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Engineers(?) and spelling

Engineers(?) and spelling

Engineers(?) and spelling

(OP)
This is a continuation of the thread "have you noticed that engineers cannot spell"

I think that the Glossary in the Stanford Gravity Probe B home-page is dangerously sloppy. This is one of the most prestigeous project undertaken by mankind and the degree of precision needed in every phase of it is hitherto unheard of.

It is, therefore, with pain and anxiety I read the following first lines in the Glossary for the GP B:

snip ---------------------------------

http://einstein.stanford.edu/

aperture

1. An opening through which elections, light, radio waves, or other radiation can pass.
2. The diameter of a lens or opening in a telescope or other optical instrument, usually expressed in inches. It can also be measured as the angle between lines running from the focus object and the opposite ends of the lens's (or opening's) width.

Dewar flask  
 
A vacumn-insulated sealable container with a heat reflective inner surface. A dewar containing a cryogen (a low temperature producing substance) is known as a cryostat.

--------------------------------------- end of snip


"Elections"?  "Vacumn"? I don't bother to comment on the questionable possessive case of lens. I leave that to someone more fluent in English than I am.


RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

Good catch.

I can't believe anyone associated with spaceflight still uses inch-pound units.

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

(OP)
Explanation to previous posting:

I put a question mark in the heading because I do not think that an engineer or scientist wrote those lines. My guess is that it was a PR guy that got some notes and was asked to write up something for the public to chew at. And we all know how difficult it is to faithfully reproduce a text about something that we know nothing about. So this goes more to prove that knowledge is just as essential for good writing as is spelling and grammar.

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

Openings through which elections pass...

Sounds like something to do with hanging chads and Florida vote counts to me

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

(OP)
Big laugh!

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

skogsgurra:

If you're going to rant about spelling...

"prestigeous"? -2 points!

Due to illness, the part of The Tick will be played by... The Tick.
http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

(OP)
Lesson learned. Do I rant?

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

"chew at"

Sorry, couldn't help myself. )

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

Dewar should also be capitalized - it's a name!

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

(OP)
Please bear with me,

I was born in and I live in Sweden and speak/write Swedish most of the time. It seems that someone with that background should not write here. At least that is what I think when I read your comments.

What I wanted to point out is not a few spelling errors - but rather the lack of factual knowledge that shines through in the GP B text. And I still think that it is something worth pointing out. And I will continue doing so.

But I will not hunt typos. Typos happen - even when I write in Swedish and even more so when I write in a foreign language. English spelling is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult languages when it comes to spelling.

So, I think that you will see more of my bad spelling in the future, but I hope that you can understand what I mean.

RE: Engineers(?) and spelling

skogsgurra, not to worry. Your English is very good for a non-native speaker. It's certainly much better than my Swedish (or even my Spanish which is passable)!

I don't think you're ranting -- not at all.

I agree with you regarding the spelling/terminology issue. The substitution of "elections" for "electrons" is not a typo or a misspelling -- it's a clear misunderstanding on behalf of the person transcribing the text composed by the scientist. It could also be the "interpretation" of a stenograph machine since they work phonetically.

It points out that the actual author likely did not proofread the work done on their behalf.

It's a bit ironic that it's found at a link through Stanford University, a place renowned for academic excellence.

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