User:Gibsepisg

Short Bio

I am currently a biology student at the University of Louisville, speciallizing in ecology, evolution and entomology. Other interests in biology include herpetology, biological control, parasitoids, aquatic ecosystems, restoration and tourism economies.

Hobbies outside the science of biology include small-scale, upclose photography, disc golf, music, and finding a way to travel Latin America again.

On Writing and the Encyclopedia

I am a bit obsessive about bad grammar and awkward phrasing, though I'll admit not everything I write is perfectly graceful. Here are some specifics that bother me:

Parallelism gone wrong... It's lovely when phrases in serial constructions line up perfectly and are modified similarly so they can be made parallel. However, the English language doesn't always allow this. People occasionally try to force everything to be parallel, and the result is as grating as a musician playing two notes that are just out of unison.

Comma count... I'd rather see too few than too many, but there are some places where they tend to disappear. It may seem a little awkward to have several commas in a short space, but, especially in complex, serial, parenthetical or dependent phrases, they may be necessary. Not a fan of the serial comma. (after the next-to-last item)

Ad hominem, de facto, ante bellum, etc... We speak English, not Latin. I haven't seen many Wikipedia pages that use Latin phrases ad nauseam, and I'm quite glad about that. Sure, there are a few phrases that have basically become assimilated, (e. g. et cetera) and I can live with those. The ones that bother me are those that either are far from their original meaning or flaunting the author's command of his/her Latin dictionary.

Colloquialisms don't bother me as much as they do some people, but if they make a section less, concise, chuck 'em out.