And just as an add-on - I find it interesting that the quiz is so intolerant of variations in semantics when the title on the cover is playing with that same idea. It's asking the reader to determine what exactly the panda is doing, depending entirely on where the comma is (or isn't) placed.
Is the panda eating the bamboo shoots, and then leaving? ie, "[The panda] Eats shoots and leaves."
Or does the panda eat, then shoot the gun, then leave? "[The panda] Eats, shoots and leaves."
If the panda has different options depending on where the comma is, why can't the dude with the tickets? I guess I just have a problem with the idea of "zero tolerance." Language is a flexible, changing medium. You can't say that something like punctuation rules are absolutes - "ALWAYS put a comma after "of course" when it comes at the beginning of a sentence!" - not when you're talking about a medium of personal expression that's subject to things like context and interpretation.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Hmmm...
Date: 2004-07-22 08:06 am (UTC)Is the panda eating the bamboo shoots, and then leaving? ie, "[The panda] Eats shoots and leaves."
Or does the panda eat, then shoot the gun, then leave? "[The panda] Eats, shoots and leaves."
If the panda has different options depending on where the comma is, why can't the dude with the tickets? I guess I just have a problem with the idea of "zero tolerance." Language is a flexible, changing medium. You can't say that something like punctuation rules are absolutes - "ALWAYS put a comma after "of course" when it comes at the beginning of a sentence!" - not when you're talking about a medium of personal expression that's subject to things like context and interpretation.