Dumb ass? No. Ignorant perhaps- but we are always quick to assume ignorance is an insult. I have no idea how to moor a ship. I'm ignorant in most nautical arts. I have other proficiencies and have never needed to tie up a boat or trim sails. I instead put my focus on other things. In language it is t so important to know every word from obscure to common so long as you use the words you know appropriately and communicate effectively. This professor has obviously done fine without use of those words so is intelligent enough to work around his ignorance. While I general decry willful ignorance, and feel that if you constantly encounter a problem you should bare down and learn how to solve it properly- so long as you have a functional solution you're fine, especially with trivial matters.
Effect is a noun when used like so:
"The effect of changing pitchers shifted the momentum of the game."
It's a verb as stated by this_isntme. Affect is a verb as in: "How can I affect the momentum of the game?"
When talking about influencing something use affect, when talking about the thing that was influenced use effect. In this_isntme's example we are talking about the thing we influenced (the momentum of the game) in the third example we are talking about influencing the game. Influence, change, impact, control are some common words that can be used to stand in when unsure.
Effect is the End result
That's the way I learned it, anyhow
The general manager effected change in the momentum of the game by swapping out pitchers.
"The effect of changing pitchers shifted the momentum of the game."
It's a verb as stated by this_isntme. Affect is a verb as in: "How can I affect the momentum of the game?"
When talking about influencing something use affect, when talking about the thing that was influenced use effect. In this_isntme's example we are talking about the thing we influenced (the momentum of the game) in the third example we are talking about influencing the game. Influence, change, impact, control are some common words that can be used to stand in when unsure.
Affect = influence
Effect = result