SilasBarta comments on Common Errors in History - Less Wrong

4 Post author: PhilGoetz 09 February 2010 07:27PM

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Comment author: SilasBarta 09 February 2010 09:14:46PM *  0 points [-]

Example:

I tried to find some pattern to the "common errors" listed, but this is the best I could do:

English students in the mid-20th century learned a lot of history.

This booklet is full of statements such as, "The frequent use of the title of Prince of Wales for the native princes before Llywelyn the Last is incorrect... The title of Prince of Wales was adopted only... about 1258,"

This can be red as, "It is an error that English students learned a lot of history, because they mistakenly believe that pre-Llywelyn princes had the title Prince of Wales."

Is that what you meant?

If not, then you can understand why I would have to read further to get your meaning, but by then the post says: "The English are so very English. [Textbooks are biased in favor of the home country. That wouldn't be tolerated in England. In LLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLOOOOOO OOOOOOOOO OOOONNNN NNNNNNNG LIST, the book claims the English are unfairly blamed.]"

And that doesn't help much.

Comment author: thomblake 09 February 2010 09:17:30PM 3 points [-]

Your very long "LONG" is ugly and will likely screw up some people's rendering of the page.

Comment author: SilasBarta 09 February 2010 09:20:11PM 1 point [-]

I put some spaces in. Is it okay now? (It's supposed to be ugly to give the effect of having to skip across a long list to get to the sentence's predicate, but I don't want it messing up rendering.)

Comment author: MrHen 09 February 2010 09:21:27PM 1 point [-]

Yeah, it's good now.

Comment author: PhilGoetz 09 February 2010 09:29:53PM 0 points [-]

This can be red as, "It is an error that English students learned a lot of history, because they mistakenly believe that pre-Llywelyn princes had the title Prince of Wales."

That's a misinterpretation that hadn't occurred to me. Fixed.

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