Hyper-literalism
Tania did poorly on an English test last week and Sofia is quite upset. On the other hand, I completely empathize with Tania because she interpreted the test instructions the way I would have.
The test was divided into a number of sections, with each section consisting of a number of multiple choice questions.
The instructions were to select only one answer. Which she did - selecting one multiple choice answer in each section. Unfortunately, she was supposed to select one answer per multiple choice question, consequently, most questions went unanswered.
To me, her response was correct. She was given a precise instruction which she followed. It didn't make sense to her, but then again people rarely make any sort of sense. The world is filled with all sorts of arbitrary rules and inconsistent behaviours and positions that this one was hardly worth batting an eye at.
Hopefully, she will add this to her repertoire of possible exceptions to the inconsistencies of the world and request further clarification in future.
It took me ages to figure out that expressions like, "Let's do lunch, sometime" or "How's it going?" are, in most cases, throw away phrases without the obvious literal meaning of their words. (On the other hand, it was the throw away phrase, "Let's do lunch" that got me my first lunch date with my deaf friend.)
The test was divided into a number of sections, with each section consisting of a number of multiple choice questions.
The instructions were to select only one answer. Which she did - selecting one multiple choice answer in each section. Unfortunately, she was supposed to select one answer per multiple choice question, consequently, most questions went unanswered.
To me, her response was correct. She was given a precise instruction which she followed. It didn't make sense to her, but then again people rarely make any sort of sense. The world is filled with all sorts of arbitrary rules and inconsistent behaviours and positions that this one was hardly worth batting an eye at.
Hopefully, she will add this to her repertoire of possible exceptions to the inconsistencies of the world and request further clarification in future.
It took me ages to figure out that expressions like, "Let's do lunch, sometime" or "How's it going?" are, in most cases, throw away phrases without the obvious literal meaning of their words. (On the other hand, it was the throw away phrase, "Let's do lunch" that got me my first lunch date with my deaf friend.)
Comments
casdok: thanks for visiting and commenting. Yes, it can be hard.
carra: as a writer, you know that clarity is extremely important. This is why we put aside texts and revisit them weeks or months later to ensure they still make sense.
I see no point in asking "How are you" unless you care.
Nice to see you back.
MOI: Personally, I have always hated multiple choice exams, anyway. I always preferred essay type exams.