Blogtrek

Two Fumbles

Two humorous mistakes were made recently, one by a computer or a robot, and the other by a human. The computer whaaa was made by Google. Recently Herta Däubler-Gmelin, the justice minister in German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's government, made an apparent comparison between President Bush and Hitler: she said "Das hat auch Hitler schon gemacht". This means "Hitler also had done it"; the word "schon" means "already" but in this phrase it is more for emphasis. I put the sentence into Google and it said "Do you mean 'Das hat auch Hitler schoen gemacht' ?" That really put words into Herta's mouth. It now says "Hitler also had made it beautiful."

The other was by a human; in particular, NBC's Tom Brokaw. In talking about today's five-person murder during a robbery in Norfolk, Nebraska, Mr. Brokaw said, "It happened in a quiet town, Norfolk, Nebraska, whose main claim to fame is that it was Johnny Carson's birthplace. It is no longer." Huhhh?? Since when does a person's birthplace change? Did someone go back in the past and move his parents to a different town? This misplaced phrase has Orwellian overtones. Johnny Carson was born in Norfolk, Virginia. He was always born in Norfolk, Virginia. He was never born in Norfolk, Nebraska. It's like Oceania being at war with Eastasia, whereas people heard yesterday it was at war with Eurasia. But Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia, and all the history books need to be rewritten. Tom needs to be more careful with his sentences to make sure that they refer to what he intended them to refer to; in this case, to the quietness of this heartland town in rural Nebraska.

Someone says it is human to err, but to make big mistakes requires a computer. I say both humans and computers can make big mistakes at times.