Being a Pedant
I have a reputation, admittedly deserved, for being somewhat
pedantic or at least, and more accurately, for being notably pedantic from time
to time (or simply more noticeably pedantic). A case in point some time ago
concerned the installation of a set of doors at work. Now we have a number of
disabled people in my organisation and a strong commitment to make them as
welcome and productive as they can be. As part of that we install push button
doors wherever they are required. One set of these doors set off my pedantic
alarm by being labelled ‘Automatic Door’ which, of course, is incorrect as you
needed to press a button to open them. I raised this – after initially
dismissing it as beneath my attention – with the appropriate people (and anyone
else who would listen. A few weeks later I noticed, not without some
satisfaction, that the sign had been changed to ‘Power Assisted Door’.
Now to the book cover above. From time to time I cruise
various websites looking for potential new books to buy in the future.
Laughingly I call it ‘book-porn’. Anyway, I saw this volume (above) and thought
it looked interesting. Then I took a closer look at the handsome looking pistol
on the cover and my pedant alarm went off. The gun is quite clearly of the percussion
type rather than a flintlock which is what I would’ve expected. Not having the
exact date of such things I Googled ‘percussion cap’ and discovered that such
things were used after 1839 and resulted in making black power weapons much
more reliable in damp conditions which is kind of handy in north-western
Europe. Then I Googled ‘Highwaymen’ and discovered, as I thought, that they
were already in decline after 1815 and that the last recorded incident was in
1831 – 8 years before the percussion cap came into use, hence the gun on the
front cover being anachronistic. Score one for me. Then, of course, I had to go
one step further and thought that the weapon in question looked more like a
duelling pistol (being rather ornate) rather than a more work-a-day hold-up gun. Using Google again I
did indeed discover that the picture of the gun on the cover is actually an
early to mid 19th Century duelling piece and not, as it should have
been a late 18th Century flintlock pistol. Score two for me and
award myself a Pedant Award for services to historical accuracy. Needles to say
I won’t be buying the book.
Is it any wonder, I ask you, why several people at work have
started calling me Sheldon?
5 comments:
You literally had me on the floor laughing my ass off! There's nothing wrong with being detail oriented. I often get in trouble with family and friends for being too much of a stickler. Damn it, words are important!
Accuracy of all types is very important - especially when you're trying to communicate ideas or information. Sloppy thinking is the underlying cause of a great many problems and misunderstandings.
Of course, and rather inevitably, very few people at work took what I said on the subject very seriously. But at least most of them indulged the 'crazy guy' because I've been there so long, am moderately good at what I do and most people like me..... [grin]
Where would the world be without people who pay attention to detail and understand the importance of accuracy? Our current presidential elections come to mind for me.
Finally! I only had to sign out of one Google account and into another 9 times before it would let me comment. I think there's a glitch in the software when I sign out of my work account. It doesn't really sign me out. I hate that computers try to remember what places you go and things you do.
v v said: Where would the world be without people who pay attention to detail and understand the importance of accuracy?
Erm... In the total mess it's in today? [grin]
v v said: I hate that computers try to remember what places you go and things you do.
Just trying to be helpful - which can indeed be *really* annoying sometimes!
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