P52 Week 31 - Photographer's Choice - Computer Magic

My new computer is doing exactly what I tell it to. That’s right! I speak to it and it takes dictation. Now, how wonderful – how magical is that?

How amazing it would have been to have had this in my medical practice years ago, but back then voice activated dictation was a long way from being perfected. Back in those dark ages, I dictated my chart notes into a designated phone line and then medical transcriptionists – real people – listened to the recordings and furiously typed away. The transcripts were made available in two to three days. Too bad if the patient was seen again before the dictated note got into the chart: the new clinician assessing the patient didn’t have much to go on. If the dictation was tagged as STAT – as for when I was admitting a patient into the hospital and the inpatient staff needed the information immediately – I could get the transcription back in a couple of hours or so.

Look at me now! Here’s me dictating. The computer is writing whatever I say. Holy cow! I can’t stop from grinning as I see my spoken words instantly set down in Times New Roman fourteen-font text. This is quite a trip!

I wonder if this dictation process can pick up different accents? Should I do an English accent? I’m doing an English accent now. And now I’m doing an Eastern European accent like my mother’s. This is unbelievable! I actually said, “Zees ees unbeleeevable,” and the computer captured it with correct English spelling. So this dictation application can even work with thick accents. Unbelievable indeed!

It may come down to it that I never have to type another word again.

I’ve practically given up pen-writing, replacing it with computer typing. Now I may take yet another step, bypassing the typing and just dictating my journal and everything else that I write. This feels surreal.

There have been a few glitches with the dictation, printing right spelt alright G HT instead of WOR I TE. Wow that came out really screwy! But for the most part it’s remarkably accurate.

I wonder if the dictation process captures song?

Saw where me so

Skies blue

Been good dreams to you today to dream really do come.

These are the first lines of Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Here’s another singing attempt…

do idea of female DA

Ray drop of golden sun

Can you guess which song this is? Yep, it’s “Do re mi” from The Sound of Music.

So the dictation application doesn’t do so well with transcribing singing, but I suspect that that function may well be perfected on the next upgrade.

The miracle of technology! I am in total awe!