typos, phrasing, etc

book/Chapter-01.html

@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ <h3 id="why-koplphreukaeut"><a class="header" href="#why-koplphreukaeut">Why <co
 <p>The following table illustrates the sounds that each key group represents in our example.</p>
 <div class="table-wrapper"><table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody>
 <tr><td><strong>Steno Keys</strong></td><td><code>K</code></td><td><code>O</code></td><td><code>PL</code></td><td></td><td><code>P</code></td><td><code>HR</code></td><td><code>EU</code></td><td></td><td><code>K</code></td><td><code>AEU</code></td><td><code>T</code></td></tr>
-<tr><td><strong>Sounds</strong></td><td>c</td><td>o</td><td>m</td><td></td><td>p</td><td>l</td><td>i</td><td></td><td>c</td><td>ā</td><td>t</td></tr>
+<tr><td><strong>Sounds</strong></td><td>k</td><td>o</td><td>m</td><td></td><td>p</td><td>l</td><td>i</td><td></td><td>k</td><td>ā</td><td>t</td></tr>
 </tbody></table>
 </div>
 <p>Essentially, <code>KOPL/PHREU/KAEUT</code> really just represents <code>KOM/PLI/KĀT</code> (where <code>Ā</code> represents the &quot;long a&quot; or /eɪ/ diphthong).</p>
@@ -230,13 +230,13 @@ <h3 id="steno-is-primarily-phonetic"><a class="header" href="#steno-is-primarily
 <p>Notice how so far sounds have been emphasized rather than spellings of words. In our example, &quot;complicate&quot; is not spelled with a &quot;k&quot; and yet it still uses the <code>K</code> key in the first stroke. The reason for this is that English spelling is quite complicated, but its phonetics are comparatively simple. Steno takes advantage of this by being a primarily phonetic system. In general, words are written based on their pronunciation. The <code>K</code> key represents all &quot;k&quot; sounds, regardless of spelling.</p>
 <p>However, if steno were completely phonetic, it would be impossible to differentiate between &quot;gait&quot; and &quot;gate&quot;, or &quot;site&quot;, &quot;cite&quot;, and &quot;sight&quot;, or any of the other numerous homophones that English has. For some words, we do have to take spelling into consideration. How exactly this is done is dictated by the rules found in a steno theory.</p>
 <h3 id="steno-theories"><a class="header" href="#steno-theories">Steno theories</a></h3>
-<p>A steno theory refers to the set of rules that govern how words are broken down. While the basics (such as everything I've mentioned so far) are more or less the same between theories, there are some subtle differences. If you're starting to learn English steno, it's not too important which theory you start with—it isn't difficult to switch between them.</p>
-<p>The primary way steno theories differ is in their philosophy. For example, Phoenix theory is based off of a comprehensive set of rules that you must be fluent with; the benefit is that you will be able to write any word that comes to mind regardless of if you have written it before. On the other side of the spectrum, Magnum theory places more emphasis on learning words themselves through rote memorization. In essence, you learn fewer rules, but you must memorize more words and exceptions.</p>
+<p>A steno theory refers to the set of rules that govern how words are broken down. While the basics (such as everything mentioned so far) are more or less the same between theories, there are some subtle differences. When it comes to learning English steno, it is not important which theory to start off with—it isn't difficult to switch between them.</p>
+<p>The primary way steno theories differ is in their philosophy. For example, Phoenix theory is based off of a comprehensive set of rules that make it easy to break down complicated words. On the other side of the spectrum, Magnum theory places more emphasis on learning words themselves through rote memorization. In essence, there are fewer strict rules, but more arbitrary outlines to remember.</p>
 <p>Most steno theories (like the previously mentioned ones) are not free and require you to purchase textbooks along with their dictionaries. The only free theories (as of this writing) are Lapwing theory, Plover theory, and Platinum theory.</p>
-<p>Unfortunately, most steno theories are also quite specific to one accent. In particular, all of the theories mentioned so far are all based on a General North American accent. It may be difficult to learn one of these theories if you speak a different variant of English; however, it is not impossible if you are comfortable with subvocalizing with an American accent.</p>
+<p>Unfortunately, most steno theories are also quite specific to one accent. In particular, all of the mentioned theories are all based on a General North American accent. It may be difficult to learn one of these theories for those that speak a different variant of English; being able to comfortably subvocalize with an American accent is important.</p>
 <p>There has been one effort in the Open Steno community to create a theory based for non-rhotic accents (i.e., British English), but I cannot recommend it as the dictionary is not very complete.</p>
 <h3 id="how-steno-works-from-the-software-side"><a class="header" href="#how-steno-works-from-the-software-side">How steno works from the software side</a></h3>
-<p>I've been explaining how steno works in principle, but you might also be wondering how the keyboard &quot;knows&quot; what to output with any given steno outline. Translation occurs in a steno engine that is either a program on a computer, or in a keyboard's firmware. They use large files called dictionaries that simply contain 1-to-1 translations between steno outlines and their output. This makes steno entirely deterministic and predictable.</p>
+<p>The keys pressed in an outline are translated to text that shows up on screen via a steno engine. This is a program on a computer, or is embedded in a keyboard's firmware. Steno engines use large files called dictionaries that simply contain 1-to-1 translations between steno outlines and their output. This makes steno entirely deterministic and predictable.</p>
 <p>For example, here is one section from Lapwing theory dictionary:</p>
 <pre><code>&quot;TKUR/KWRABLT&quot;: &quot;durability&quot;,
 &quot;TKUR/KWRES&quot;: &quot;duress&quot;,

book/Chapter-02.html

@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ <h1 id="chapter-2-steno-hardware-and-software"><a class="header" href="#chapter-
 <h2 id="steno-hardware"><a class="header" href="#steno-hardware">Steno hardware</a></h2>
 <p>I would highly recommend purchasing a steno keyboard before starting to learn steno. Any of the ones listed on the <a href="https://github.com/openstenoproject/plover/wiki/Supported-Hardware#commercially-available-hobbyist-machines">supported hardware wiki page</a> are really good; they will work for many years as you get faster.</p>
 <p>$100 is a little steep for a simple keyboard, but that is unfortunately the price point for custom keyboards which don't see much demand.</p>
-<p>There are two reasons why specialized keyboards are needed for steno. First of all, regular keyboards have row stagger which makes it really hard to vertically press two keys at once with the same finger. Second of all, most keyboards lack n-key rollover: the ability to detect multiple simultaneous key presses. Generally, you'll find keyboards are only able to detect two to six key presses at once.</p>
+<p>There are two reasons why specialized keyboards are needed for steno. First of all, regular keyboards have row stagger which makes it really hard to vertically press two keys at once with the same finger. Second of all, most keyboards lack n-key rollover: the ability to detect multiple simultaneous key presses. Standard keyboards are typically only able to detect two to six key presses at once.</p>
 <p><img src="img/2-key-positions.png" alt="layout finger diagram." /></p>
 <p>That being said, the first steno board I ever used was an NKRO keyboard that I bought second hand for $30. It came with loud and heavy 60 gram switches. As you'll often be pressing around 6 keys per stroke, you want to have very light keys. With this cheap keyboard, I could only steno for about a minute before my wrists started burning. For comparison, professional steno machines have tension mechanisms that bottom out at as low as 10 grams regardless of how many keys are pressed.</p>
 <p>If you do choose to use a regular keyboard for learning steno, make sure you know where the correct key positions are. I'd recommend printing out or keeping a graphic like this handy:</p>

book/Chapter-03.html

@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ <h1 class="menu-title">Lapwing for Beginners</h1>
                         <div class="content-wrap">
                             <h1 id="chapter-3-how-to-learn-steno"><a class="header" href="#chapter-3-how-to-learn-steno">Chapter 3: How to learn steno</a></h1>
 <h2 id="steno-is-difficult"><a class="header" href="#steno-is-difficult">Steno is difficult</a></h2>
-<p>Before starting to learn steno, it is important to know that it is not something that can be easily picked up within a week. Personally, it took me about 3 months to achieve a consistent 30 WPM speed. While not nearly as difficult as learning a new language, the difficulty is definitely comparable to something like learning a musical instrument—I definitely agree with this as an individual who has learned several instruments in the past. Learning steno takes a lot of (good) practice and patience. You should not be expecting to double your typing speed in just a month.</p>
+<p>Before starting to learn steno, it is important to know that it is not something that can be easily picked up within a week. Personally, it took me about 3 months to achieve a consistent 30 WPM speed. While not nearly as difficult as learning a new language, the difficulty is definitely comparable to something like learning a musical instrument. Learning steno takes a lot of (good) practice and patience. You should not be expecting to double your typing speed in just a month.</p>
 <p>In fact, it took me 6 months to reach 150 WPM on some TypeRacer quotes, but my speed varied quite a lot as novel and unfamiliar words would throw me off. While my top speed was indeed quite fast during this period, my average speed of 90 WPM wasn't significantly faster than a good QWERTY typist. Another 6 months later, I was at a consistent 180 WPM on most Monkeytype quotes. Another year and a half after that, I completely switched to steno for all computer tasks.</p>
 <p>I hope reading this has not discouraged you from picking up steno, but I do have to honest and straightforward about it. If you are not discouraged, however, I do believe you have the right mindset to succeed!</p>
 <h2 id="take-steno-as-a-challenge"><a class="header" href="#take-steno-as-a-challenge">Take steno as a challenge!</a></h2>
@@ -190,9 +190,10 @@ <h3 id="lapwing-chapters"><a class="header" href="#lapwing-chapters">Lapwing cha
 <p>This series is aimed at being a complete guide to learning steno. While you will learn everything that you need to know to be fast at steno, practice and fluency is key.</p>
 <p>Each chapter in this series follows the same basic format: new theory and practice material introduced in subsections followed by a chapter test. The purpose of this test is to ensure that you have learned the material well enough. It is crucial that you are comfortable and well acquainted with each chapter before moving onto the next.</p>
 <p>Everyone's threshold of being &quot;comfortable&quot; differs and it is up to you to decide what this means for you. However, if you are unsure, the &quot;recommended completion goal&quot; is a good starting point.</p>
-<p><strong>As this series is very new, I have not been given any feedback. As such, it may be possible that the recommended completion goal is entirely unrealistic for each chapter. Please take it with a grain of salt!</strong></p>
+<p><strong>As this series is very new, I have not been given much feedback. As such, it may be possible that the recommended completion goal is entirely unrealistic for each chapter. Please take it with a grain of salt!</strong></p>
 <h3 id="chapter-test-recommendations"><a class="header" href="#chapter-test-recommendations">Chapter test recommendations</a></h3>
 <p>These are only recommendations if you have no idea where to start! It may very well be the case that you start off following some of these recommendations, and find out later on that they do not work for you.</p>
+<p>Here are some tips for completing the tests:</p>
 <ul>
 <li>Before you attempt each chapter test, complete as much practice material as you can</li>
 <li>Space your chapter test attempt at least 2 hours after any previous practice
@@ -208,21 +209,19 @@ <h3 id="chapter-test-recommendations"><a class="header" href="#chapter-test-reco
 </li>
 </ul>
 <h3 id="incorporating-steno-into-your-computer-usage"><a class="header" href="#incorporating-steno-into-your-computer-usage">Incorporating steno into your computer usage</a></h3>
-<p>It's always a good idea to apply your learning rather than just completing exercises in a textbook. However, I would recommend only incorporating steno into your computer usage once you have reached chapter 18. Before this, there will be many instances where you will not be able to figure out how to write certain words. This will encourage usage of the lookup tool.</p>
-<p>While not bad in and of itself, you have to learn how to use it properly. If you are lacking knowledge in theory, you may not understand how the outlines correlate with the word you are looking up. This may lead to frustration and confusion about core aspects of Lapwing theory. Also, you may be tempted to learn the shortest outline available; these outlines likely do not follow basic theory and instead use more advanced briefing techniques that you should be learning right from the start.</p>
-<h3 id="the-lookup-tool"><a class="header" href="#the-lookup-tool">The lookup tool</a></h3>
-<p>If you still would like to incorporate steno into your daily computer usage early on, here are a few tips to help you use the lookup tool effectively.</p>
+<p>It's always a good idea to apply your learning to complement exercises in a textbook. However, I would only recommend incorporating steno into your computer usage after reaching chapter 18. If not, you will have to make liberal use of the lookup tool. It is very iportant to know how to use this tool correctly. If you blindly follow the entries that show up, you may find yourself confused and frustrated as to why a word is written the way it is. You may also force yourself to inadvertently memorize more briefs.</p>
+<p>Plover has a built-in tool to easily look up outlines. It can be found in <code class="code-mono">Tools → Lookup</code>. Make sure to read the tips below if you would like to use this tool.</p>
 <h4 id="use-the-longest-outline-available"><a class="header" href="#use-the-longest-outline-available">Use the longest outline available</a></h4>
-<p>Lapwing is full of briefs and write-outs. A brief is an <em>abbreviated</em> outline that is used for speed. It may not follow theory at all and can be completely arbitrary. On the other hand, write-outs are outlines that are logical and follow theory 100%. If you have never seen a word before, you would use a write-out since your theory provides you with a set of rules that you can use to break it into a steno outline.</p>
-<p>Due to the nature of briefs and write-outs, briefs tend to use fewer strokes and write-outs tend to use more. When you type in a word into the lookup tool, both briefs and write-out entries will be present. I recommend using the longest outline in the lookup tool as that is overwhelmingly likely to be a write-out.</p>
+<p>Lapwing is full of briefs and write-outs. A brief is an <em>abbreviated</em> outline that is used for speed. It may not follow theory at all and can be completely arbitrary. On the other hand, write-outs are outlines that are logical and follow theory rules. Until you start speed building, you should focus on write-out entries.</p>
+<p>Due to the nature of briefs and write-outs, briefs tend to use fewer strokes and write-outs tend to use more. When you type in a word into the lookup tool, both types of entries will be present. I recommend using the longest outline in the lookup tool as that is overwhelmingly likely to be a write-out.</p>
 <p>In the following example, the first two entries are briefs, while the last two are write-outs. You should be using one of these two. Defaulting to the longest outline available is very safe.</p>
 <p><img src="img/3-sufficient-lookup.png" alt="" /></p>
 <h4 id="be-careful-of-hidden-affixes"><a class="header" href="#be-careful-of-hidden-affixes">Be careful of hidden affixes</a></h4>
-<p>The Lapwing dictionary may not contain every single valid outline. You will later learn of affix strokes which attach to root words. For example, the word &quot;thoroughly&quot; contains &quot;thorough&quot; as a road word and &quot;-ly&quot; as a suffix. One way to write &quot;thoroughly&quot; is <code>THOR/KWROE/HREU</code>. However, it does not show up in the dictionary:</p>
+<p>The Lapwing dictionary may not contain every single valid outline. You will later learn of affix strokes which attach to root words. For example, the word &quot;thoroughly&quot; contains &quot;thorough&quot; as a road word and &quot;^ly&quot; as a suffix. One way to write &quot;thoroughly&quot; is <code>THOR/KWROE/HREU</code>. However, it does not show up in the dictionary:</p>
 <p><img src="img/3-thoroughly-lookup.png" alt="" /></p>
-<p>Instead, remove the &quot;-ly&quot; suffix and look up the word &quot;thorough&quot;. You will find <code>THOR/KWROE</code> as a valid outline:</p>
+<p>Instead, remove the &quot;^ly&quot; suffix and look up the word &quot;thorough&quot;. You will find <code>THOR/KWROE</code> as a valid outline:</p>
 <p><img src="img/3-thorough-lookup.png" alt="" /></p>
-<p>To write the &quot;-ly&quot;, you could look this up too:</p>
+<p>To write the &quot;^ly&quot;, you could look this up too:</p>
 <p><img src="img/3-ly-lookup.png" alt="" /></p>
 <p>The curly braces indicate that this word is special. In this case, the caret indicates that it will attach on that side. Putting these two outlines together, you would get <code>THOR/KWROE/HREU</code>. This is the canonical way you would write the word &quot;thoroughly&quot; even though it is not in the dictionary.</p>
 <h2 id="cold-turkey"><a class="header" href="#cold-turkey">Cold turkey?</a></h2>