language: The missing engineering skill

Yes I agree. I was asking a compressor supplier about one of their products recently and was told it was a 'D' rated compressor by email. I called them and got the information that what he meant was derated.

My fave was the radio alarm saw in the newspaper. But seeing this kind of crap in a legal document just burns me up.

-- Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. -- John Quincy Adams

We simply are not litirerily orientated. We don't have enough liberries, either.... yo.

How bout the 80% of our Senate/Congress that sez "nukyooler"..... No matter, tho, cuz oh-ficial language in Wash. is Lobby$peak....

They can compensate in person by drawing pictures, which are often more helpful anyway. There is little point in verbally describing an electrical schematic or the shape of a gear tooth. The drawing IS the native language that best defines them.

I began posting here to practice technical writing, which I flunked twice in college and would have at Mitre if they graded the course. Instead the instructor told tales about surviving in the various corporate and government management models, and how Leonard Bernstein was a flaming gay who refused to hire anyone like him who wasn't.

Chemistry required a lot of writing, but it had evolved into memorizeable cliches with precise and universally understood meanings, like legalese.

I had to learn German to read their pioneering work in chemistry. There was a soon-to-be Rhodes scholar in math in the class, so the vocabulary was directed mostly at her. As in English some words like "solution" (Loesung) apply in both fields. jsw

For some, this lack of literacy is an opportunity. Just check ebay with all those misspelled items. Recently, I bought a "PANTARGRAPH SET" for $50, resold for $150 as a "PANTOGRAPH SET". Steve B always likes to buy "Vice Grips", last I heard.;

I do agree with you, though, it is sad to see so many people who cannot spell properly.

i

Anyone who takes the Southern pronunciation of "nuclear" as a sign of ignorance needs to spend some time in the nuclear engineering department at one of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

My favorites:

a settling torch rod iron

For a long time the local DRMO had "scrap irony"

On 9/11/2012 12:11 PM, Rick wrote: ...

The quintessential "duck tape" has always grated on my ears...

But, one has to be careful in throwing stones--I doubt there's anybody who doesn't have at least one malapropism in their past even if it's just a leftover from something grown-ups said while were kids that didn't understand.

Not to say that education levels have not dropped all across the board; certainly they have. General technical knowledge is abysmally low, however...

--

Actually, it was originally called duck tape because it was made from cotton duck fabric and was water proof.

In fact it is not very good for ducts:

I think someone in the UK or Europe saw an opportunity there and we in the UK can buy "Duck" brand tape in many local DIY shops

, actually looking at the contact info they're US based . I always thought it was duct tape for sealing duct joints or a similar application but not really sure , some info here

That's why we invented drawing - first.

"anorton" fired this volley in news:39-dnUv4sc1jGdLNnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

That's one of those Wiki-Lies, probably written to defend the improper use of the term "duck".

Since I'm old enough to remember, I'll tell you that the original DUCT tape was made like today's profession Gaffer's tape. It was made from canvas, not duck. Duck is a much heavier 2x2 weave that isn't ultimately as strong as a single flat-weave canvas.

The original DUCT tape was strong, would stick tenaciously to everything, and WAS used (specifically) on AC ducting in the early days of the late

40's through the 1970s.

In the mid-seventies, some cheap-for-the-dime retailers demanded that someone make a sticky tape with an inexpensive gauze fabric and a thin vinyl backing that "looked like duct tape"; for no other reason than to cheapen it.

That cheap stuff "stuck" (as it were), and real duct tape became "Professional Gaffer's tape", which one can still buy.

The original stuff presented a fabric backing, not a slick vinyl one, and was not designed to hold by itself, but to be wire-bound to the (then metal) ducting, then painted. It was a sealing mechanism, not a structural fastener. And it was good. Not like the crap you buy today under the same moniker.

LLoyd

=20

For hvac ductwork what you want is aluminum foil tape in 4 mil thickness = and to pass inspection it'll probably also need approval / listing under = UL 181A-P or UL 181B-FX

Richard fired this volley in news:p5SdnTKrb6LSDdLNnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

Not for nothin', but if someone cannot read or communicate well enough to convey units and dimensions, a drawing does no good beyond conveying a general idea.

Better than 70% of our population cannot read a ruler! What good would it do to make a drawing with a specification of "11-7/8", if someone cannot discern on a ruler what 7/8" IS?

If you doubt that, just watch a home being built (if you can find one, these days).

LLoyd

I was thinking, before written language, Lloyd. Building concepts into symbols.

However, Running down stupid people doesn't really get us anywhere, does it?

Think of how stupid the average person is, and remember that half of the population is below that!

So I rejoice that over a third of us CAN do technically sophisticated things. Not just a few magicians at the top...

Thats interesting info. If you look into the first and third references in the Wiki article, there is no doubt that there was a product called Duck Tape in 1902 and 1945. Based on what you say, it sounds like there were multiple products for multiple purposes that were cheapened and morphed together over the years.

(Is duct tape the only subject that is on-topic in every newsgroup?)

That was just at typo. The author meant "Saw-zawl"

Having used many rolls of gaffer's tape, I can assure you while the old duct tape and gaffer's tape may share the same fabric structure, the adhesive is very different. Gaffer's tape adhesive is made to have a relatively strong hold, but to not leave any residue when removed.

"J. Clarke" fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@hamster.jcbsbsdomain.local:

There was a very early tape made from duck. It was "floppy" and flexible, and did well working over extremely uneven surfaces.

But there also a formally-called "duct tape" made from canvas, not duck, and very stiff -- designed to seal the gaps in uniformly-sized pipes...

LLoyd