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Terrible Transcripts: The Worst Transcription Mistakes in Top Industries

By August 23, 2017November 23rd, 2021No Comments

transcription mistakes

Take a note of the most tragic transcription mistakes ever known. It makes a huge and recognizable impact on any piece of work when avoiding checks, not taking full precautions and tests prior to release, saving on costs – whether that be for equipment or for logistics, or hiring the right person for supporting documentation.

These things can’t go unnoticed forever. For these unlucky examples, common things you may think aren’t necessarily important, have, in fact, been recognized by millions, and costing some people, the fortune of a lifetime. The shocking news might make you think twice — here are the worst.

The Bizarre Errors in Medical Results

Studies across various medical results have rooted ‘Random Transcription Errors’ in DNA being a main 66% of cancer support.

A study made by Vogelstein and Tomasetti, from the University of Baltimore, found that humans have denied smoking as a possible cause of lung cancer. But by researching further, 65% of mutations are caused by environmental factors, including smoking and air pollution, and the other 35% stem from random transcription errors.

Along with these confusing results, incorrect terminology, omissions and demographics regularly appear when transcribing medical results. Patients could be diagnosed with something inaccurate, and have false input of information – medical records, operation dates etc.

Punctuation Revised

Punctuation evolved and has found a new purpose, widely due to inconsistency within the handwritten documentation. But also the meanings have been misconstrued by the founders, therefore, revised with up to date corrections. One professor found that within the official transcription of the Declaration of Independence was in fact inscribed with a comma.

This “typo” led to centuries of confusion over the role of government, is the role of protecting individual liberties. The use of inconsistent comma placements has led to disputed of conventional readings by focusing in on the original language of the Bill of Rights.

AKON or A Con?

Neither. But imagine, if it was the Hip Hop legend himself. Maybe it was someone being very honest. Again, doesn’t really happen. In this case, whoever it was with just a question probably had the receiver suspicious, and not wanting to answer his question.

Errors like this could be sent to important clients or employees, or even friends.

Regardless, it can be very confusing for the person who has to work it out. There’s a feedback option at the bottom, and a high chance it would be an X.

Source: CNet

 

Late Night, Early Morning Mistakes

Late night call for mistakes, while mixing the two opportunities together, you’re bound to get a few. A Marketing Manager admitted, that when transcribing 3 hours’ worth of conference speeches, found lingering lyrics of the music she was listening to, throughout the speeches. Unfortunately, work for the next day, due to lack of sleep and preparation, very rarely gets overlooked appropriately, so accuracy scores were very low.

Geographic Confusion

Unfortunately for anyone interested in using Google Translate, it was flagged that it struggled with geography for some time. For example, when trying to translate “I love Sweden”, instead decided “I love Canada” was more appropriate. And if you included “Amsterdam” in your sentence from the Dutch language, the English language would just choose “London”.

These errors have now, thankfully, been fixed. But that’s not to say a lot of people enjoyed this mistake and are probably waiting for more to come.

The Most Expensive Trip Not Arriving Into Space

A missing punctuation mark released a rocket with a failed engine into space exploded just after liftoff in 1962. Believed to be the most expensive and embarrassing failure, some reports say an alternative comma was entered into the coded equation which transmitted a number of incorrect correction signals that threw the vehicle off its flight trajectory. The price? Exceeding $620 million.


The moral of the story is to use this service appropriately, and never forget to proofread. Don’t let these horribly embarrassing and irresponsible mistakes happen to your business! Get a free quote or reach out to our sales team.