Autocorrect to the Rescue

     Many writers are quick to point out an error when they see one in the written form.  Even those who are too polite to say anything are likely to be seething inwardly as they read a mistake in grammar or spelling.  They can't help it.  In the course of embracing their craft, they have fallen in love with the language, and although that means they may take liberties with it themselves, trying risky or adventurous things, they also bristle at others' abuses.  In addition, good writers develop a knack for ferreting out problems with their own work, constantly honing their writing with each reading.  That habit doesn't stop just because they're looking at someone else's work.  Even when there is no real error, a writer may be thinking of some way it could have been said better.

     This almost unconscious editing can be subjective.  Everyone has their own set of rules that are inviolable and others they may forgive being bent or broken.  Some may instantly recognize a misspelled or misused word because they have devoted time to learning it themselves.  Or else, they may consider it such a basic thing that nobody should get it wrong.  At the same time, they may overlook a mistake that is unfamiliar or beneath their notice.  We've all been on both sides of this situation, both discovering errors and making them.  So, it behooves us to at least be kind when pointing out others' mistakes.

     At one time, everyone had to own their mistakes. Long ago, if you wrote the wrong word on your parchment or misspelled something you were carving into a clay tablet, you had nobody to blame but yourself.  Of course, spelling and grammar rules were much more flexible in those days, so I doubt many people got called out on it.  As the rules stiffened up, you might blame your typesetter or call it a typo.  People might understand why you didn't re-type a whole letter if you closed with "sincerly."  The advent of computers made fixing those mistakes simpler, and there was a brief time when your mistakes were your own again.  You were expected to proofread what you wrote and fix whatever was wrong.  Anything you let go to print was your own damn fault, and people would let you know about it.  That could not stand.

     Nobody should be expected to know how to spell everything, so they invented spell check.  Originally, it was only a tool to help you in that detecting and correcting stage, but eventually it mutated into some irritating little gremlin that peers over your shoulder, pointing his spindly red finger at everything he thinks looks a bit fishy- like names, alternate spellings, unusual words, and a few actual errors.  Worse yet, if you're not very strict with your gremlin, he might change things without asking you as soon as you're on to typing the next word.  (And don't even get me started on all the idiotic grammar suggestions his brother offers.)  Reliance on spell check can be a boon for the chronically bad speller or the too-fast-typist.  I have to admit, it's saved me from a few embarrassing typos in the past.  However, as many have observed, it's far from perfect at saving us from blunders, especially with homophones or correctly spelled but inappropriate word choices.  What it comes down to is that you still have to know what you're saying, and you still have to take charge of how you do it.

     OR DO YOU?

     Enter autocorrect.  I'm sure it was designed to save us the embarrassment of misspelling commonly misspelled words like, well, "embarrassment" for one or "misspelled" for another.  But that, along with predictive text to a lesser degree, has wound up making us all look like fools.  There are legendary examples of autocorrect spicing up our conversations, and I'm sure you'll find something to snicker about on damnyouautocorrect.com.  So, far from making us infallibly eloquent, it has become a universal scapegoat.  Forgot which "which" to use?  Blame autocorrect for picking the wrong one.  Used that 75 cent word incorrectly?  Blame autocorrect for changing what you really meant to say.  Mom caught you swearing in a text?  It wasn't me, Mom; it was autocorrect.

     Now, I'm not saying autocorrect doesn't twist your words.  With the fast-paced world of social media, I've fired off a few posts that were altered after I wrote them.  I've also mysteriously ended up with misspellings that autocorrect apparently had no answer for.  So, I get it.  It happens.  I just don't think it happens as often as people say it does.

     Bottom line, we all need to be aware still, just like we tried to be when etching those clay tablets.  Autocorrect is a fickle saviour.  If you make a mistake, own it.  Fix it if you can, but if you can't, don't sweat it.  You don't have to blame autocorrect (unless it's truly what went wrong) because we all make mistakes, and the person pointing out yours has mistakes of their own.