by Luke F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke F., an English major at the University of Central Florida, wrote this reflection for an internship during the Fall 2021 semester.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think that what is most important about Johnson, especially considering how many difficulties he ran into, is that he managed to create Dictionary<\/em> despite it all.\u00a0 What saddened me, to a depth that surprised even me, was that Johnson was terrified of the idea that he would not be granted salvation when he died.\u00a0 Riddled with anxiety and a proneness to moods, I think that Samuel Johnson is was one of the most human writers I have had the privilege of learning about.\u00a0 I find great happiness to know that he lies in Poet\u2019s Corner with the poets he included so much in Dictionary<\/em>.\u00a0 While Dictionary<\/em> being digitized is reviving the project, I hope that it revives respect in its author as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n J<\/strong>ohnson\u2019s Dictionary<\/em> is not like regular dictionaries that simply tell you what word means or what tenses it has, Johnson\u2019s Dictionary<\/em> has a depth to it that is unimaginable and vitally important: Johnson\u2019s Dictionary <\/em>provides context.\u00a0 With simple definitions, Dictionary<\/em> gives quotes from the greatest writers of his age.\u00a0 With the plainest of nouns, Dictionary<\/em> points the spotlights to sometimes dozens of uses.\u00a0 Some of the definitons in Dictionary <\/em>span pages!\u00a0 Some examples of instances in which a word is used do too!\u00a0 Johnson\u2019s research, in an age without Google, without internet, is monumental to an extent I do not think I have the capacity to appreciate.\u00a0 I type this reflection on a laptop in a room illuminated by a lamp and a house kept a certain temperature.\u00a0 How can I reasonably understand the work in which Johnson and his assistants had to have gone through?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this age where Google and other search engines have made this sort of research seem instant and easy, Johnson did something similar in his time.\u00a0 That is why Johnson\u2019s Dictionary <\/em>should be published: He essentially created the first search engine, the first research journal.\u00a0 His project encapsulates the human desire to learn constantly, to search out answers wherever one can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In all honesty, I was not entirely sure what I had gotten myself into that first week of the semester.\u00a0 I am so desperately technologically inept, I will admit that my talents end at just-about plugging in a lamp.\u00a0 With all the talk of XML and proofreading and windows and admin logins, I let myself get a little overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding that comfort comes with time and ease with comfort, I worked in a three-window system for my first few weeks of proofreading.\u00a0My job as a proofreader was to pull up the definitions typed into the digital copy of Johnson\u2019s Dictionary<\/em> and photos of the original Dictionary<\/em>.\u00a0Once both versions of a single word were in front of me, I was to scan for differences.\u00a0While some differences were due to changes in grammar and spelling, as well as character usage, some were simply typos or formatting issues.\u00a0While I did not find many, a testament to how hard those who worked before me had worked, I did find a few and I pride accompanied my corrections.\u00a0 I was actively benefiting the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my later weeks of work, I critiqued my system and found ways to better productivity and lessen the burden of extra-steps.\u00a0I added a fourth window and kept track of how many words I proofed: Twenty-five equaled a short break and every fifty I would shift focus to another assignment to avoid burnout.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n My work benefited the project as a whole because I have a keen eye and a strong work-ethic.\u00a0By eliminating errors, I was doing two things.\u00a0One, I was helping further the amount of work down in hope of digitizing Johnson\u2019s Dictionary<\/em>.\u00a0Two, I was helping Johnson\u2019s work, too.\u00a0The goal of context as well as content being in a compendium to benefit all readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few weeks into the semester, an email was sent out with the query of any proofreaders being interested in XML-work.\u00a0In a rare stroke of stretching-out-horizons, I emailed my interest in testing the position out\u2026To put it kindly, I feel that I was reading another language.\u00a0Proofreading is where my strength lies most certainly and it had never been more clear to me than when I was reading through the instructions I received.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n My work benefited me in a way that shocked me: I enjoyed it.\u00a0 I have taken as many courses as I can, every semester I can, for the past three years.\u00a0 I have worked a consistent amount of hours through those years as well, and I am soon to be launching into Graduate school applications.\u00a0 I am tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doing my weekly work on the Dictionary<\/em> felt relaxing, reassuring.\u00a0 I learned words that I would not have stumbled upon in any reading and I was able to read snippets of great poems I would not have read otherwise, as well.\u00a0 No matter how stressful the week before had been, or how grating any aspect of the week had gone, I knew that I was going to hole up with a little Bowie and proofread every weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnson\u2019s Dictionary<\/em> gave me a sense of pseudo-freetime.\u00a0 It was not quite total freedom but it also did not feel like total school work, either.\u00a0 It was enjoyable, yet structured.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, in a secondary note, I felt that I was contributing to something bigger than just myself.\u00a0 This project is massive and requires the help of many\u2013and I was a part of that.\u00a0 In years to come, when this project is completed, I will have been a part of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Luke F. Luke F., an English major at the University of Central Florida, wrote this reflection for an internship during the Fall 2021 semester. I think that what is most important about Johnson, especially considering how many difficulties he ran into, is that he managed to create Dictionary despite it all.\u00a0 What saddened me, to a depth that surprised...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,7,12],"tags":[9,10,11],"class_list":["post-732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-backstage","category-dictionary","category-experiences","tag-backstage","tag-dictionary","tag-reflections"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Johnson\u2019s Dictionary <\/em>should be digitized:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What I did in my efforts for Johnson\u2019s Dictionary:<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How did my work benefit me:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n