I usually welcome a correction (especially on something important) but when I am annoyed by corrections here are some reasons why (could be any subset of these in any given example):
1) A more important thing is being interrupted by a less important thing. (I’m in the middle of explaining something complicated and you’re interrupting to correct a mispronounced but perfectly clear word?!)
2) The “error” isn’t actually wrong (lots of grammatical stuff falls into this category, like split infinitives and using “they” to mean 3rd person singular ungendered).
2b) The “correction” is a misunderstanding of what I’m saying. If what I’m saying doesn’t make sense to you, why not be charitable and assume I must mean something else, rather than assuming that you don’t understand because it’s wrong?
3) It offends my pride to find out that I am wrong. (I don’t endorse this one, just noting that it happens to me.)
Correcting in the form of a question does a lot to help with 2 and 3, 2 because it doesn’t assume I’m the one in the wrong, 3 because it allows me to retain agency and be the one to determine that I’ve made an error, which is less humiliating than submitting to the superior judgment of someone else.
1a. Do you also get offended when a book/wikipedia tells you you’re wrong?
1b. Would you get offended when a book chapter has a sidebar: “Some ignorant people believe X, which is in contradiction with chapter 1” when you, of course, happen to believe X?
2: Does your pride get offended when you’re talking in a group and a person standing next to you is corrected for a belief you hold as well?
3a. You google a question and come across a Quora question that exactly explains your position the way you would have written it. The position is then exposed as idiotic by other Quora members. Pride offended?
3b. The same as 3, but it turns out you were the one who asked the question a year ago and you completely forgot about it. Assuming your pride got offended the first time, does your pride get offended the second time?
If you’re offended, for whichever reason, and you then realize it doesn’t make sense for you to be offended. Do you automatically stop being offended/upset?
1a: No, because the quality of “interruption” is quite different in a book or wikipedia. It’s not interrupting my thoughts to make a correction, it’s just doing its own thing, which happens to be a correction of my error. For similar reasons it’s easier to deal with corrections in online comments than in speech because it doesn’t make me stop what I’m doing to listen to it.
1b: No, unless I had a good reason to think the correction was incorrect, in which case I would be annoyed at the condescending tone.
2: Only a very little bit, out of sympathy.
3a, b: A little bit, but I would get over it quickly if I recognized the correction as valid.
Depending on how on my game I am it can take me from 5 seconds to a minute to bring my affect in line with my beliefs.
I usually welcome a correction (especially on something important) but when I am annoyed by corrections here are some reasons why (could be any subset of these in any given example):
1) A more important thing is being interrupted by a less important thing. (I’m in the middle of explaining something complicated and you’re interrupting to correct a mispronounced but perfectly clear word?!)
2) The “error” isn’t actually wrong (lots of grammatical stuff falls into this category, like split infinitives and using “they” to mean 3rd person singular ungendered).
2b) The “correction” is a misunderstanding of what I’m saying. If what I’m saying doesn’t make sense to you, why not be charitable and assume I must mean something else, rather than assuming that you don’t understand because it’s wrong?
3) It offends my pride to find out that I am wrong. (I don’t endorse this one, just noting that it happens to me.)
Correcting in the form of a question does a lot to help with 2 and 3, 2 because it doesn’t assume I’m the one in the wrong, 3 because it allows me to retain agency and be the one to determine that I’ve made an error, which is less humiliating than submitting to the superior judgment of someone else.
1a. Do you also get offended when a book/wikipedia tells you you’re wrong?
1b. Would you get offended when a book chapter has a sidebar: “Some ignorant people believe X, which is in contradiction with chapter 1” when you, of course, happen to believe X?
2: Does your pride get offended when you’re talking in a group and a person standing next to you is corrected for a belief you hold as well?
3a. You google a question and come across a Quora question that exactly explains your position the way you would have written it. The position is then exposed as idiotic by other Quora members. Pride offended?
3b. The same as 3, but it turns out you were the one who asked the question a year ago and you completely forgot about it. Assuming your pride got offended the first time, does your pride get offended the second time?
If you’re offended, for whichever reason, and you then realize it doesn’t make sense for you to be offended. Do you automatically stop being offended/upset?
1a: No, because the quality of “interruption” is quite different in a book or wikipedia. It’s not interrupting my thoughts to make a correction, it’s just doing its own thing, which happens to be a correction of my error. For similar reasons it’s easier to deal with corrections in online comments than in speech because it doesn’t make me stop what I’m doing to listen to it.
1b: No, unless I had a good reason to think the correction was incorrect, in which case I would be annoyed at the condescending tone.
2: Only a very little bit, out of sympathy.
3a, b: A little bit, but I would get over it quickly if I recognized the correction as valid.
Depending on how on my game I am it can take me from 5 seconds to a minute to bring my affect in line with my beliefs.