there i be ain't i pretty.

[rocknload]

There's a group of engineering students outside with tripods and levels and they're learning how to survey my dorm. I find the irony—is it really irony? Whatever, I find it hilarious. I called Bryce to tell him and his response was, "lol n00bs."

It took my roommate telling me that she's going home for the weekend because she's so sick for me to realize what's wrong with me. I'm done with classes for the week, so I'm probably going to walk over to Dominos and get a pizza, grab my blankets off my bed and bring them to my room, and hole up here until I feel better.

Comments

[immelmanturn.livejournal.com]

Nope, not really irony.

BUT YEAH, YOU ARE A SURVEYOR. WHY CAN'T YOU READ MAPS?

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

Drawing maps and reading maps are entirely different skill sets. And anyway, it's only this problem where I have trouble orienting myself with a map when I'm on foot, I can read road maps like, as well as most people. I have good spacial reasoning, too, when it comes to most things, so I don't really understand the disconnect, but whatever, the result is I end up lost. A lot. I can't follow people's directions when they're telling me where to go, too, so there's no real helping me!

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

I refuse to believe drawing maps does not lead to reading maps. This is like stating you have written several novels while being functionally illiterate. IT IS SILLY

[unicorn]

That's totally plausible if you've been dictating to someone the whole time.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

I WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN IT BUT WAS UNABLE but that's actually pretty good.

Also the surveying maps are totally different than, like, the campus maps.

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

True. Unfortunately, I have used "written" in a concrete sense. In other words, in reference to the physical act of writing words through one's own actions, not in a figurative sense where it can stand in for any number of activities which by their own means or others produces a product which contains the written word. I concede that the English language does not contain the necessary grammatical structures to differentiate between a literal and symbolic meaning other than to tangentially dismantle it at length, but then, here we are.

SILLY

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

Ah, but see, people don't physically draw maps anymore. That's way old school.

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

Man, that's totally not relevant to my argument. I don't care how maps are produced, and whether they are physically drawn or not does not co-relate to physically written books. Especially if we're trying to compare handwriting versus typing to whatever technowizardry is involved in map making. It's a false route.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

It means computers do all of the calculations, though! It means I end up thinking of a location as a series of dots, and that's hardly going to be useful when it comes to navigation!

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

Yeah okay I'm totally not going to start asking for specifics on the procedures of computerised mapmaking, heh, I HAVE FAILED TO CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU ACTUALLY CAN READ MAPS JUST FINE. BUT IT WAS WORTH A TRY

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

I CAN'T THOUGH. I MEAN, I KNOW IT IN MY HEART TO BE TRUE.

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

WOULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN AWESOME IF IT HAD WORKED, THOUGH? YOU PROBABLY WOULD BE ABLE TO READ MAPS NOW!

[unicorn]

Besides, your analogy still holds to the extent that it is possible to have all of the requisite skills for building a kickass story and yet be unable to read your own product. Which is a very apt comparison, really!

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

I think there's a difference between possessing the skills and applying the skills. I would like to know how you can make a plausible scenario where someone actually produces a book through their own efforts but is incapable of reading it. Actually I would like to know how they could possess the skills and be capable but also be illiterate for that matter.

[unicorn]

If we've segued from "possessing the skills" meaning handwriting to storytelling, um, try hundreds of years of traditional oral storytelling in some places? Which other dudes just then wrote down. VOILA, instabook.

It's not terribly likely to happen in today's world, especially as you'd have to connect the illiterate awesome book person with the necessary resources (someone to type what he dictated, certainly, but especially people who take hir seriously) but it's certainly possible. Plenty of people who're literate and published have no clue how to tell a story, I don't see why it can't go the other way around.

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

Ah, well then I'm not disputing that! But I wouldn't equate the ability to tell a story with the ability to produce a map in this instance, because all I'm focusing on is the technical capacity, which should, by extension, mean an ability to interpret the output of that technical work.

We didn't segue from handwriting to storytelling, is the thing.

[unicorn]

BUT YOU ARE DENYING BRITTANY'S ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHY MAPMAKING DOES NOT LINE UP WITH HANDWRITING IN YOUR ANALOGY ABOVE YOU ARE BEING ILLOGICAL GOOD SIR

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

More what I was getting at was I don't think being able to physically draw a map by hand is required to read a map in the same way I don't think you need to hand write written work to read if you can, alternately, type. The assumption here being that while there are various means of writing, they can still boil down to writing in that they all involve a physical effort. Let's say a physical effort imposed on some surface, for that matter. Which the basic ability to storytell does not possess, as it is not a technical process in that way. My dispute is that you must be able to interpret the output of your technical work, or you could not possibly grasp the technical work to ever produce anything in the first place. I don't care to a fine degree what that technical work actually is, so long as it is, let's say, a physical effort imposed on some surface.

I am aware that it was a flaw in my argument in that I did not actually know whether the modern map-making method could be considered analogous to the technical work of writing or not, but hey, no one had brought that up yet, heh! Until Brittany did and that's why she won.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

I just thought I'd note that I have no idea what the hell you two are talking about. I think it's because I'm sick, but. Your debate is so over my head.

[unicorn]

Basically I was saying that his analogy sucked in several ways and he said well I knew it sucked the one way but it didn't suck this way, except that then Brittany told me it did! Because I knew nothing about mapmaking.

And then I was just being politely silent instead of gloating.

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

And I was silently observing that for all your well-constructed points and back and forth Brittany totally won way before you even got around to elucidating the same point. Soooo silent.

[unicorn]

I guess we both had to do something with our free time while Brittany was off winning.

[unicorn]

HOLING UP IS AWESOME. I recommend it.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

Except I still have to leave to get food and money and shit. I'm wondering if I should do it now, when I'm not hungry, or later, when I'll almost certainly be feeling worse.

[unicorn]

NOW

Also I will almost certainly not have the thing done till midnight at least, I worked on it some but I have to go out to do stuff with people, so if you finish and submit it just note that I AM LATE somewhere in the email. YES I AM LAME AND SLOW

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

Shouldn't we submit them both at around the same time? LIKE, TO MAKE SURE WE BOTH ACTUALLY FINISH AND STUFF.

[unicorn]

YOUR FAST RESPONSE MEANS YOU ARE NOT GETTING MONEY AND PIZZA NOW

That's a good point. WE SHALL CONSULT FURTHER WHEN I AM BACK I GUESS. Unless you pass out, which I would also be pleased with as you are sick

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

DUDE I DON'T WANNA

I'll probably not pass out. I'll turn the television on or ... something.

[unicorn]

GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO I will nag you in texts.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

It's like a block away, man.

[unicorn]

GO.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

and the ATM is like, a block the other goddamn way

[unicorn]

go get money and then order in.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

at that point, there's really no point in spending five more dollars.

[unicorn]

I am so totally capable of ordering pizza for you. From Maryland. You know it to be true.

[unicorn]

I am going now. MY THREAT REMAINS. Feeding yourself is good for your health.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

YOUR THREAT IS EMPTY DUE TO CREDIT CARD LAWS OR RULES OR WHATEVER AHAHAHA, but I'm kind of thinking of going anyway and I placed the order so whatever. WHATEVER.

[unicorn]

There're laws against buying people pizza in Arizona? I was wrong, I have a couple more minutes. also YAY

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

No, I'd have to actually present the card to the delivery dude. Which I can't. Because it is not here. maybe the driver wouldn't care but then again MAYBE HE WOULD.

[unicorn]

...would he like take the pizza back I have never heard of this law and I have ordered a lot of pizza

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

He's supposed to. usually they don't but he can do it! I dunno if it's a LAW it's just been the rule for all the pizza i ever ordered.

[unicorn]

weeeeeeeeeeeeird

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

you have to SIGN for the credit card, that's why. they've NEVER made you sign for it?

[unicorn]

I've signed for it, but they never make me SHOW THEM THE CARD.

[yamiaudra.livejournal.com]

DDDX I hope you feel better soon!