In yesterday’s post, I discussed a typo I discovered on the online Dickinson Archive concerning her poem “There is an arid Pleasure.” I also touched on proofreading, a cognitive bias called perceptual set, and typoglycemia. I concluded with this statement:
“So proofreading – hmm – I’m at a loss for words about what to say concerning another site I found that discusses this poem. It’s not that it let a misspelling slip by, like “arid” for “and,” but it puts forth completely false information. I assume this is another example of AI gone bad? But I mean – this is beyond bad. Who runs this site? Does anyone read the information to see what they’re putting out there? LOL. I’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
**sigh** I don’t even know where to begin with what I have coming next – although I will say I have referenced this site before, and back in mid-August, when I wrote about issues with AI, a friend of mine on Counter Social reminded me about this.
“So proofreading – hmm – I’m at a loss for words about what to say concerning another site I found that discusses this poem. It’s not that it let a misspelling slip by, like “arid” for “and,” but it puts forth completely false information. I assume this is another example of AI gone bad? But I mean – this is beyond bad. Who runs this site? Does anyone read the information to see what they’re putting out there? LOL. I’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
**sigh** I don’t even know where to begin with what I have coming next – although I will say I have referenced this site before, and back in mid-August, when I wrote about issues with AI, a friend of mine on Counter Social reminded me about this.
 | Analyses of poems on this site, EliteSkills.com, typically include comments from two different “Editors.” For this particular poem, Editor 1 states this: “In her poem, ‘There is an Arid Pleasure,’ Dickinson explores the theme of pleasure and how it can be found in even the most desolate of places.” Not even remotely true (no pun intended). |
Then – to top it off – Editor 1 includes a graphic that shows the poem – BUT WHERE IN THE WORLD DID THEIR POEM COME FROM? LOL. This is NOT the poem as written by Dickinson, and from what I can tell, she did not write an alternate version of this poem.
 The actual poem is shown to the right. |  |
The first three lines of Editor1's poem are correct, but the fourth line is missing, and then there are four lines from who-the-hell-knows where.
I thought maybe they’d somehow mixed up two different poems by Dickinson, but I checked the Dickinson Archive for her use of the words “atonement,” “termless,” and “crestless.” She never used these words in any of her poems (although she did use the word “atone” once, in “I thought the Train would never come”).
Beneath this poem, there are additional comments – including, “Dickinson describes the pleasure she experiences as being like the desert,” so that must be where Editor 1 picked up the notion of pleasure found in “the most desolate of places.”
Further down the page, Editor 2 provides this commentary:
“First, let's take a look at the title of the poem: ‘There is an Arid Pleasure.’ The word ‘arid’ immediately suggests a dry, barren landscape, devoid of life and vitality. This sets the tone for the poem, which explores the idea of pleasure that is somehow lacking or unfulfilling. The word ‘pleasure’ itself suggests something enjoyable or satisfying, but the addition of ‘arid’ complicates this idea. This title sets up a tension between pleasure and emptiness that runs throughout the poem.”
Okay, Editor 2, I’m with you so far.
However, two paragraphs later, Editor 2 runs off into left field – and then completely out of the ballpark:
“The third line of the poem reads: ‘Like grief, it is an interval / From which we know not when.’ This line introduces the idea of grief, which is a powerful emotion that is often associated with loss and pain. The comparison between grief and the arid pleasure suggests that the pleasure is somehow connected to loss or absence.”
Dickinson used the word “interval” in seven different poems, and NONE OF THEM say, “Like grief, it is an interval.”
Editor 2 then quotes line 4 as "It comes without the warning / It goes without the same” and line 5 as "And is unobtrusive like the sleep / Beyond the sudden dream."
Editor 2 claims the fifth line is the final line of the poem, that Dickinson compares “arid pleasure” and sleep, and that “Overall, ‘There is an Arid Pleasure’ is a powerful and complex poem that explores the tension between pleasure and emptiness.”
Sooo…who posted all of this? Did they not read the info to see how absurd it all is? I looked for a “Contact Us” feature on the site, but I couldn’t find anything.
I tried going to the homepage for EliteSkill.com, and I found this message: “EliteSkills will be down until I can bring it back up again.”
I thought maybe they’d somehow mixed up two different poems by Dickinson, but I checked the Dickinson Archive for her use of the words “atonement,” “termless,” and “crestless.” She never used these words in any of her poems (although she did use the word “atone” once, in “I thought the Train would never come”).
Beneath this poem, there are additional comments – including, “Dickinson describes the pleasure she experiences as being like the desert,” so that must be where Editor 1 picked up the notion of pleasure found in “the most desolate of places.”
Further down the page, Editor 2 provides this commentary:
“First, let's take a look at the title of the poem: ‘There is an Arid Pleasure.’ The word ‘arid’ immediately suggests a dry, barren landscape, devoid of life and vitality. This sets the tone for the poem, which explores the idea of pleasure that is somehow lacking or unfulfilling. The word ‘pleasure’ itself suggests something enjoyable or satisfying, but the addition of ‘arid’ complicates this idea. This title sets up a tension between pleasure and emptiness that runs throughout the poem.”
Okay, Editor 2, I’m with you so far.
However, two paragraphs later, Editor 2 runs off into left field – and then completely out of the ballpark:
“The third line of the poem reads: ‘Like grief, it is an interval / From which we know not when.’ This line introduces the idea of grief, which is a powerful emotion that is often associated with loss and pain. The comparison between grief and the arid pleasure suggests that the pleasure is somehow connected to loss or absence.”
Dickinson used the word “interval” in seven different poems, and NONE OF THEM say, “Like grief, it is an interval.”
Editor 2 then quotes line 4 as "It comes without the warning / It goes without the same” and line 5 as "And is unobtrusive like the sleep / Beyond the sudden dream."
Editor 2 claims the fifth line is the final line of the poem, that Dickinson compares “arid pleasure” and sleep, and that “Overall, ‘There is an Arid Pleasure’ is a powerful and complex poem that explores the tension between pleasure and emptiness.”
Sooo…who posted all of this? Did they not read the info to see how absurd it all is? I looked for a “Contact Us” feature on the site, but I couldn’t find anything.
I tried going to the homepage for EliteSkill.com, and I found this message: “EliteSkills will be down until I can bring it back up again.”
I wonder who the “I” is? And how long the site has been “down”? And when the site will be back “up”?
RSS Feed
