The Phenomenology of Error

In "The Phenomenology of Error," Joseph M. Williams argues that writing errors should be seen as "social constructs."  A social construct is a perception of an individual, group, or idea that is constructed through cultural or social practices.  Williams feels that people should see what most perceive as errors in writing to be more of an adaptation of English.   English should grow and adapt to fit the needs and everyday uses of the people who speak and use it. What used to be considered improper English is no longer seen as improper English in everyday conversations.  Only in an academic setting such as a paper, journal, or article does it become scrutinized.  He also pointed out that everyone makes errors, but when someone such as EB White makes a mistake that he scrutinizes other peoples work for no one says a thing because he must know what he’s doing and if he writes it that way it must be correct.  So some works get picked over with a fine tooth comb while other skate by without really being closely reviewed.  This is why many people have such a bad view of Wikipedia.  Even though it has relatively the same number of errors that Britannica has it is seen in a bad light.  This is because Wikipedia can be changed and written by anyone and Britannica is only written by very educated scholars.  So Wikipedia is more highly criticized and examined than Britannica; Even though a study found them both to be equally reliable.