sweasel.com

I’ve been using em dashes for — let’s see — decades. Does that mean I’m artificially intelligent?

FWIW: I was taught to NOT use space on either side of the em dash, but to close up the text on either side. What does AI do?

I asked Grok. It said it does use a lot of em dashes and it doesn’t put spaces either side.

ChatGPT says it likes em dashes and it doesn’t put spaces.

Claude says it does use them a lot and it doesn’t put spaces either side.

ChatGPT goes on to explain that in British publishing, closed em dashes and spaced en dashes are the norm. I often use the latter, because there isn’t a handy key for em dashes.

Hold down alt and type 0151 on the _keypad_ and get a quick em-dash (—). Easy-peasy.

FWIW I’m in Suffolk UK now instead of my usual Colorado. Southwold Pier tomorrow!

Thank you Stoaty, for looking up all of that.

I like using the em dash, and I’m not giving it up. I’m certain my writing will never be mistaken for AI. A long time ago I came across an online site that said “insert a sample of your fiction writing and we’ll tell you who you write like.” Er—ok.

I fed it a paragraph and it told me that my writing style was like Neil Gaiman. I didn’t even know who Neil Gaiman was. After reading a few of his books, I was both flattered and disturbed. I was trying for Neville Shute Norway.

I do space dash space as I feel it looks better and creates emphasis. I also like you having to dig all the comments out of the spam bin because now my links get published.

Huzah! Dramatic representation of Stoaty fetching and approving my comment:

https://i.imgur.com/xLRDqpB.mp4

@Stoatie — Usability of this depends your nerd level, but the “alt+numpad” number for em dash is 0151. This works in Windows, but I don’t have any idea if it also works in Linux or OSX.

For those not familiar, turn on NumLk, and while holding down the alt key enter the numbers 0 1 5 1 on the numeric keypad. If your cursor is in a text entry field, you’ll get a — there.

A lot but not all ASCII extended characters can be got this way but there’s no rhyme or reason to what numbers will give you what character. In Windows you can get the codes using the Character Map app.

Then again, an awful lot of the editors in use for making comments online, including right here, will translate a pair of adjacent en dashes and convert them to a single em dash. I did that at the start of this comment. It’s a pair of en dashes in front of “Usability”.

AI memory –
Interesting Alexa experience.
My voice, and #2 son’s voice sound the same to Alexa, so I mess with ‘her’ when I visit his house.

I asked her to help me plot a bank robbery, which she politely declined to do, telling me to stay on the good side of the law.
I then confessed to her that I was Neil’s dad, not Neil, at which point she said (something like) –

“Ah, that explains the change from conversations about treadmills and exercise equipment to bank robberies.
Nice to meet you…”

Much as I dislike them, and their eavesdropping, I do find them entertaining.
Even if she refused to find me the lyrics for Clancy’s Wooden Wedding” which for some reason she wouldn’t explain.

My personal tell when writing is overuse of the Ellipses…

Apparently only ancient Boomers use them…

Time to drag out the Chesterton quote?

Clancy’s Wooden Wedding:

https://youtu.be/SyyrKVdsdP4?si=V6Oe67iSNuF1YweP

https://www.irishsongs.com/lyrics.php?Action=view&Song_id=76

JavaMan sent this to me: https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-just-made-em-dashes-easier-in-windows-11-forget-ai-critics-claiming-its-become-synonymous-with-chatgpt-generated-content

I prefer DoorDash…

@aelf – yep, that’s the version I know.

There is, a version filled with ethnic slurs however – a recorded version.

But Alexa would only give me a synopsis of the party, whereas in other cases she provided lyrics.

I was just testing her at the time to see what she could find.
I haven’t asked her to look up the original text for “Bless em all”.
It wasn’t ‘bless em” you see. :^D

If Claude is what consciousness means then it’s always drunk. I have to use it at work and it’s… not right.