Friday

Word Jumble


I work as a medical transcriptionist, typing out the mumbled words doctors half attempt to say or editing what the computer thinks they've said. I know lots of people that thought when the technology of speech recognition came out jobs like mine would be a thing of the past, but that just isn't true. The computers have a harder time understanding gibberish than humans do. Imagine the crazy things the computer attempts to "write" because the doctor talks with candy clicking against his teeth, or talks while yawning or burping, or just doesn't bother to open his mouth and form his words correctly while talking at a very high rate of speed. I have encountered all of these things, and it makes my work a stressful thing sometimes. It is funny to read what the computer "thought" these doctors said, though. When these move me to laughter, I take time out of my work to copy and paste them to a file so I can save them. For example, the computer program decided the doctor said, "Her sneeze has power of attorney," when in actuality he said, "Her niece has power of attorney". Or how about this for an allergy, "He is intolerant of legs." Really, the man was "intolerant of eggs." Now, I'll admit I'm not perfect, either. Just yesterday I was editing a report and was changing some words and instead of typing "deer hunting" I typed "dear hunting". I laughed as I caught my mistake. Then I started thinking this might be a good new phrase to start using. We've already got animal names for women who like dating younger men, "cougars". I told Jerry about it, and he liked the phrase. We decided it should be used to describe what a woman who's out looking for a husband is doing - she's dear hunting. Okay, you've heard it here first. If you see it anywhere besides Jerry or me writing about it, someone's lifted it. Maybe it can become a catch phrase. I've always wondered how those get started. Too bad I can't get a copyright and actually make a profit.

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