You're fired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Sounds like a complete and total arsebag. Grammar is very important and I do lean more towards giving importance to grammar and spelling. But behind this man's screening process is plain snobbishness. He is right about the CV and he is right about using social media in such a way that the english language doesn't like it is being attacked by a moron, It often is when people use no fullstops and don't correct obvious mistakes that they would realise if they re-read their comments. But to ask people to write things out so he can test them on grammar as a litmus test is idiotic. Someone could do the job very well but had not received a good education in english. And they could have focused their efforts elsewhere to find a career. Fair enough, if grammar did fall below a certain level then it would indicate very poor intelligence or poor education. But it would have to be pretty dreadful to warrant rejecting the candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Sounds like a complete and total arsebag. Grammar is very important and I do lean more towards giving importance to grammar and spelling. But behind this man's screening process is plain snobbishness. He is right about the CV and he is right about using social media in such a way that the english language doesn't like it is being attacked by a moron, It often is when people use no fullstops and don't correct obvious mistakes that they would realise if they re-read their comments. But to ask people to write things out so he can test them on grammar as a litmus test is idiotic. Someone could do the job very well but had not received a good education in english. And they could have focused their efforts elsewhere to find a career. Fair enough, if grammar did fall below a certain level then it would indicate very poor intelligence or poor education. But it would have to be pretty dreadful to warrant rejecting the candidate. LDV, Anyone can improve their grammar with ease; it's called 'buying a book'. You can crack most of the English grammar problems with simple English grammar tutorials, then you will not end up making the many mistakes one sees here and even more so on the IOM Today website. Some people are more inclined towards good grammar, myself I'm an enginner, I find sums and formulae simple, grammar was a nightmare until post-university I simply hammered it into my brain with the aid of a good book or two (one massive book by Randolph Quirk from Ballaugh). http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0582517346 One thing though, English is a rotten language to master - not just the massive vocabulary but the irregularity of it all and now the creeping Americanisms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Goblin Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 [myself I'm an enginner, A spelling book would be handy, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 [myself I'm an enginner, A spelling book would be handy, too! Decent glasses would help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 GD4ELI Yes, people can brush on their grammar. But unless they are given the message that it is absolutely necessary for a job then they won't delve into the books. I think people should think it is very important simply for communioation with others. But the thinking of this guy is slightly different. He thinks that it signifies sloppiness in the main. I disagree. I think it is just his bugbear. Something that niggles him and having his position he has the opportunity to get some release. (Thanks for the image though. Might buy that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 GD4ELI Yes, people can brush on their grammar. But unless they are given the message that it is absolutely necessary for a job then they won't delve into the books. I think people should think it is very important simply for communioation with others. But the thinking of this guy is slightly different. He thinks that it signifies sloppiness in the main. I disagree. I think it is just his bugbear. Something that niggles him and having his position he has the opportunity to get some release. (Thanks for the image though. Might buy that) Warning - it's a *very* thick book, ~ 1,500 pages or more. What the author of the article is implying is that those who already take a pride in their written and spoken language will take pride in their work in general. Innit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 But he is wrong. In addition to what he is saying, he ignoring the content of the job and the reasons behind why a person applies for jobs in general and specific jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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