Brazilian Kids Learning English By Video Chatting With Elderly Americans 147
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Tim Nudd writes that it's the perfect match: Young Brazilians want to learn English. Elderly Americans living in retirement homes just want someone to talk to. Why not connect them? The advertising company FCB Brazil did just that with its 'Speaking Exchange' project for CNA language schools where young Brazilians and older Americans connect via Web chats, and they not only begin to share a language—they develop relationships that enrich both sides culturally and emotionally. 'The goal of the Speaking Exchange project is to transform lives,' says Luciana Fortuna. 'Our students have the opportunity to practice English with people who are willing to listen. During the chat sessions, the students discuss ideas and information from their lives in Brazil with the American senior citizens, many of whom have never had contact with anyone from Brazil before.' The pilot project was implemented at a CNA school in Liberdade, Brazil, and the Windsor Park Retirement Community in Chicago. The conversations are recorded and uploaded as private YouTube videos for the teachers to evaluate the students' development. 'The idea is simple and it's a win-win proposition for both the students and the American senior citizens. It's exciting to see their reactions and contentment. It truly benefits both sides,' says Joanna Monteiro."
Who Cares, Still Useful (Score:5, Insightful)
Not all of us care to read Reddit.
The ones who sure surely are mentally strong enough to handle a repost every now and again?
Besides, don't you have the private pleasure of reading it first...
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Hey mods, this is a reasonable enough statement. Modding it troll is in bad taste. If you disagree, respond to it and say why you think it's wrong.
Of course it's a reasonable statement, modding my post a troll is as a fine example of what's wrong with /. as much as reddit. People who mod it such are intellectual cowards who can't actually respond.
Winner (Score:1)
Re:Winner (Score:5, Insightful)
"This scheme is a great success that is transforming the Brazilian culture"
And American culture too, I predict. As we don't have time for our elderly, I wonder how many more will find new little friends on the internet to whom they can recount their stories and who will keep them company?
This is a good story for everyone.
Re:Winner (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Winner (Score:5, Funny)
This is a good story for everyone.
I don't know. Just wait until have a generation of Brazilians speaking English and sounding like a Jewish grandmother. ;-)
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Yeah and H1B workers calling me "Sonny Boy"
Well, I guess it's better than "Sup, Dog?" from the public school kids.
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Do the needful.
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Conjugation and declination, which is nearly lost in the English language
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And leave in their will . . .
Imagine how long that would take to wind through probate court.
Yet more English learning (Score:3, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
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Language is the encoding and structure of the mind. It is no mystery why certain groups consistently yield the best civilization while others yield human robots and others a great deal less.
Language is culture and it is thinking and it is belief. Some languages simply need to die for the betterment of humanity. I can't speak to these languages you have been learning, but I can speak to the advancement of some languages which better humanity. The Chinese have known this for a very long time. It is still
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Re:Yet more English learning (Score:5, Interesting)
People succeeding and failing regardless of the language they speak? Are you seriously making that statement?
The most successful people are those that speak the lingua franca. (Yes, I know exactly what that means and where the term came from.) The Chinese are not a counter-example. When the Chinese became more unified, they did so through language unification and even simplification. The language has become very efficient. And English? Well, it's the lingua franca for now despite how bad it's getting.
I seriously don't know why I have been modded as flamebait. What have I said that's not true? It's far from pseudoscience when there have been many studies on the connection between language and intelligence which lead to this general understanding. It may be simplistic to say, but highly illustrative to the point, but languages that do not include a zero in their counting systems understandably have weaker math skills. That should come as no surprise to anyone. But as language and standards and styles of usage go, it's not hard to see where things break down and fail.
People are amazingly quick to bash, but amazingly reluctant to to offer up anything substantive to counter. (And once again, in case I wasn't clear, there is no 3000 year old Chinese language. Mandarin, in its current form doesn't go back that far. The oldest standard goes back what? Just over 600 years or so? So if you think you are right, please try again.
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Let's keep the topic of languages to LIVING languages? Your haughty and detailed discussion of Chinese language origins is hardly relevant to present language facts and features. Let's talk about "original English" which bears almost no resemblance to currently spoken standard English as long as we're talking about useless tangents of discussion. Dead languages simply don't count where the affect language has on the structure of the mind and the intelligence which results from it.
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Looking back... looking back... nope. I never asserted languages affect the direction of society and the building of civilization. What I said was a bit different in that the language framework of people's minds have everything to do with their success in a larger world. As cultures grow and develop, the outlook on the world has everything to with with the language they think in. "Why are Germans smarter"? It's a simple question given similar educational materials and plans.
Language does, however, have
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Are you talking about programming languages?
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I think that the question isn't "which" language you know, but "how many" you know. The more languages you know, the more perspectives of the world you can see. Each language, like you mentioned, has encapsulated their cultures and belief systems. This language does shape the users of the languages, and the users also shape their ever-evolving language.
That being said, it doesn't make one language objectively "better" than another -- it just means that one language has a different focus than another. Sure,
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I'm jealous. I which I had a talent for languages and/or time to learn them. You have access to so much more insight than I do. Keep on keepin' on.
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[plaintively] ...a scanned and uploaded copy of all four books of Using Latin...??
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If I had someone to practice with, sign language would be an interesting one to learn over Skype, provided you had decent cinematography on each end.
Perhaps genetic therapies and the ubiquity of cochlear implants will obviate the need but I have meet a lot of elderly people who are too proud to admit they're losing their hearing and won't get their ears tested for an aid.
They say retirement care is a rapidly growing industry for a rapidly ageing western world...
(My father went deaf as a youth and required h
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Language is only one thing being learned here - the elderly, if they bother to listen, will learn much about contemporary Brazilian culture.
For what it's worth, there are programs for retirees to learn languages - through seniors organisations such as U3A. One mightn't get as fluent as a teenager learning a language but it is possible.
Anyway, I'm 40 and if I started now, I'd be fluent in sign language by the time I'm in a home at age 90 :)
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If I had someone to practice with, sign language would be an interesting one to learn over Skype, provided you had decent cinematography on each end.
If you're looking for someone to learn sign language from I'd recommend visiting Conversation Exchange [conversationexchange.com], Verbling [verbling.com] or Italki [italki.com]. Since it's a constructed language you can become reasonably proficient in a few weeks. I taught myself to finger spell over an afternoon and could carry on an intermediate level conversation after about two weeks.
My father in law is one of those "too proud" people with regards to his hearing and having him in the house is an exercise in frustration. He doesn't have the radio too loud,
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Never mind English, there are lots of paths to learning it in most countries. Not so the other way. How about a scheme for those of us who want to learn some other, relatively minor language, where it is difficult to even find basic texts outside its native country?
LiveMocha used to be good until Rosetta Stone bought them out and ruined it. :-(
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Never mind English, there are lots of paths to learning it in most countries. Not so the other way.
Yes there are. College courses and immersion programs about. Not having a way to learn a foreign language while living in a developed country == first world problem.
How about a scheme for those of us who want to learn some other, relatively minor language, where it is difficult to even find basic texts outside its native country?
The scheme involves become a linguist and travel abroad. For such things, there are no easy-to-get, get-lean-or-rich-by-taking-a-pill schemes.
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I wouldn't mind chatting with some old person in Portuguese. It might even push my vocabulary to over 100 words.
Winner (Score:2)
Is this a good idea? (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, let's teach the children that it's a good idea to videochat with older strangers on the internet, what could possibly go wrong?
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I hope that the project goes as plan. However, nothing is perfect in this world and I have already foreseen a few situations when things may go wrong. I do not wish it to happen, but it is very likely because there could be a bad apple in any thing we involve. One very likely to happen situation is the younger in Brazil would ask the elder here to send him/her money. Once the elder send money from the sympathy/empathy, the younger would take advantage of that and keeps asking. Then other younger may start
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CNA is a private English school, as such they are not exactly cheap. So, save a really bad apple, nobody there should be in need of money.
Expensive school is not equal to no bad apples. Your assumption does not work here. Why? May I ask you who pay for the kids to go to school? Also who make the decision for them to go there? If the kids have done their own research themselves and pay for their own way, I am sure they would not need to ask for money because they should know the value of money and the quality of education they are getting (or they would not pay to go to that school). Sadly, I have never seen a kid like that even though there m
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"what could possibly go wrong?"
Yeah, it might interfere with molestation by family members.
Brazilian kids and Elderly Americans? (Score:3, Insightful)
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Get used to it. The word which means "oriental" (east asian?) has become "asian" to the exclusion of all others who live and die in "asia." To say "United States of America" is simply inconvenient. Most of the world has accepted that to refer to America is to refer to the nation known as the United States of America. Any other means of expression which may be more accurate is simply too inconvenient. It does appear to strip all other American nations of their "Americanity" but that doesn't seem to harm
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And your attitude is exemplary of why everyone else in the world largely dislike United States travellers, who are largely considered to be loud-mouthed bigots - a belief largely confirmed by your pithy outburst.
Brazilian kids and Elderly Yanks. (Score:2)
'estadounidense' doesn't exist in English.
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Does nation of Brasil have the word "America" in its official name?
How about Canada? Mexico? Guatemala? Let's go down the list and see.
Re:Brazilian kids and Elderly Americans? (Score:5, Insightful)
Does nation of Brasil have the word "America" in its official name?
How about Canada? Mexico? Guatemala? Let's go down the list and see.
Except that the America in the name of the USA refers to its location. Everyone in North and South America is an American. Because, as per your logic, they live on a continent with America in its official name. When I travel abroad and people ask me where I am from, I tell them I am from the United States. I do not tell them that I am an American because that narrows it down to 35 countries.
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Why is it is so difficult for smart asses like yourself? When you are unsure of a word's meaning, consult your dictionary.
American noun 1 a native or citizen of the United States.
That's the primary definition. As a secondary definition, it can also be used to describe someone born in any country in North, Central, or South America.
And which dictionary are you consulting? And even if that is the case, why is it correct to put people from the US above citizens in other countries of the Americas. It's very egocentric.
When you're talking to someone in Spanish and you want to say you're from America, you are saying quite literally that you are from the United States. That may not be true in all languages, but the Spaniards lead the European colonization efforts of the new world and they obviously felt it was an important distinction to
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States [wikipedia.org]:
Demonym: American
QED
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Meta-pedant (Score:2, Funny)
Sorry, i don't want to be pedantic on this but really upsets me when people say "Americans", it's wrong in so many ways that worries me a lot for the kind of education that US kids have.
No problem, I'll do it for you, sans-apology.
First up "i" should be uppercase, even my spiel chucker knows that.
Second, depending on where and when you were born/educated there are between 5 and 7 continents. [wikipedia.org] There's also a reductionist 4 name convention for academics that's based on contiguous land masses (ie: each continent is an island).
The meta-pedant is as follows:
1. There is no such continent called "America" in English speaking nations.
2. Slashdot is published in English.
3. "America" i
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I was born and grew up in ENGLAND, and let me tell you there was such a notion as a continent called "America". So I don't know where your English speaking nations are, but they are decidedly not in England.
Though to be balanced we do have a notion of North and South America, but I doubt anyone would question either usage, and certainly not when I was growing up.
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Well your ENGLAND based education appears to have been confused. Are you sure you're able to speak for the entire nation?
The Americas have always been two continents; North and South, for as long as the concept of continents and the name America has applied.
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The Americas have always been two continents; North and South, for as long as the concept of continents and the name America has applied.
Well, that is shockingly ignorant of you to say.
The term America precedes the existence of the USA by over 270 years. In Waldssemuller's map [wikipedia.org] the label "America" is well entrenched in the South American part of the generally unexplored territory (hint: third row, first column, near the top), and there was a reason for that (hint: first row, third column, right at the top: the guy who charted the South American coast but never visited North America). Even in much more modern maps [tinyurl.com] that do include most of the t
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I wonder if he also gets confused when people say "United States." Are they talking about the United States of America, or the United Mexican States? I can never tell!
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You think so? - What's the problem? ALL Portuguese are European, NOT all Europeans are Portuguese, right?
Not all Portuguese are europeans.... there are still portugueses that were born in the African colonies. Just saying though, carry on. :-P
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it would be awful if you refer to a french and a portuguese in this way: "Portuguese kids and Elderly Europeans"
What is wrong with that if those kids are specifically from Portugal, whereas the elderly people are from all over Europe?
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Don't worry, we still call you what we always call you when you're not around to hear it...
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Thank you for the best laugh of my day so far.
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Everyone in the world refers those of us who live in the USA as 'Americans'. Maybe you can buy some time to speak at the UN to propose a global change.
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Except those who call them Yankees, or something considerably ruder.
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When they asked me where I was from, I responded "United States". They had no clue what that was. After a few moments of awkward silence, my wife said "America" and instantly they understood.
We call ourselves Americans because United Stateians is rediculous.
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Southerners will say that all Northerners are Yankees. Northerners will say that New Englanders are the Yankees. Call most New Englanders 'Yankee' and they'll tell you that only Vermonters are Yankees. And no one bothers to ask Vermonters their opinion on much of anything.
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yeah; whatever... I live in america but I'm Canadian; not American. It's well accepted that 'Americans' refers to those who live in the USA.
Useful at last.... (Score:2)
Wonderful. (Score:1)
Wonderful!
This service has even been certified : http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x__K... [blogspot.com]
Vocês crianças saia do meu gramado! (Score:2)
(You kids get off my lawn!)
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Vocês crianças saia do meu gramado!
(You kids get off my lawn!)
I have to say. It is not correct, but is exactly what a foreign neighbor of mine would say me years ago !
I confess to have used Google translate. I would have done a better job at Spanish as it is more similar to Italian, my mother language. But here we are.
Another 1st World Problem solved! (Score:4, Interesting)
Can't be bothered conversing with the old folks? Fed up with their tales of the old days and embarrassing folksy casual racism?
Problem solved! Get a developing nation child to talk with them instead, so you can get on with your busy life. All the advantages of cheap labor without the annoyance of immigration!
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Yay Internet!
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Because the Internet (or Fidonet, WWIVnet, or USENET) was never used as a means of world-wide cultural exchange before this. Or that home-bound "elderly Americans (or older/and/or/disabled people in other countries)" haven't been using amateur radio to keep in touch or rag chew with other people in other countries and collect QSL cards for decades before that.
Your post itself is stereotyping and deserves a "flamebait" mod instead of "interesting."
--
BMO
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I'm mystified to the point you think your making.
I was commenting on how elderly Americans needed to have an arranged service with foreign nationals in order to get a conversation. They can't get casual chat with family, friends or neighbors closer to home, because they're not interested. Instead it's being farmed out to complete strangers who get something else out of it. I think that's kind of sad.
What this has to do with prior methods of communication escapes me.
How is this news? (Score:2)
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I at least found this interesting because of the choice of US correspondents. Most senior citizens in the US haven't even met a Brazilian before, much less attempted to carry on a conversation with them. I think it's a wonderful idea.
This is news? Wow. (Score:2)
Language exchange is one of the most obvious uses of videoconference over the Internet; it's been done ever since broadband (basically anything faster than dial-up) Internet access was widely available, with plenty of sites devoted to that purpose.
Is it news because it's about elderly Americans and young Brazilians? This is more like an unabashed slashvertisement.
Grampa Simpson (Score:1)
remove the teachers (Score:2)
Could be a good or bad thing (Score:1)
Outsourcing! (Score:2)
Horrors, hell, and damnation! Are they paying those senior citizens for their labor? I thought not! They have effectively outsourced Brazilian language teachers with unpaid labor from the US!!
Sounds like a job for John Herbert (Score:2)
Re:Disgusting (Score:4, Insightful)
They are being used to further facilitate the downfall of the USA and its cultures and history.
By helping to spread the language and culture prevalent in the US?
Intresting theory.
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Have you ever been charged with training your replacement? Knowing you're getting the sack? That's exactly how this feels to me. This is more than "they took our jobs." We see the washing away of western heritage and culture all over and people are only now waking up to it. Read some news from around the world and look into the struggles in European nations with their immigrant problems as well as here in the US. And if it were an honest competition, that would be fine. But this is something being sh
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This is no troll...
No, it's an enormous collection of stupidity, ignorance and racism masquerading as 'rose colored glasses' nostalgia.
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Be specific. What is actually wrong. I could claim you're a moron for disagreeing with me too, but how is that discussion? You are clearly trite and thoughtless.
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Not sure why I'm bothering, except that I'm waiting for servers to rebuild and don't have anything better to do.
We see the washing away of western heritage and culture
Seriously? Western culture is taking over the world. Compare photos of any indigenous people anywhere in the world from 30 years ago and those same villages/towns today. Blue jeans and rock and roll rule the world today.
Brazilians take their fandom a bit too far.
They don't hold a candle to British soccer hooligans.
Zimbabwe? Know about its
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They are retirees, they have already been replaced.
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So your choice is....
You go to the seniors who reek of piss and vomit and spend the time with them.
Here we have a win-win. The oldies of your decadent country are helping disadvantaged kids learn about English and your US Culture, improving them markedly. And as the payoff to the other side, your piss-smelling grandparents are able to have a little human interaction, a little break from the fact that you are too fuvking lazy to visit them.
If ANYTHING is facilitating the downfall of your country, it's you an
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Funny thing being that some fraternity boys try to pick up girls smelling the same way.
Re:Disgusting (Score:5, Insightful)
I have seen far too much senior exploitation
My son participated in something similar in the early 90's. He was in the last year of primary school (Australia), after introducing the kids to a group of senior via a "party" in a nearby retirement home they paired off kids with seniors followed by maybe a dozen weekly visits where the kids and seniors just sat around and talked. The class was the weekly visit itself there were no set topic of discussion and no notebooks, the home work was to describe each weeks visits in writing. My son was paired up with a Hiroshima survivor who had fought for the Japanese army in Burma, not an everyday lesson but certainly a valuable one.
Having said that, I fully acknowledge that the majority of old people living in these places are either not lucid, require hospitalization, or are not lucky/rich enough to land in descent seniors accommodation: I drove a taxi for 3yrs during the 80's, I've probably seen the inside of more old people's homes than you would care to imagine. A "computer pen pal" scheme such as this one would be a welcome improvement to the depressing circumstances I witnessed in at least 3/4 of those homes. I can still picture the (very)old man with a vomit stained dressing gown tied to a wheel chair in a "geriatric centre" that had been built in the windowless basement of a large hospital, they hadn't even bothered to paint the concrete walls. It's one of the most pitiful real life scenes I've witnessed in 55yrs. But old people wallowing in "piss and vomit" is much worse than just "exploiting" someone vulnerable for financial gain, it's two of the worst of human traits combined - cruelty and neglect.
What these disgracefully neglected people need is basic dignity and respect. Assuming the status-quo in old folks homes doesn't inexplicable change tomorrow, a "bright-eyed and bushy tailed" teenager that reacts to them as a student reacts to a respected teacher is precisely the psychological boost they need. Life experience is all they have left to offer society and they find dignity in the fact that a "young person" (under 70) accepts their offer. Assuming there's no "profit sharing" arrangements between the entity running the old folks home and the advertising company providing the ad-supported social network, I really can't see why you would have a problem with it.
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Had a friend who went through the training to be certified as an LPN in the '80s, wanting to improve the lives of the elderly. She worked in several of those places, never lasted more than a couple of months because conditions in all of them were so bad that she couldn't handle it. Eventually she got of of that line of work entirely and had taken to riding her motorcycle like a lunatic, probably out of a desire to not live long enough to ever end up in a nursing home.
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I highly doubt that the two groups "can't write in legible Portugese" and "wants to learn English badly enough to talk to some old fart on the internet" have a huge intersection...