Can't Spell Check Catch That?

Yes, it's true, spell check does check many spelling errors. Still, it is important to realize that spell check does not catch everything. Sources tell me that Office 2007 has "contextual" spell checkers that will know the difference between "to" and "too," but I am convinced that the spell checker will still not catch everything. The reason for this is that the computer does not actually read the words that we type. It only recognizes patterns. If a writer uses "too" in an unusual way, chances are good that spell checker will catch the unusual pattern. There is no way it can know, though, what the intentions of the writer are, or whether the way the writer uses "too" is correct. For example, all of my uses of the word "too" in this entry have been in quotation marks. If I didn't use quotation marks, spell checker would probably be really confused. It may even get confused with the quotation marks. It's true, spell checkers are improving, and they are great tools, but they cannot compete with the human mind for understanding words and using them in new and innovative ways.