This is not what I had planned for today.  But I needed to vent.  In fact, I needed to vent last night but didn’t feel like powering up the computer at 11pm for a rant.

I finally finished Inferno last night.  That in itself is reason to rant, but the full review is on its way.  However, on the tedious slog to the finish line I came across a sentence that quite literally made me cringe.

On page 434 of the hardcover edition Mr Brown uses this sentence:  “And the HIV virus attacked the immune system, causing the disease AIDS.”

In South Africa HIV and AIDS is a pretty big issue, with about a third of the population infected and more than two thirds affected.  In the people-oriented professions like social work, counselling, teaching, community development and the medical professions it is something we have to deal with every day.  Consequently, during my studies the facts about this condition was thoroughly drilled into my mind (and I’m reading a book about it again for my Master’s) and I get quite riled up if people spout a bunch of nonsense about it. Continue reading “On getting the facts right” →