Unfortunately, this happens regularly.  I don’t think it is a “don’t understand English because we are not from an English-speaking country” kind of thing, because the replies are written correctly, grammar-wise.  So is it just a matter of someone being lazy and not taking the time to actually read the emails?

There is something called “cognitive economy”, where people will minimize processing to conserve effort – like when we don’t read a definition of “cat” in a sentence because we already know what “cat” means.  But why we do it when it detracts from our understanding has always been a mystery to me.

When I was at university, I ran experiments.  (I won’t go into what kind because that is for another blog entry)  When “running subjects”, you have to give them an informed consent to sign (which explains any risks and they sign it if they agree to participate), and usually a set of instructions.

I tried many different tactics when writing/disseminating instructions, because there was always a percentage of people who did not follow the instructions (and so I would have to throw their data out).  I tried shortening the instructions, making the instructions in the form of short bullet lists, and even having the participants read them aloud with me.

Nothing worked.

Invariably, I would have maybe 5-6 people out of 20 whose data I had to toss.  Some of it could be attributed to age/motivation – most were college students who were participating to get 3 points in their psych class.   I guess 3 points is nothing, really, unless you are a rabidly competitive student who has to keep her gpa as close to a 4.0 as possible *coughing fit*.

Anyway, they didn’t seem to take it seriously, a lot of them.

But in general, it just seems like laziness to me.  I could understand glossing over parts of an instruction (like when I have to put together anything that has the words ‘assembly required’ on the box) or other text that one finds really difficult to grasp (like algebra word problems!).  In those 2 cases, for example, I will go to the internet for instructions/illustrations of the finished product, or I will call one of my kids and cry for help, or in the case of algebra just park myself next to a tutor and have him walk me through every miserable line of the word problem.

So I am familiar with people using cognitive economy to get through their text-filled lives.  However, I find it maddening to have to enter into the kind of exchange I wrote about earlier, when it seems to me I am being oh-so-clear and the person reading the email is being oh-so-stupid.

Why do they do this?  Why don’t they see it is wasting both our time?

I thought maybe, just maybe, the company is using some kind of program to parse emails and, like a lot of language-based AI, it’s getting it wrong.  But I don’t think so because usually, if I get really pissed off and respond sarcastically, I will get a very snippy email in return.

AI programs are not really skilled at recognizing sarcasm or making inferences (though….oh that will be yet another blog entry, my adventures with the great AutoTutor in Dr. Graesser’s lab at the U of Memphis).  So I think there is an actual human reading and responding to my emails.

I already mentioned the grammar being correct, which is why I don’t think it’s “sum furrinner” in India or China corresponding with me.  Usually when I have those kinds of issues, there are very distinct patterns of language that hint at the author being a non-native English speaker (and some of the most unintentionally hilarious surveys are written by them, in my opinion).

No, I think it’s most likely an American writing those responses.  That gets me thinking, how on earth did they get their jobs?  How were they even able to fill out an application?

If they have university degrees of any kind (which I assume if I am writing the tech folks), how did they manage to earn a degree when they cannot communicate effectively on even the most basic level?

What it comes down to for me is this: it’s either a damning indictment of the higher-education system in this country, or it’s a reflection of the laziness in language of American culture.  I say “American culture” because the only other cultures I am very familiar with are British and Irish cultures, and I didn’t notice this tendency in either population.

So, what do you think?  Have you had these kinds of experiences?

Weirdness of the day comes to us from paranormal.about.com, and I chose it because of the title: “Missing Time in Wonderland Garden”.  It’s a very short piece about a (supposedly) true experience somebody of ‘old hippie age’ had as a teenager.  Most people who know me, know I have a thing for Lewis Carroll’s two books, and oh how I wish this had really happened to this person:

http://paranormal.about.com/od/timeanddimensiontravel/fl/Missing-Time-in-Wonderland-Garden.htm

And my recommendation, in keeping with it being October and all, is Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House”.  I don’t care if you’ve seen the 1963 movie adapted from the book, you must read this book!  It is one of the best horror books ever!  And for you younger peeps, it’s not bloody or stupid, it’s just really super-scary, so don’t read it late at night heh.

And since I like you people, here is the book, in all its glory:

http://www.puffchrissy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Jackson-Shirley-The-Haunting-of-Hill-House.pdf

The 1963 film called “The Haunting” is a good adaptation, so if you want to see how this book played out in film, watch that one (stars Julie Christie).  Do not watch the 1999 film, it’s awful! Unfortunately, I have no link for it, and I couldn’t even find it on Hulu.  If you find it somewhere online for free, let me know.