On Tue, 3 Jun 2003, Trevor Lauder wrote: > A word may be legitimate for some if it's generally understood, however > the use of slang & vulgarity shows a lack of intelligence. Yes, it is all > about communication but there are varying levels of communication. Some > levels help you look like an intelligent person, other levels do not and > only exist due to a lack of education.
I would like to point out that the above paragraph implies a connection between "intelligence" and "education" when, in fact, there is little correlation. A person can be stunningly intelligent yet use slang and vulgarity. This happens to be one of my pet peeves with "popular culture" portraying high intelligence as knowing everything under the sun rather than the *ability* to learn/reason/etc. I should point out that I do not believe Trevor intended to make the implication I conjured out of his comment. I will also concur that certain usages of language certainly are an indicator of lack of education, or at very least lack of care in the use of language. And, most certainly, it is a popular perception that lack of education equates with lack of intelligence. And now that I've managed to take the step from having everyone think I'm a fool to proving it... :) -- William Astle finger [EMAIL PROTECTED] for further information Geek Code V3.12: GCS/M/S d- s+:+ !a C++ UL++++$ P++ L+++ !E W++ !N w--- !O !M PS PE V-- Y+ PGP t+@ 5++ X !R tv+@ b+++@ !DI D? G e++ h+ y?
