Prior to the prevalence of computers, (misspelling was the most common writing error. But spellcheck solved that problem and, like so many of our best inventions, created a new one: the word choice error. Now, our greatest problem is having a computer choose our words for us and, occasionally, choose incorrectly. Here are three of my favorite irreverent errors.

I have never used multiple choice tests or quizzes in my teaching. As a student, I found multiple choice to be excessively easy. I didn't learn anything from doing it; it was a simple identification, or maybe a very brief treasure hunt. In any event, multiple choice seems lazy to me as a teacher and a student and not a very good indicator of anything at all.