I’ve given quite a lot of space to proofreading, lately, by way of emphasising that proofreading is a terrifically important part of writing a sefer. By way of closing this subject, I’m just going to draw your attention to the combination of tradition and technology we use here.<\/p>\n
Some people find it very disconcerting that we use a computer at all. But a computer has a lot of the right skills; it’s a lovely example of using technology to take a traditional process and improve the way we do it. <\/p>\n
Other people ask why there is any need for humans at all; “why can’t the computer do it all?” Fortunately, the computer has limitations. <\/p>\n
For instance, the letters are very slightly three-dimensional; a human, with stereo vision, can tell the difference between ink and shadow, and a scanner can’t always. Sometimes it’ll interpret a shadow as a crucial fine line, and report a letter kosher when it really isn’t.<\/p>\n
So a scan is an excellent tool – I think it’s one of the finer syntheses of technological development and ancient ritual – but it does not replace all the other proofreading tools we use, and it is not a substitute for hard work and knowing your stuff. We still need the subtlety which humans can bring to the task.<\/p>\n
Final fact: proofreading takes about 1\/12 of the total project time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve given quite a lot of space to proofreading, lately, by way of emphasising that proofreading is a terrifically important part of writing a sefer. By way of closing this subject, I’m just going to draw your attention to the combination of tradition and technology we use here. Some people find it very disconcerting that … Continue reading A final post on proofreading<\/span>