Twice in 24 hours, I’ve come across news articles that muddle the use of the words effect and affect; today it was CNN: ‘Some protesters say this is their last chance to affect change before 2047, when the “one country, two systems” model that Hong Kong is governed by expires.’
Sometimes I think we should just relax the rules of English spelling; other times I think that insisting on rules helps us to think more precisely. What’s certain is that we unconsciously give less credence to writers with poor or unorthodox spelling.
Afternote (from xkcd):
