--- Gautam Mukunda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> --- Jan Coffey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > It is, however, important to know that %20 of the
> > world population is far
> > enough to my side of the axis to be labled dyslexic.
> > The inability to spell
> > properly in an illogical system such as English
> > should never be used for
> > ridicule, especially not to address ones intelligence.
> >
> > Jan William Coffey
>
> This'll probably make Jan feel worse, but a
> neurologist friend of mine says that I'm a textbook
> case of someone who is mildly dyslexic - that's not a
> formal diagnosis, but I guess a neurologist is
> qualified to give an expert opinion. So there's
> probably more than one on the list.
>
Why would it make me feel worse? Because I spell worse than anyone else? I
always do, I am on the extreme end of the axis. What does tend to irritate me
is when people point to someone who is mildly dyslexic and use them as an
example of someone with dyslexia who "has learned to spell". And then make
the leap to say that I, and other dyslexics like me are lazy.
That would be like pointing to someone who is hard of hearing and saying that
since they can hear a little bit, that all deaf people would be able to hear
better if they just tried harder.
Let me put it this way, If anyone can tell me exactly how they remember what
the proper spelling of words are, then I could learn it. Not just how you
learned, but the mechanical process you use.
It is highly unlikely that anyone will be able to do this. The part of the
brain most use to remember proper spellings is automatic. It works in much
the same way that your hand will recoil from a hot surface. And that same
part of the dyslexic brain doesn't do the same thing. It's not damaged, it
does work, it just doesn't do that process.
The non-dyslexic doesn't require language to follow a logical or organized
set of rules because the part of their brain they use to process the language
doesn't work that way. The dyslexic requires a logical set of rules. They
don't remember disjointed facts, they remember systems, abstractions, and
connections. If the rules are broken (as they are in most natural languages),
then no system will fit, and what you get is a somewhat chaotic response.
I don't feel sorry for myself or bad because I spell poorly, I simply don't
believe that %20 of the population should be subject to harassment because of
their genetics.
If %20 of people have (at least some) difficulty with the way Language is
constructed, and yet do not have difficulty with any other system, then it is
language, and not the dyslexic which is broken.
=====
_________________________________________________
Jan William Coffey
_________________________________________________
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
