We are controlled by out technology. Not necessarily in a large noticeable way but definitely in small ways in which we hardly notice. Technology and technological metaphors shape our lives and our ideas. For those of us annoyed but dependent upon spelling aids in software we quickly realise how the software suggests words, spellings and grammatical rules which we are unsure of whether we want to use. If we continue to accept without question then eventually language will be shaped by software we use.
Occasionally something happens which draws attention to the silliness of allowing software to rule our language. Today I attempted to write carpet bombing. The software complained and I checked to see what it wanted. It did not like the words carpet bombing (is this an ethical choice?) but suggested carpet bombs, carpet is bombing, and carpet was bombingâ?¦
Who wrote this stuff?