Toffee Nose
This is a British English description of someone who is snobbish, stuck-up, conceited, pretentious and perhaps foolish. So all here know that we have very strong spam technical protections. Like AI, just better and sometimes I think it is way too clever. But so now and again I have to clear the spam. Today, I came across a Toffee Nose. Many years ago, I met some of them, working on a very large project, the first large truck engine block manufacturing plant in Africa. We worked under license from a German manufacturer and an English Manufacturer (creating two lines) with really Big Names in the industry. Neither of these two exist in that form any longer. The Germans were fine and had a sense of humor and they brought in decent beer. The Brits we had a joke for: ‘How do you know that British Airways just landed? When the engines are turned off, the whining does not stop!’
On Thursday, July 25th, 2024 at 1:04 AM, Toffee Nose wrote:
> Subject: Article tone
>
> Message Body:
I am an English teacher in Spain and an ex High Rise Engineering Project Manager from Middle East Gulf. My classes are with business leaders including those of S&P 500 and 100 companies. We discuss geopolitics and futures movements – as these issues are small talk conversations to be cognizant of for their own meetings. I cannot professionally sent links or printouts of articles when fellow writers use juvenile language or images to shock or make cheap puns. My clients will check sources and you lower your readership – and decrease your impact with decision makers. Such a shame for an otherwise notable news source.
Unsigned.
So, I responded as follows:
(Name), we are not English teachers. English is my third language. We are not journalists and neither are we professional writers. I am a chronicler and I cannot think of one article writer that has English as a first language. Our readership is worldwide, and really, I don’t report on Spain, or England as the importance is just not there. Many times our work is translated. Many times people who do not have English as a first language write for us. Many times it is the Chinese writers who have work that I cross-post.
English is the language that makes all of us understand one another, for better or for worse.
So, feel free to professionally do just whatever makes you happy. If you want a fresh perspective, and a clear view on geopolitics, feel free to read and forward. There is no shame. If you do not want to do that, please do not even bother with us or our tone. If I was an English teacher, I would love the work because it would be creative lessons. By the way, I can always do with an editor and only if the original sense of the written work is preserved and the author shines through the work as clearly as possible. I’ve fired many editors for just this reason, Toffee Nosedness!
Show me what you have done to distribute good information to the world just lately. That is the way the cookie crumbles for us. Understanding is what is important and if an image does that, if it makes a point, then we use an image. The only decision makers that we are interested in, are those that stop wars and BRICS and SCO and ASEAN and what could be called the new organizations working on the world of mulitpolarity in a multinodal matrix.
There is in one psychological model, three ways or styles of learning, taking in information and integrating this. This is in andragogic learning. Visual, auditory and kineasthetic or perhaps sensory, tactile. In testing usually one has a high mode, a secondary mode and the third one usually tests much lower than the first two. Groups of people could test very similarly. I’m sure you’ll find cheapy tests on the internet somewhere if you want to try. It is a good idea in teaching adults to vary those modes or to teach into a mode or learning style. Robert Sternberg, the designer of this model followed on to say that these learning styles are very closely aligned with the way we interface with our governments or leaders. Correct language and grammar has absolutely nothing to do with this except that there has to be understanding, visually, auditory or in a kineasthetic form. It is neurological style preference and it is an open question if one is born with your preferences or if you learn your preferences. This is why one learns another language, to understand the other fellow, not to be able to use it perfectly. We then move into the very old question of nature and nurture – what makes the man? What makes you, Mr Toffee?
Cheers
Amarynth
And as usual with these where the spam protection is uncannily good, the toffee’s email does not work but I had fun writing an answer.
Try this test. https://trainingcoursematerial.com/free-assessment-tools/vak-learning-styles-questionnaire. There are follow on tests which is usually left in the hands of a psychologist and that is taking a group and figuring out what the combined profile looks like, as in the western population the most common is visual – auditory. The most rare is kineasthetic – auditory and it is a small part of the western population that tests out with that combination.