1. Prescriptivism. My only peeve is self-congratulatory expostulations against how language is put to use amongst non-grad students.

By sam k on 02.15.07 3:32 pm

People who claim that the Ptolemaic cosmology accepted by the Middle Ages meant that Earth was the most important place in the universe or that the medievals didn’t understand the vastness and complexity of the universe. These people clearly haven’t read any medieval texts, yet they denigrate the medieval perspective, which isn’t the medieval perspective, in order to make their own modern view of things appear more important. I recently heard a recorded lecture by Carl Sagan saying exactly this, and the point he drew was that medieval theology was too limited by their cosmology, and so Sagan’s cosmology actually provides a superior theology to the traditional one. And everyone oohed and aahed about how profound he was. Stupid. Read a book–an old one.

By Joshua W.D. Smith on 02.15.07 4:24 pm

2. I thought of another one. Poor people! I am unapologetic about the fact that I frequently judge people solely on the basis of how much money they earn. I am quite forgiving when it comes to people who have simply run up against a bit a bad luck, or were laid off due to personal injury. I am also prepared to be indulgent with those who are voluntarily poor, such as missionaries, teachers, and the like. However, the right to be poor is not an inalienable right.

Poor is just another word for lazy. I wince every time I see a poor person, especially those who wear old and tattered clothing. They are just so poor — and impoverished.

By sam k on 02.15.07 4:58 pm

1. Smacking noises people make while eating. Often I refute myself because of this, as I realise not all can be helped. But open-mouthed chewing-gum consumers… aaaargh. I would struggle in Asian countries.

2. Cardrivers overtaking me when cycling, without paying attention to my speed or the situation ahead, and then stopping right next to me or even in front of me. As if I am not really a road-user like they are. I can only write this because I have good brakes.

3. People systematically using cyclepaths as parking lane.

By Elbert on 02.15.07 5:03 pm

Ah, the cyclist’s pet peeves! I couldn’t agree more.

By Al on 02.15.07 5:55 pm

All stupid people who don’t agree with me!

By Dr. Jim West on 02.15.07 10:23 pm

My pet peeve is with people who list their pet peeves. Only joking brother! There are only 4 blogs I check twice a day and yours is one of them. Keep up the good work.

Tony Johnson

By Tony on 02.15.07 10:37 pm

Your easily peaved Ally. Like, what’s wrong with pulling a cupple of leaves off trees? Have a sense of humour! What amuses me is when like, you get so irritated about it! roflol! m8, youve got to chillax a bit!

By Mark on 02.16.07 12:59 am

Well, this seems like a good post to do my delurking here and say hi.

I was going to say chewing gum, but I see that someone beat me to it. However, my number one pet peeve of all time and the thing which, if I were Queen, would instantly become a hanging offence is…

writing in library books.

Aaargh! What is WRONG with these people? Why do they think that I want to read their notes, or that I care about the sentences they underline? Why do some think that if they write in pencil it doesn’t count, even if they can’t be bothered to rub it out? How arrogant and selfish can one get!

Now, I don’t even write in my own books (I can explain why at length, if anyone’s interested) but I cannot imagine what would ever prompt me to write in someone else’s book. Let alone a library book. Hang ‘em all, I say. That’d teach ‘em.

By Ros on 02.16.07 2:07 am

As a corollary of #1 in the original post (spelling): writing “it’s” when the possessive “its” is intended.

By David on 02.16.07 5:21 am

Al, speaking of spelling, is it ‘recognize’ or ‘recognise’? I thought it was the latter on your side of the pond but I noticed you using the former . . .

By Christopher Witmer on 02.16.07 5:23 am

My pet peeve is Japanese government bureaucrats and civil servants who haven’t read the fine print specifically exempting me from any regulation that I don’t like. Fortunately, many of them are surprisingly educatable concerning this, like the policeman who pulled me over for going straight in an intersection’s turn-only lane when I was driving without a license. He asked to see my license, I showed him my alien registration card, and he let me go with a warning to be more careful next time. That has happened to me twice.

By Christopher Witmer on 02.16.07 5:31 am

Al,

That’s the best, funniest, most breath-of-fresh-airiest post I’ve read today. I agree wholeheartedly with all of you peeves.

One of my peeves is people who gushingly praise bloggers in the combox without giving any reason for it.

Also, I don’t like eggy farts.

Oh, and one more - I am perturbed by bureaucrats who believe that people exist to serve rules, regulations and policies, rather than such things existing to facilitate human interaction. They are like 21st century Pharisees who use my bathroom every morning without flushing.

Jason Kranzusch

By axegrinder on 02.16.07 9:25 am

Christopher,

In UK English both spellings are accepted, although -ise endings are preferred. I usually employ the more common UK spellings, but the -ize ending is a point on which I choose to make an exception. I simply prefer the way that it looks for some reason (and, if I remember correctly, the -ise spelling is the later development).

By Al on 02.16.07 10:53 am

About your first, on spelling: I tend to agree, and I don’t think (for example) that the relative informality of the blogosphere is any license for sloppiness in blog comments. It’s distracting and inconsiderate of readers. Please, all of you, take a look over what you’ve just written before you post. The world will wait a minute or two more for your pearls.

At the same time, my impatience with sloppy spelling has been tempered recently. I’ve been working with someone beset by Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Not every bad speller is a bad speller because of laziness.

By Paul on 02.16.07 12:39 pm

Yay! I’ve found a way to get back this blog from work.(Using a proxy server) It’s probably a sackable offense, but hey I’m leaving soon anyway…

My present pet Peeve is this thing about bad spelling, as I am now paranoid as to whether one writes ‘offense’ or ‘offence’…

‘Offense’ is probably right, as I guess ‘offence’ is what happens to a drunk Blue-tit or something…

People who park in Cycle lanes are annoying, but not as annoying as the people who park in the bay I want to use at Morrison’s without asking my permission. It’s as if they think they own it or something…

By Henna on 02.16.07 3:32 pm

Henna,
Great to have you comment! I trust that all went well for you up in Aberdeen.

As regards the correct spelling of offence, either way is acceptable, but offence is chiefly British.

As I cycle and walk everywhere I find it hard to empathize with any of the pet peeves of motorists. I harbour little love for people who frequently act with no apparent concern for my safety and think that their desire to get from A to B in a hurry excuses their failure to be considerate to pedestrians, who were around thousands of years before the automobile ever entered the world.

Sorry about that. If I am not careful I could get a little carried away…

By Al on 02.16.07 5:06 pm

Another peeve: the gratuitous use of ellipses. It’s endemic in e-mail and on blogs. I’m especially rankled by ellipses that consist of many gazillions of periods.

And here’s another: the misuse of comprise for compose. Parts compose a whole. The whole comprises the parts.

By Paul on 02.16.07 7:38 pm

Henna reminded me of another pet peeve — corporate net nannie programs that mindlessly block sites you need to access ‘immediately if not sooner’ in order to do your work, and the shortest turn-around time to process a request for de-blocking of a site is 48 hours. Plus, the process for requesting de-blocking of a site is a pain in the backside. Aaargh!

By Christopher Witmer on 02.16.07 11:54 pm

1. Prescriptivism. My only peeve is self-congratulatory expostulations against how language is put to use amongst non-grad students.

By sam k on 02.15.07 3:32 pm

People who claim that the Ptolemaic cosmology accepted by the Middle Ages meant that Earth was the most important place in the universe or that the medievals didn’t understand the vastness and complexity of the universe. These people clearly haven’t read any medieval texts, yet they denigrate the medieval perspective, which isn’t the medieval perspective, in order to make their own modern view of things appear more important. I recently heard a recorded lecture by Carl Sagan saying exactly this, and the point he drew was that medieval theology was too limited by their cosmology, and so Sagan’s cosmology actually provides a superior theology to the traditional one. And everyone oohed and aahed about how profound he was. Stupid. Read a book–an old one.

By Joshua W.D. Smith on 02.15.07 4:24 pm

2. I thought of another one. Poor people! I am unapologetic about the fact that I frequently judge people solely on the basis of how much money they earn. I am quite forgiving when it comes to people who have simply run up against a bit a bad luck, or were laid off due to personal injury. I am also prepared to be indulgent with those who are voluntarily poor, such as missionaries, teachers, and the like. However, the right to be poor is not an inalienable right.

Poor is just another word for lazy. I wince every time I see a poor person, especially those who wear old and tattered clothing. They are just so poor — and impoverished.

By sam k on 02.15.07 4:58 pm

1. Smacking noises people make while eating. Often I refute myself because of this, as I realise not all can be helped. But open-mouthed chewing-gum consumers… aaaargh. I would struggle in Asian countries.

2. Cardrivers overtaking me when cycling, without paying attention to my speed or the situation ahead, and then stopping right next to me or even in front of me. As if I am not really a road-user like they are. I can only write this because I have good brakes.

3. People systematically using cyclepaths as parking lane.

By Elbert on 02.15.07 5:03 pm

Ah, the cyclist’s pet peeves! I couldn’t agree more.

By Al on 02.15.07 5:55 pm

All stupid people who don’t agree with me!

By Dr. Jim West on 02.15.07 10:23 pm

My pet peeve is with people who list their pet peeves. Only joking brother! There are only 4 blogs I check twice a day and yours is one of them. Keep up the good work.

Tony Johnson

By Tony on 02.15.07 10:37 pm

Your easily peaved Ally. Like, what’s wrong with pulling a cupple of leaves off trees? Have a sense of humour! What amuses me is when like, you get so irritated about it! roflol! m8, youve got to chillax a bit!

By Mark on 02.16.07 12:59 am

Well, this seems like a good post to do my delurking here and say hi.

I was going to say chewing gum, but I see that someone beat me to it. However, my number one pet peeve of all time and the thing which, if I were Queen, would instantly become a hanging offence is…

writing in library books.

Aaargh! What is WRONG with these people? Why do they think that I want to read their notes, or that I care about the sentences they underline? Why do some think that if they write in pencil it doesn’t count, even if they can’t be bothered to rub it out? How arrogant and selfish can one get!

Now, I don’t even write in my own books (I can explain why at length, if anyone’s interested) but I cannot imagine what would ever prompt me to write in someone else’s book. Let alone a library book. Hang ‘em all, I say. That’d teach ‘em.

By Ros on 02.16.07 2:07 am

As a corollary of #1 in the original post (spelling): writing “it’s” when the possessive “its” is intended.

By David on 02.16.07 5:21 am

Al, speaking of spelling, is it ‘recognize’ or ‘recognise’? I thought it was the latter on your side of the pond but I noticed you using the former . . .

By Christopher Witmer on 02.16.07 5:23 am

My pet peeve is Japanese government bureaucrats and civil servants who haven’t read the fine print specifically exempting me from any regulation that I don’t like. Fortunately, many of them are surprisingly educatable concerning this, like the policeman who pulled me over for going straight in an intersection’s turn-only lane when I was driving without a license. He asked to see my license, I showed him my alien registration card, and he let me go with a warning to be more careful next time. That has happened to me twice.

By Christopher Witmer on 02.16.07 5:31 am

Al,

That’s the best, funniest, most breath-of-fresh-airiest post I’ve read today. I agree wholeheartedly with all of you peeves.

One of my peeves is people who gushingly praise bloggers in the combox without giving any reason for it.

Also, I don’t like eggy farts.

Oh, and one more - I am perturbed by bureaucrats who believe that people exist to serve rules, regulations and policies, rather than such things existing to facilitate human interaction. They are like 21st century Pharisees who use my bathroom every morning without flushing.

Jason Kranzusch

By axegrinder on 02.16.07 9:25 am

Christopher,

In UK English both spellings are accepted, although -ise endings are preferred. I usually employ the more common UK spellings, but the -ize ending is a point on which I choose to make an exception. I simply prefer the way that it looks for some reason (and, if I remember correctly, the -ise spelling is the later development).

By Al on 02.16.07 10:53 am

About your first, on spelling: I tend to agree, and I don’t think (for example) that the relative informality of the blogosphere is any license for sloppiness in blog comments. It’s distracting and inconsiderate of readers. Please, all of you, take a look over what you’ve just written before you post. The world will wait a minute or two more for your pearls.

At the same time, my impatience with sloppy spelling has been tempered recently. I’ve been working with someone beset by Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Not every bad speller is a bad speller because of laziness.

By Paul on 02.16.07 12:39 pm

Yay! I’ve found a way to get back this blog from work.(Using a proxy server) It’s probably a sackable offense, but hey I’m leaving soon anyway…

My present pet Peeve is this thing about bad spelling, as I am now paranoid as to whether one writes ‘offense’ or ‘offence’…

‘Offense’ is probably right, as I guess ‘offence’ is what happens to a drunk Blue-tit or something…

People who park in Cycle lanes are annoying, but not as annoying as the people who park in the bay I want to use at Morrison’s without asking my permission. It’s as if they think they own it or something…

By Henna on 02.16.07 3:32 pm

Henna,
Great to have you comment! I trust that all went well for you up in Aberdeen.

As regards the correct spelling of offence, either way is acceptable, but offence is chiefly British.

As I cycle and walk everywhere I find it hard to empathize with any of the pet peeves of motorists. I harbour little love for people who frequently act with no apparent concern for my safety and think that their desire to get from A to B in a hurry excuses their failure to be considerate to pedestrians, who were around thousands of years before the automobile ever entered the world.

Sorry about that. If I am not careful I could get a little carried away…

By Al on 02.16.07 5:06 pm

Another peeve: the gratuitous use of ellipses. It’s endemic in e-mail and on blogs. I’m especially rankled by ellipses that consist of many gazillions of periods.

And here’s another: the misuse of comprise for compose. Parts compose a whole. The whole comprises the parts.

By Paul on 02.16.07 7:38 pm

Henna reminded me of another pet peeve — corporate net nannie programs that mindlessly block sites you need to access ‘immediately if not sooner’ in order to do your work, and the shortest turn-around time to process a request for de-blocking of a site is 48 hours. Plus, the process for requesting de-blocking of a site is a pain in the backside. Aaargh!

By Christopher Witmer on 02.16.07 11:54 pm