FarmI wrote:

snip

And 'ass' for 'arse' - I tend to ask why they are into donkey abuse.

I'd love to know where that came from? (Should be 'whence that came' but
what the hell!) ;-
snip

Our daughter has always been able to spell well but her friend whose
parents are both teachers has always struggled. I do think that some people
are more inclined to be good spellers than others although have absolutely
no proof to support that statement, just observation.

Yes. Some people just have that kind of memory for words and
constructions. It doesn't mean that others shouldn't try, though.
Misspelling a difficult word is always forgivable, but misspelling
common, everyday words is just laziness.

Did you catch the interesting show in the TV tonight about intelligence
testing? It was called "the Battle of the Brains". There was one
interesting snippet in that show. In Scotland, they found IQ tests done
decades ago by a large number of 11 year olds. They had tracked down many
of them (now in their late 70s/early 80s) and ran them through the same
test. They found that on average, their IQs had gone up 10 points.

No, I missed it unfortunately. I think these things all come down to a
thirst for knowing things. People who like to know stuff never cease
learning, IMHO.


I've always said that we (should) learn and continue to develop all through
life and I wouldn't mind betting that your parents did just that even if
they left school with a good education in just the basic 3Rs.

Oh yes! My Dad could add a column of figures in his head much quicker
than I could do it on a calculator (and he always described himself as
'only a butcher'). My Mum is 86 and she keeps her dictionary and her
atlas nearby at all times. It irritates her that political boundaries
keep changing and she has to keep re-learning the names and cities of
all the countries mentioned in the daily news. :-D

I think it's interesting to note that Latin names for plants are easily
understood by most of us and leave no doubt as to a plant's identity when
various common names might be in use...

:-)) The trouble with Latin names, is that when I use them and I tend to do
so a lot, I always seem to be accused of being a snob or a know it all. I
used to explain to people that the more interested one in plants and
gardening, the more likely one is to seek out the sort of publications that
use botanical names and that reading such documents leads to using the
correct names. That explantion doesn't seem to wash with many people though
so I don't bother doing that so much these days. I just think 'Idiot!' to
myself. I'm getting old and intolerant.


Ah, join the club! Whenever we go bush, I spend most of my day walking
along with my nose either on the ground looking at plants or in the air
looking at birds. My continual muttering of Latin names used to irritate
the family, but they've learned to tolerate it and even join in on the
easy ones. Of course it must be annoying to those who don't know the
Latin, but it's just my way of consolidating them in my mind and making
sure I continue to remember them. I majored in Taxonomy at Uni and it's
still hugely important to me to be able to classify things. LOL!

(Also, I think it's pretty neat that I'm using names assigned by people
like Sir Joseph Banks and Carl Solander over two hundred years ago...)

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia