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Sentence first<p><strong>The Strunk cost&nbsp;fallacy</strong></p><p>Myths have serious sticking power. This is true not just of the myths of antiquity but also of more modern and niche types, like the <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2017/10/03/a-to-z-of-english-usage-myths/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">myths of English usage</a>. It seems that nothing will ever stop people peeving pointlessly about <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/how-awkwardly-to-avoid-split-infinitives/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">split infinitives</a>, <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2023/02/27/dont-never-tell-nobody-not-to-use-no-double-negatives/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">double negatives</a>, <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/fear-and-loathing-of-the-passive-voice/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">passive voice</a>, <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/singular-they-you-and-a-senseless-way-of-speaking/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">singular <em>they</em></a>, &amp;c.</p><p>One thing that makes usage myths sticky, and spready, is that when we’ve gone to the trouble of learning something, we’re often reluctant to <em>unlearn</em> it, even in the face of contradictory truth – especially when that knowledge gives us a pleasurable feeling of authority or expertise. Renouncing it means accepting that we’ve wasted our time, so instead we double down.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/strunk-white-the-elements-of-style.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>This makes it a form of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost#Fallacy_effect" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>sunk cost fallacy</em></a> or <em>sunk cost effect</em>. The term is from economics but has spread to more general use. I’m about to spread it further, with a goofy twist: Doubling down on a bogus rule of language use because you’ve invested time or cognitive effort into learning it is hereby known as the <em>Strunk cost fallacy </em>(or <em>Strunk cost effect</em>).</p><p>Regrettably, there is no way to include E. B. White in the coinage without spoiling the pun, but both he and William Strunk Jr. bear some responsibility for promulgating a range of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211030010349/https:/lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/LandOfTheFree.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">egregious misunderstandings</a> about English grammar, usage, and ‘correctness’.</p><p>The dogmatic tone in those authors’ influential <em>Elements of Style</em> also fuels, among some of its devotees, intolerance of non-standardized dialects and informal varieties of English, because readers gain (or strengthen) the impression that in language use there can be only one right way. This is another fallacy, an insidious and socially toxic one.</p><p>If you find evidence that you have a mistaken belief about language use – it happens to us all – then my advice is to heed that evidence. Instead of allowing your defences to reject the possibility that you’ve wasted your time learning and maybe promoting a falsity, embrace the opportunity to revise your beliefs. Don’t fall for the Strunk cost fallacy.</p><p>In closing, here’s a related piece of snark:</p><blockquote><p>Accidentally typed “Strunk and Why” and this sums up my feelings better than any tired rant I might muster</p><p>— Stan Carey (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5umbpor2jx3i4a7g5gureesq?ref_src=embed" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@stancarey.bsky.social</a>) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5umbpor2jx3i4a7g5gureesq/post/3l6nom3awzw2c?ref_src=embed" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oct 16, 2024 at 20:33</a></p></blockquote><p>(I tried embedding an equivalent <a href="https://mastodon.ie/deck/@stancarey/113318772254514245" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mastodon post</a>, but it didn’t work the way Bluesky’s did. I’m using both platforms for now.)</p><p>* * *</p><p>A few other coinages you might like: <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/whoms-law-of-hypercorrection/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Whom’s Law of Hypercorrection</a>; <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/introducing-indo-european-jones/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Indo-European Jones</a>; <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/scary-quotes/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">scary quotes</a>; the <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/introducing-the-apostrophantom/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">apostrophantom</a>; the <a href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/the-typographic-oath-for-editors/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Typographic Oath for editors</a>.</p><p><span></span></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/books/" target="_blank">#books</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/e-b-white/" target="_blank">#EBWhite</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/grammar/" target="_blank">#grammar</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/humour/" target="_blank">#humour</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/language/" target="_blank">#language</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/neologisms/" target="_blank">#neologisms</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/peevology/" target="_blank">#peevology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/phrases/" target="_blank">#phrases</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/prescriptivism/" target="_blank">#prescriptivism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/the-elements-of-style/" target="_blank">#TheElementsOfStyle</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/usage/" target="_blank">#usage</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://stancarey.wordpress.com/tag/william-strunk-jr/" target="_blank">#WilliamStrunkJr</a></p>
Matt Potter<p>The entire kids’ publishing industry needs this pinned above their desks.</p><p>In fact, anyone working with or writing for kids could do with reading it. </p><p>E.B. White, author of 'Charlotte's Web' on what adults get wrong when writing for children.</p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/childrensbooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>childrensbooks</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/bookstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>bookstodon</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/charlottesweb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>charlottesweb</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/ebwhite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ebwhite</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/authors" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>authors</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/childrensLiterature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>childrensLiterature</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/yafiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>yafiction</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/publishing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>publishing</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/publishers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>publishers</span></a></p>
Danny Boling ☮️<p>This artwork by @kellybrownsays (on another platform) is perfect and speaks volumes! </p><p>h/t to my friend <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.otherworldsink.com/@MikeMayak" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>MikeMayak</span></a></span> for the image </p><p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TimWalz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TimWalz</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/VP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>VP</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/candidate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>candidate</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/election2024" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>election2024</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/politics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>politics</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/USpol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USpol</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Harris" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Harris</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/book" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>book</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/CharlottesWeb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CharlottesWeb</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/EBWhite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EBWhite</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/spider" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>spider</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/web" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>web</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/IAmDB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IAmDB</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>This is NOT the first time <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SearsIsland</span></a> has been targeted with a destructive energy project! Tell <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GovernorJanetMills" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GovernorJanetMills</span></a> to build the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WindTerminal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WindTerminal</span></a> on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MackPoint" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MackPoint</span></a>, instead of Sears Island. There is federal funding available, so there's NO REASON to be CHEAP (Mills has balked because <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Maine</span></a> would have to clean up <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/industrial" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>industrial</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>pollution</span></a> at Mack Point -- which should be cleaned up anyways!</p><p>"The possible industrial development of the island has been a point of controversy for many years. Writer <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EBWhite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EBWhite</span></a> (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CharlottesWeb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CharlottesWeb</span></a>), a resident of nearby Brooklin, Maine, noted in a 1975 essay for the New Yorker that he had attended an evening forum about a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CentralMainePower" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CentralMainePower</span></a> Company proposal to construct a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearPower" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearPower</span></a> plant on Sears Island. White reported to New Yorker readers that the Central Maine Power Company 'feels very good about nuclear generating plants, is not worried about <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/radiation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>radiation</span></a> or accidents.' [Or rise in sea temperature from heated wastewater causing environmental damage, apparently]. In response to a goat farmer, their spokesman acknowledged <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/radioactive" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>radioactive</span></a> 'iodine can contaminate milk... [b]ut he was cheerful about the prospect. You would simply put the animals on a controlled diet, he said, and after about forty days the radioactivity would be gone.' [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Hormesis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hormesis</span></a> anyone?] Facing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LocalOpposition" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LocalOpposition</span></a>, the plant was not built." </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Island" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Is</span><span class="invisible">land</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Environment</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EndangeredSpecies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EndangeredSpecies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectSearsIsland</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WindTerminal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WindTerminal</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SandDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SandDunes</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Searsport" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Searsport</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectWahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectWahsumkik</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wahsumkik</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EndangeredSpecies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EndangeredSpecies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectTheDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectTheDunes</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GovernorJanetMills" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GovernorJanetMills</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wassumkeag" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wassumkeag</span></a></p>
Rat Can't Read (she/her)<p>🎵"I write the words that make the barnyard sing.<br>I write words of love, like 'Some Pig!'<br>I write the words in my web that catch the flies.<br>I write the words. I write the words."🎵</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/__7NUrkFirA?feature=shared" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">youtu.be/__7NUrkFirA?feature=s</span><span class="invisible">hared</span></a></p><p><a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/ComplimentACharacterWithASong" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ComplimentACharacterWithASong</span></a> <br><a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/HashtagGames" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HashtagGames</span></a> <br><a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/CharlottesWeb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CharlottesWeb</span></a><br><a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/EBWhite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EBWhite</span></a><br><a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/BarryManilow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BarryManilow</span></a></p>
Cory Doctorow<p><a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/10yrsago" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>10yrsago</span></a> US Senate IP address linked to <a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/Snowden" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Snowden</span></a> <a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/Wikipedia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wikipedia</span></a> change from “dissident” to “traitor” <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2013/08/05/someone-using-us-senate-ip-address-edits-wiki-entry-to-change-ed-snowden-dissident-to-traitor/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">techdirt.com/2013/08/05/someon</span><span class="invisible">e-using-us-senate-ip-address-edits-wiki-entry-to-change-ed-snowden-dissident-to-traitor/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/10yrsago" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>10yrsago</span></a> <a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/JeffBezos" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JeffBezos</span></a>’s letter to the <a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/WashPo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WashPo</span></a> staff <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/jeff-bezos-on-post-purchase/2013/08/05/e5b293de-fe0d-11e2-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">washingtonpost.com/national/je</span><span class="invisible">ff-bezos-on-post-purchase/2013/08/05/e5b293de-fe0d-11e2-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/10yrsago" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>10yrsago</span></a> Why writers should stand up for libraries <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vArSULK9Zzk" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">youtube.com/watch?v=vArSULK9Zz</span><span class="invisible">k</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/10yrsago" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>10yrsago</span></a> Ethical questions for security experts <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UfOxCIIlcU-iRcUeA6p6fyEE4qUbSuFMqmSuWjRsL_4/edit?forcehl=1&amp;amp;hl=en#slide=id.p" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">docs.google.com/presentation/d</span><span class="invisible">/1UfOxCIIlcU-iRcUeA6p6fyEE4qUbSuFMqmSuWjRsL_4/edit?forcehl=1&amp;amp;hl=en#slide=id.p</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/10yrsago" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>10yrsago</span></a> <a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/EBWhite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EBWhite</span></a> on why he wrote <a href="https://mamot.fr/tags/CharlottesWeb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CharlottesWeb</span></a>: “A book is a sneeze” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130806171658/http://www.lettersofnote.com/2013/08/a-book-is-sneeze.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">web.archive.org/web/2013080617</span><span class="invisible">1658/http://www.lettersofnote.com/2013/08/a-book-is-sneeze.html</span></a></p><p>10/</p>