"Lapsus digiti"

From: Edward Hobbs (EHOBBS@wellesley.edu)
Date: Mon Dec 18 1995 - 16:31:39 EST


This term suggested by Edgar Krentz is technically acceptable (for the
phenomenon of striking the wrong key on a computer keyboard or failing to
strike the key). But it has arrived about two weeks or so late.
My well-known problems in typing e-mail (no editor, all errors on a line
after moving to the next being frozen forever) are compounded by having
a basement study at home, and in our bleak mid-winter (more snow already
before winter arrives, than we had all last year!) it is cold. My apologies
were expressed in a post to Mike Holmes (who hoped that my computer didn't
freeze in analogy to the Irish monks' ink freezing), whereupon Mike replied
that we needed a term, similar to the use of "itacism" as a term for a
not-very-parallel phenomenon.
        With my usual instantaneous brilliance, I came up with "Hitacism."
The word "hit" is used by programmers, and even by DOS designers, to refer
to the act of touching or pressing a key. "Hit <Enter> now to exit" etc.
So hitting the wrong key should be "hitacism" if it is done mistakenly
and without stemming from an ignorance of correct spelling.
        "Lapsus digiti" is good, and has a scholarly ring to it. But the
field was pre-empted two weeks ago, even though I didn't send the term to
the Register of Copyrights and Trademarks.
        However, if "lapsus digiti" should nonetheless prevail, I will
withdraw gracefully, and even use the term myself (to explain my
apparent inability to spell -- I who was Indiana state spelling champion
when I was in the tenth grade! but I can't type).

        By the way, I absolutely LOVED the discovery of the Roman
egg-grading device!

Edward Hobbs



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