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What a surprise! I opened my Power Byte and there it was - in bold red letters - a typographical error. SURPISE!!! How embarrassing!
I received a number of notes from readers who wanted to share their "surprises" with me- but nobody said anything about the typo. I wondered if they were just being polite, or if they actually missed it too.
One of my readers thought I had done it deliberately to check if people were actually reading the Power Bytes. Not so.
Another asked if I had done it to provide a coaching opportunity about paying attention to what people send you. It would have been clever, but that's not what happened.
I could say that it wasn't my fault because someone else does my proof-reading, but that's not what happened either.
What happened was when I couldn't find the Spell Check Icon on the program I was using, I checked the document carefully (very carefully) word for word - and away it went. I didn't pick up that typo.
I wondered how that could happen. I came up with a few possible explanations:
1. I don't know how to spell.
2. I had too much on my mind.
3. I am careless.
4. I am human and make mistakes.
5. I read the word as a whole.
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe
Can you read it? Probably. Here's the translation.
According to a researcher at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be in the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you still read it without a problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole.
I choose #3 & #4.
Thank you for all your support and for the wonderful notes you send. They make such a difference for me and let me know that I make a difference for you too.
Have a great day.
Alex
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