Posted on 09/28/2011 1:00:49 PM PDT by iowamark
“as I said, NOT “like I said”! There oughta be a law!
Think about it. Graph time on the x-axis, and degree of learning on the y-axis.
A skill which is quickly mastered has a steep learning curve.
A skill which is slowly developed over a long period of time would have a very shallow learning curve.
Which is exactly the reverse of the way most people use the phrase.....
What about...
“different from” and “different than”?
What about those and the usage?
“Don’t bother. “Like” is now used for “as.” (sigh)”
‘Twas ever thus...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9o5i9eNPhY
Was/were
Was is past tense, were is conditional in the singular and conditional and past tense in the plural.
When I was a boy...
If I were king...
They were my classmates...
If they were elected...
My favorite was “what I did” as a sort of verbal exclamation point. “What I did” could become “what I would,” or “what I will.”
“I got all the oil changed in that dozer; what I did.”
The t in often isn’t necessarily silent. It’s legitimately and correctly pronounced both ways.
Grammar checker
http://www.grammarly.com/?utm_source=ms&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=txt&utm_campaign=ms_gram1
Just ahead of Martial/Marshal/Marshall Law.
My personal crusade is to remove the lazy term "email" from the English language (it's e-mail, the 'e' modifies the type of mail).
MARK (or is it Marc?)
You forgot about parking in the driveway and driving on the parkway. Don’t even mention hot water heaters......
I saw that one except spelled “ghoti” the o is pronounced as in women.
You just don’t grok the metaphor.
It’s not a simple graph over time, but a derivative function that describes the shortening in the length of an individual task with each successive iteration.
For the life of me I can’t figure out how to format equations here, so my poor English explanation will have to suffice. The more shallow the learning curve, the more uniform the progress from total unfamiliarity to maximum potential. Progress is steady, so there is very little curve. It’s a line from the bottom left to the top right.
A steep learning curve will show negligible initial gains at the start, and then curve dramatically towards the end to reach the top right. In exteme examples, it will graph out to an almost flat line through most of the graph that suddenly suddenly merges with what looks like the right half the letter U which takes it suddenly to the top right of the chart. A steep learning curve.
It’s not really a grammar mistake but the use of words that do not exist just pushes me over the top.
When I hear people on TV, especially educated people, use words like “co-conspirator” and “irregardless” I just wish to punch my TV and be done with it.
I used up all my exclamation points a couple of years ago. I was panic stricken!!
However, I was able to borrow a large supply from Pete Kessler at no charge. I'm still using them!!!
Thanks for coming to the rescue, Pete!!!!
Leni
Leave it to my wife to make the complicated simple. Othello’s motto of minutes to learn and a lifetime to master is an example of a shallow learning curve. Counting at the black jack table is a difficult learning curve that shows no real results short of mastery.
Come on buddy, get with the programmar...
What’s wrong with co-conspirator? It’s a legitimate word that’s been in use for 160 years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.