Part of the reason I went to the office this week was to attend an editorial meeting. Accuracy is one of the things that we discussed in the meeting. Of course we know that we’re supposed to get our facts straight and use the language correctly. But our boss wants us also to be mindful of the stupid technicalities (e.g., a tomato is a fruit), if only to avoid getting mail from smart alecks.
One editor said, “Hey, if someone wants to write in to point out an errata, I don’t begrudge him that.” I almost laughed. I was so tempted to point out that “errata” is plural, not singular. It was just the kind of thing that a smart aleck would write to us about. So this editor wouldn’t have begrudged me my little correction, right?
Ha-ha. We will never know, because I didn’t say a thing. Everyone likes to boast about their keen sense of humor and willingness to laugh at themselves, but in my experience people don’t like to be corrected. Ever. Experience also tells me that pointing out someone else’s mistake publicly is an invitation to the Universe to send mistakes directly into your life that will humble you in turn.
So if I made any mistakes while writing about a mistake that someone else made while talking about a mistake, don’t tell me. I don’t want to be corrected. Ever. And if the Universe should come calling, don’t let on that I wrote this post. Let it be our little secret 😉