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Entry tags:
Semiopathy
Is it sad to feel a moment of pride when I manage to achieve a new record of 7 minutes, 15 seconds for setting up a purchase order? (That's from entering the PO, through QA and through the Budget Authoriser!)
Actually, that *is* a rhetorical question!
It's turned into a busy day, what with NAO checks, more urgent work dumped on the team and a couple of crises hitting other members of the office. Thankfully, I've managed to sort out as much as I can, so that's good.
Anyway, a bit of a chuckle.
I was trawling through some of my old documents, trying to tidy up / file and came across a number of old New Scientist Feedback articles on "Semiopathy" (circa 2002). It is also known as semantic vertigo, arising from ambiguous grammar, but I prefer to call it "The Campaign For Suitable Pauses in the Middle of Sentences Strikes Again!!!" (usually in a very loud voice!)
This, of course, is the pathology of deliberately mis-reading signs and notices for humorous effect. The most obvious one of course is the printer "input jam". I've heard strawberry works quite well, but if you use raspberry, make sure it's seedless!
But there are some absolute pearlers:
and my absolute favourite, an incidence of "serendipitous semiopathy":
;)
Actually, that *is* a rhetorical question!
It's turned into a busy day, what with NAO checks, more urgent work dumped on the team and a couple of crises hitting other members of the office. Thankfully, I've managed to sort out as much as I can, so that's good.
Anyway, a bit of a chuckle.
I was trawling through some of my old documents, trying to tidy up / file and came across a number of old New Scientist Feedback articles on "Semiopathy" (circa 2002). It is also known as semantic vertigo, arising from ambiguous grammar, but I prefer to call it "The Campaign For Suitable Pauses in the Middle of Sentences Strikes Again!!!" (usually in a very loud voice!)
This, of course, is the pathology of deliberately mis-reading signs and notices for humorous effect. The most obvious one of course is the printer "input jam". I've heard strawberry works quite well, but if you use raspberry, make sure it's seedless!
But there are some absolute pearlers:
"Regulations tend to evolve toward greater complexity, George Daughters hypothesises, after seeing the street sign "No trucks allowed" metamorphose into "No trucks between 6 am and 7 pm eastbound on Route 16 on Tuesdays over 8 tons". He claims never to have seen a Tuesday that was an ounce over 2 tons."
"Someone has probably tried to avoid psychiatric-semiopathic tendencies in the warning on the lids of jars of sauce: "Reject if the safety button can be depressed". Note the "can be". Several cruel readers, however, persist in trying, telling it that it has no friends and no hope, before taking it home anyway."
"Above one of the fresh food counters in Linda Death's local supermarket is a sign saying "Sue Your Friendly Fishmonger". But she has no reason to do so, since the fish is always fine."
"Jim Keilthy reports being perturbed by a sign at Romford railway station reading: "Caution: Do not run on the stairs. Use the handrail". He says that despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep his balance."
"Joan Hinchliffe's children were excited by a sign at the zoo saying "Monster Man Eating Shark". But though they watched the shark for some time, the monster man never turned up."
"Jeremy Marshall was surprised to see his local supermarket advertising for a "Frozen Supervisor". No doubt the competition was stiff."
and my absolute favourite, an incidence of "serendipitous semiopathy":
"[A] few months ago Richard Proctor saw a sign reading "Police Accident" and drove carefully round the corner, to find a police car in the hedge."
;)
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And I sniggered about the 'police accident'.
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The "police accident" had me in stitches for about 15 minutes!