• abbotsbury@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Most likely functionally illiterate and not 100% “I can’t read,” but I’ve overestimated instagrammers before

    • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      It is easy to have motivation to skateboard across america when you don’t have enough education to understand what doing that means.

    • starman2112@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Idunno anything about this guy, but for some folks they just weren’t taught early enough. You can learn to read at any age, but no amount of motivation can match an early education

    • fern@lemmy.autism.place
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      1 month ago

      Illiterate refers to both being able to read basic words all the way up to reading comprehenson. Equally possible he simply cannot understand what he reads and is anti-intellectual as that seems to be on the rise in the US.

      • ZeffSyde@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        As a victim of the US public School system, every class had one or more kids that simply couldn’t read aloud in class for one reason or another. The teachers learned to not call on them in the future to keep things moving.

        Some of them got moved to special education classes over the years, but in my experience they were just free periods to keep them from slowing the other kids down.

        It’s sad, I knew a guy that was smart as a whip, but we went to a restaurant he wasn’t used to and he sheepishly asked me what was on the menu since there weren’t any pictures.

        • fern@lemmy.autism.place
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          1 month ago

          It’s called functional literacy, which is what’s being talked to here. Also, your anecdote fails to address other possibilities. I have a friend that, under stress of a new location, may lose the ability to read menus, and their literacy matches other academics in their field. I am a reader that cannot read aloud because that is an entirely different skill than reading.

    • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Spelling (in non phonetic languages) has nothing to do with intelligence levels - it is all to do with memory and exposure. Perhaps he never went to school, or the level of education was pathetic… or he is incredibly dyslexic. Sorry if this answer sounds harsh but I’m pissed-off at what you wrote. I know of at least one illiterate person who stands head and shoulders above the “college kids” around them. They were such an integral part of our team that were bought them speech-to-text / text-to-speech software to keep their job.

      • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        That’s why I didn’t say he was stupid. I asked if he had a learning disability which is not a taboo thing and it doesn’t mean you’re stupid. If anything I complimented him on his motivation and determination. You were just out to find something to get mad and offended over so you interjected that into my comment, even though I didn’t say that. I see that happening a lot lately with Americans. They all wanna be offended so they can moralize

        • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          Whoa there, horsey. I was making a general opening statement - not a rebuttal to a sentence you never wrote. In another reply I went into a little more detail. My main point was that if it wasn’t because of a learning difficulty then simply “motivation” isn’t always enough. A lack of facilities ( No libraries, no literate family members, no internet connection, inadequate education etc. ) could be a factor.

          On a side note, do not ever accuse me of being a septic again. There’s literally dozens of people on the internet that aren’t USian - but I understand it’s much easier to throw labels on people who don’t pander to your every post.

      • sparkle@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        or he is incredibly dyslexic

        Dyslexia is a learning disability

        • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          Yes it is, so he either does have a learning difficulty (as OP suggested) and is hobbled by it or he has been let down by the education system or he’s lazy and stupid. ( might be some other reasons, too) As a result his motivation (if he had any) would be neither here nor there. Some people can’t read and write English because… they can’t. It’s that simple.