Kirk: I’m having trouble hearing lately. Bones: Can you describe the symptoms? Kirk: Homer is a fat guy, and his wife Marge has blue hair.
Kirk: I’m having trouble hearing lately. Bones: Can you describe the symptoms? Kirk: Homer is a fat guy, and his wife Marge has blue hair.
…
I don’t even know how to respond to this.
Kirk’s complaint is at the top. Not only is English read from left to right, but it’s also read TOP TO BOTTOM. This fact has been used all over the place in writing, including in comics:
(So ubiquitous is this format that I literally just popped a comic I was in the process of reading up onto my screen and there it was in one of the frames! I didn’t have to go searching.)
You’ll also see it in advertising, in some books with fancier formatting, and a whole bunch of other places.
So remember not only “left to right” but “top to bottom” and you’ll do fine.
I, too, had problems reading Bones’ question. I read it as “Can you symptoms describe the”. I still don’t get it, “symptoms” is further the the left than “describe”. This is all very confusing for me.
OK you’re gonna have to explain how you got to that. I actually can’t work it out.
The joke is, once you ignore that English is read top down, you have problems with any text longer than one line
Oh I got whooshed.
It’s all centralized text…
“Dissenting” is to the left of “the” in the comic example I gave. Did that confuse you too? If one confuses you and the other doesn’t, I really don’t know what to say. They’re using the SAME FORMATTING. (It’s called “centred text”.) If both confuse you then at least you’re consistent (but very bizarre given how common this formatting is).
I have looked up “centered text” and now I get it. You might want to look up Poe’s Law
I am astounded at how easily you are flummoxed. Life must be a constant struggle for you. I’m glad you found a way to respond to a remark that was not made to you, nor about you, and that you did so with such aplomb. If I wore a hat, I would tip it.
Now, as an exercise, go and read it the way I did and tell me, honestly, knowing that the internet is full of barely coherent attempts at humour, could you, in any way, despite your mind bogglingly deep knowledge into the art forms of comics and memes, have read it the wrong way around and, for just a moment, a tiny moment, the tiniest of moments, have thought the joke made no sense? And now, look at the comment I replied to, and see if you can see the subtle context in which my reply was made. Well done, maybe you just learned something new today.
Yes. Life is a constant struggle for … the person … who can read without difficulty and not for the one who gets confused by trivial and common formatting. That’s definitely how it works.