Life Lessons Learned At My 3rd Grade Spelling Bee

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Abstract

order,” I don’t have any of the stress, worry or anxiety that is associated with the OCD “disorder.” Rather, I have developed a keen attention to detail that consistently allows me to see things and identify problems that others miss.</p><p id="7d6d">Like the fictional Adrian Monk, my unique attention to detail while still seeing the big picture has served me very well, thankfully without having the TV character’s often paralyzing foibles. Yes, I see the crooked frame on the wall, and I will straighten it if it’s convenient, but I don’t have to straighten it in order to get on with my life. I notice if the 2 clocks in the same room don’t display the same time, and if neither one of them is correct, but I don’t have to have them reset before I can leave the room. When taking notes, I don’t bother to dot every “i” or “j” (but I might idly dot them when reviewing the notes).</p><p id="67e2">While this attention to detail and desire for order and clarity is admirable and rewarding as an engineer, it can be a distraction or entertainment for friends, family, colleagues or total strangers. When I’m shopping for a greeting card, I’ll often see a card someone has “carelessly” returned to the wrong slot. If the original slot (the “correct” one) is near and obvious, I’ll move the card, but I won’t search for the right slot. Same thing when I’m looking at brochures in a hotel lobby or waiting rooms.</p><h2 id="fab7">Does anyone other than me check the spelling in their texts?</h2><p id="6bd4">I admit it. It upsets my sensibilities when I send a text and see I inadvertently made a spelling error by hitting the wrong one of those too-small-and-too-close-together keys. Unless the misspelling changes the meaning in an important way, I won’t correct it, but I’m tempted to.</p><p id="8ba5">I especially dislike autocorrect! I know what I want to say and how I want to say it. I’m also not a fan of “text speak.” I can generally understand the message when someone sends me a text with some of today’s abbreviations, but I just can’t bring myself to use it. I’ve found that the auto-fill choices generally pop up wit

Options

h the word or phrase I want to use, so I can just touch those instead of having to type them. Voice recognition isn’t accurate enough for me yet.</p><figure id="f759"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*hGsGSn-dcSMWIzedAqo2-w.jpeg"><figcaption>Image by Elisa Riva from Pixabay</figcaption></figure><h2 id="9329">“See something, say something” is a rule for safety, not necessarily relationships</h2><p id="2284">People love to have me proofread their writings. My eyes go right to any misspellings, improper punctuation or grammatical errors that change the meaning of what I know they want to say. I have learned over time that the ability is greatly appreciated when I’m asked to proofread something, but is best overlooked when the errors aren’t really important. The same error that can be a critical factor in a legal or safety matter is usually best ignored in casual social communications. <b>I wish I’d learned that at an earlier age.</b></p><p id="8d6b">Being able to see what others miss, and the life-long desire to make things better, have combined and resulted in many gratifying successes during my career as an automotive and aviation development and safety engineer. That combined ability and desire have even resulted in my being honored at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. The ability still serves me well in my second career as an engineering consultant and expert witness serving personal injury trial attorneys, primarily in products liability matters.</p><h2 id="b4e0">Upfront clarity will improve the quality of your life and those around you</h2><p id="ffef">Our lives are rife with opportunities to go astray because of assumptions we make. Think of all the times when you headed in the wrong direction because you made some assumption that wasn’t true. The result can be as simple as needing to go to a different room to find your phone or keys. However, something as simple as misinterpreting a casual comment can result in destroying a relationship. <b>The old saw, “Measure twice and cut once” applies to more than cutting lumber.</b></p></article></body>

Upfront clarity and attention to detail prevent preventable mistakes

All I could hear and feel was the roar of the blood rushing through my head as I stumbled and nearly fell over from dizziness. I was the best speller in the 3rd grade, if not the whole K-6 school. Why had I just heard the simple word I had spelled repeated for the next contestant?

It was my first spelling bee. I was confident that I was going to win because I never misspelled any of the words on the spelling tests. I couldn’t believe the next word presented to me was so easy. I confidently spelled “S T E A K” and was starting to smile when I heard the word repeated.

In my overconfidence, I had failed to ask for either the definition of the word, or to have the word used in a sentence. The word being said was even easier than the one I had spelled. The word was “STAKE.”

I didn’t actually hear the next contestant spelling the word. The roar of the blood rushing through my head was deafening, and I could feel myself getting dizzy. The memory is still vivid all these years later, and I’m happy it never happened again.

After I sat down as a spectator instead of a participant, I vowed that I would never make that kind of mistake again. In retrospect, I realize that I began a life of both getting clarity as soon as possible and paying attention to detail that very day.

One of my favorite TV characters is detective Adrian Monk

A few people over the years have suggested, only half-jokingly, that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I looked up OCD once. While my attention is automatically drawn to anything I see as being “out of order,” I don’t have any of the stress, worry or anxiety that is associated with the OCD “disorder.” Rather, I have developed a keen attention to detail that consistently allows me to see things and identify problems that others miss.

Like the fictional Adrian Monk, my unique attention to detail while still seeing the big picture has served me very well, thankfully without having the TV character’s often paralyzing foibles. Yes, I see the crooked frame on the wall, and I will straighten it if it’s convenient, but I don’t have to straighten it in order to get on with my life. I notice if the 2 clocks in the same room don’t display the same time, and if neither one of them is correct, but I don’t have to have them reset before I can leave the room. When taking notes, I don’t bother to dot every “i” or “j” (but I might idly dot them when reviewing the notes).

While this attention to detail and desire for order and clarity is admirable and rewarding as an engineer, it can be a distraction or entertainment for friends, family, colleagues or total strangers. When I’m shopping for a greeting card, I’ll often see a card someone has “carelessly” returned to the wrong slot. If the original slot (the “correct” one) is near and obvious, I’ll move the card, but I won’t search for the right slot. Same thing when I’m looking at brochures in a hotel lobby or waiting rooms.

Does anyone other than me check the spelling in their texts?

I admit it. It upsets my sensibilities when I send a text and see I inadvertently made a spelling error by hitting the wrong one of those too-small-and-too-close-together keys. Unless the misspelling changes the meaning in an important way, I won’t correct it, but I’m tempted to.

I especially dislike autocorrect! I know what I want to say and how I want to say it. I’m also not a fan of “text speak.” I can generally understand the message when someone sends me a text with some of today’s abbreviations, but I just can’t bring myself to use it. I’ve found that the auto-fill choices generally pop up with the word or phrase I want to use, so I can just touch those instead of having to type them. Voice recognition isn’t accurate enough for me yet.

Image by Elisa Riva from Pixabay

“See something, say something” is a rule for safety, not necessarily relationships

People love to have me proofread their writings. My eyes go right to any misspellings, improper punctuation or grammatical errors that change the meaning of what I know they want to say. I have learned over time that the ability is greatly appreciated when I’m asked to proofread something, but is best overlooked when the errors aren’t really important. The same error that can be a critical factor in a legal or safety matter is usually best ignored in casual social communications. I wish I’d learned that at an earlier age.

Being able to see what others miss, and the life-long desire to make things better, have combined and resulted in many gratifying successes during my career as an automotive and aviation development and safety engineer. That combined ability and desire have even resulted in my being honored at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. The ability still serves me well in my second career as an engineering consultant and expert witness serving personal injury trial attorneys, primarily in products liability matters.

Upfront clarity will improve the quality of your life and those around you

Our lives are rife with opportunities to go astray because of assumptions we make. Think of all the times when you headed in the wrong direction because you made some assumption that wasn’t true. The result can be as simple as needing to go to a different room to find your phone or keys. However, something as simple as misinterpreting a casual comment can result in destroying a relationship. The old saw, “Measure twice and cut once” applies to more than cutting lumber.