I don’t believe that Ali Wong is actually stupid, as she claims to be in the preface of her book. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Asian American studies from UCLA, so I am sure that she is a very educated woman. Like Ali, everybody has moments where they don’t shine their brightest. I decided to give a few personal examples of when I really look like an idiot.
The Pledge of Allegiance vs. The National Anthem
Now, this one is newly discovered for me. While at a basketball game, I stood up for, as I called it, “The Pledge of Allegiance” and my boyfriend just laughed at me for it. Utterly confused, I asked him what was funny and he politely told me where I went wrong. I had an existential crisis in the moment realizing that for MY ENTIRE LIFE I have been confusing the two. The best part is that I have made absolutely no progress in realizing the differences. I still confidently stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance during basketball games.
Bibliography
I can pronounce the word above correctly about 20% of the time. Even when I try to say it in my head it doesn’t come out correctly. The word terrifies me. I still don’t know how many syllables it actually has but I think I add like three extra ones just to be safe. Why can’t we all just say “work cited page”? It’s so much easier to pronounce plus adds like two extra words to your essays.
Effect vs. Affect
I know this is a common one that affects (is this right?) people from all walks of life but can somebody please tell me when to use them. Most of the time I know that I have a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right, so I just decide if an “a” pleases me more at the moment that an “e”, or vice versa. My real question is if anybody actually knows the difference. If you do, and you are reading this, please tell me. I need help.
Checking your phone for the time then forgetting to check your phone for the time
Okay, I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only person that does this, but I still think I’m pretty stupid for doing it. It happens probably 80% of the time when I do check the time and I still get so frustrated that I do it. The worst part is that I don’t learn from it either. I just keep doing it over and over again and continue to embarrass me in front of me. I don’t even know what I get distracted by in the first place. Maybe my lock screen? Or my battery percentage? All I know is that no matter how much I want to change, I never will.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the phone thing! I will always tell myself that I need to check something specific and then I forget to do it and then realize it about 30 minutes after I put my phone away. Often times this is accompanied by a sigh. As for your struggles with "affect" and "effect", I also used to struggle with the differentiation. However I have found a picture that helped me understand it. I am going to try to post it here, if not I will provide the link!
Addendum: so I could not get it to post so here is the link!
https://contenthub-static.grammarly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Affect-EFFECT-.jpg
A fun post! It made me laugh, esp. since I have some of the same struggles!
ReplyDeleteI think these posts about the ways we are stupid are so funny, because it is proving how non-stupid you all are. If these are the things we consider flaws, I think we're doing alright.
ReplyDeleteThis is so awesome, I think I might have to do my own version of this next week! It is so interesting to me because, as we have been talking about self-deprecating humor and how harmful it can be in our course, I don't find Wong's discussion of this self-deprecating. I actually find it quite humanizing, and even a display of Wong's confidence! I won't go into this too much here, I'll save it for next week's post. But I relate to a lot of your examples, especially the Affect vs. Effect and checking your phone for the time and forgetting to actually look at the time! I do this legitimately every day, even sometimes when someone else asks me for the time. These things don't make us stupid, though, I think they make us human.
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny. The last one reminded me of a list of "things you think only you do" that I found at one point in time. I was shocked at how many weird habits I shared with complete strangers. One of them was something like "when I'm driving and there's no other cars on the road, I'm worried I missed a memo about a no-driving day." I totally make stupid stuff up like that in my mind all the time and worry about it a ridiculous amount.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who picks affect or effect based on which one I'm in the mood for more. I'd like to think that one day I'll know the difference, but I'm just not sure that's ever going to happen. I agree with you about a works cited page instead of a bibliography. I personally think a works cited page sounds fancier.
ReplyDeleteI’m right with you on all of them except the first one. But I think I know the first one because I’ve played sports my whole life, and watched them as well. But this is honestly funny and relatable at the same time. I love that. Everytime I’m writing a paper I have to look up affect and effect.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand some of these, effect vs. affect I also just feel awfully stupid when I confuse the two. No matter how many times I'm clearly explained the two differences, the moment I start questioning myself is when it starts all over. Usually within five minutes of thinking I have these understood.
ReplyDelete