We can really only be experts at a couple of things in our entire lives. There is simply not enough time to grow unbelievably skilled and knowledgeable at several things.
So it's wildly exciting when, by coincidence, a person happens to challenge you on the very thing you are an expert at.
Often, the expertise arises as a career path is chosen and pursued.
But there is another universe of expertise: hobbies. In a recent Reddit thread, this was the primary type of example.
Video games, sports, and cooking are all prime areas for calling on a trove of expertise to dole out a sudden trouncing.
The moment begins with a challenge. Someone sees a place to compete and assumes an equal playing field. But unbeknownst to them, this is no equal match.
The other combatant carries a silent confidence, an inner calm that should need only seconds to deflate the challenger.
Struedolf asked, "Has someone ever challenged you to something that they didn't know who are an expert at? If so how did it turn out for you/them?"
Pizza: a Bizarre, Constant Source of Competition
"A neighbor on my block in Brooklyn challenged me to a pizza bake-off. I recently catered pizza for my daughters school and word got around the neighborhood my pizza was pretty darn good."
"My first thought was, 'This guy is a Brooklyn native, my pizza will be shite compared to his!' But there was something about him bragging that I couldn't resist the challenge."
"He talked up how pizza was in his blood, how his dad ran the pizza place around the corner years ago. I remained silent and let my skills answer for themselves. We even had total strangers try our pizzas."
"Every last person chose my pizza over his."
"I never mentioned to him that I've worked in pizza places almost every day for the last thirty years. I never mentioned that when I'm not working at a pizza place I'm making pizzas at home at least once every two days."
"I never mentioned that at nine years old I knew that I wanted to be a pizza man. Here I am 45 and getting ready to start my own pizza business."
-- Yogisogoth
Something to Brag About?
"My office announced a laser tag team-building event, two weeks after I played in the laser tag (Ultrazone) national championships. Which were an actual thing in 1997." -- Fluxxed0
"This dude I went to high school with (I'm 30 now) makes almost weekly Facebook posts showing his laser tag scores and boasting about still being the champ. I just imagine him smashing 8-year-olds relentlessly." -- VinnyinJP
Of the Older Generation
"When working as a teacher I beat a lot of students in Pokémon battles, cause they didn't think of me being like 15 years ahead of them in fighting experience. Noobs." -- Amegami
"My nephew challenged me to Super Smash Bros Ultimate once. Once." -- maleorderbride
"This is how I trounce my younger siblings at Smash Bros(every game really)."
"F*cking teenagers, think they're hot shit, no way their old-ass big bro is gonna beat them this time. I HAVE BEEN PLAYING SINCE YOU WERE A BABY!"
"Oh you got a new game, cool, I played something a lot like it on a Play Station with potato graphics. Get wrecked." -- BlackWalrusYeets
What a Stupid Bet
"Someone at a bar bet me there were only 30 days in a particular month. $20 if I could prove them wrong right then (pre-cellphone days). I was born on the 31st of that month, showed them my drivers license."
-- SeminalSage
A Historical Shellacking
"My uncle challenged Jack Nicklaus to a golf game in college, without a clue. The humiliation burns him to this day." -- MC_Glamour
"I had a crush on a girl in high school. Asked her out on the typical first date for teenagers in my small hometown, bowling. I GOT MY A** HANDED TO ME."
"Completely unbeknownst to me, she had been playing in a league of some type since she was 6 years old and her dad had been a touring pro in the '80s. She was probably the best, if not top 3 bowlers in her age bracket in the state."
"My favorite part about the whole thing was that she played it off completely straight-faced the entire date and didn't explain anything until the 3rd almost perfect game she bowled." -- Ah_Fiddle-sticks
More Grateful than Proud
"I was a competitive swimmer for 14 years, including 4 years of NCAA, but I'm on the shorter side so people don't assume I was any good."
"Was at a friends house on a lake one summer, and a macho guy challenged me to race to a buoy in the middle of the lake, to prove... something, I guess."
"The lake is deceptively large, about a half mile across, so I warned him that if he isn't a strong swimmer it could be dangerous. He was running out of gas after about 2 minutes, so I offered to let him off the hook, but he insisted he would finish."
"I went to the buoy and was swimming back when I found him floundering, so I lifeguard swam him back to the house. His ego took a deserved hit that day."
Robbing the Collections Basket
"While not a pro, I'm pretty darn good at poker. The church I was at had a Poker night and I was just going to watch. They insisted I join the 25 cent game."
"Came home with $200 and they decided to never have a poker night again."
Shake Down
"A local mall had a portable climbing wall with a 'make it to the top and win $100' side. The route was actually pretty challenging. As I walked by the guy asked me if I'd like to try: 'Nobody has made it to the top, you think you can do it buddy.'"
"At the time I was ranked top 12 climber in my age group and kind of laughed to myself."
"After taking my $100 I then proceeded to call the rest of my climbing team and one by one they went to the mall and claimed their $100."
"After the 4th person they guy got suspicious and took the sign down."
Hiding in Plain Sight
"Basketball."
"So I'm actually pretty tall and I've played my whole life. In my twenties I was a pretty goofy stoner. I would show up to competitive opens gyms all over my cities and with my long hair and tall skinny body usually get picked last or near last."
"Well I can dribble, dunk, shoot threes and I'm 6'5". I was always asked back and never picked last when I went back."
-- tallz024
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk him about it.
Rules, rules, rules... we all need them yes, but some are just plain ridiculous. Of course life would be chaos without order, well more chaotic but let's not micro-manage every little thing. Of course every once and a while an unintentionally good surprise can spring from nonsense. Rule makers should really think long and hard before they implement anything severe. You never know when it's gonna bite you.
Redditor u/TabblespoonFarmer3 wanted to know how we could apply all "the rules" into our own lives by asking... People of Reddit, What stupid rule at your work/school backfired beautifully?Free Time
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDg5Ny9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODA5OTcxOX0.jfw8x_eqGqfSjc05ZesI5P-YI9oEhOSB0HVzYBF4PwY/img.gif?width=980" id="2cc53" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b70b5adb3c49f20f40e33de9256120a0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="320" data-height="240" />Michael Jordan Reaction GIFGiphy<p>My boss started putting "all staff required to start 15 mins earlier than indicated" on the roster. I started keeping track of my unpaid overtime and stung her for 3 paid days off. That's not required anymore. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lsdkob/people_of_reddit_what_stupid_rule_at_your/gorkcow?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">muthaclucker</a></p>The Drive
<p>I was working as a medical assistant at a private practice medical clinic. Our clinic manager wouldn't allow the new receptionist to drive to the bank to deposit cash. Made her walk carrying the money bag so that she couldn't "drive away with the money." Bizarre. I know. That went on for a few weeks. Then the receptionist was mugged and over $1000 in cash was stolen. She was allowed to drive after that. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lsdkob/people_of_reddit_what_stupid_rule_at_your/gorftxt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">IndyMazzy</a></p>Bad Policies
<p>Back in the early 00s, my high school implemented a policy that you had to wear your ID tag at all times. If you didn't have it on, you were sent home. So many students "lost" their ID tag to go grab food or skip a class. We were the only graduating class to wear them all four years. The policy ended soon after. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lsdkob/people_of_reddit_what_stupid_rule_at_your/gorcqon?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">sushinova</a></p>Just Google
<p>Not mine, but an old roommate of mine was a senior developer for a small company. It was an open secret that one of the other senior devs, a guy who had been there since the beginning, would sometimes spend time looking at plastic surgery photos--before/after shots, photos of active procedures, etc. <span></span></p>When at Starbucks
<p>I worked at Starbucks for like 5+ years before and during undergrad and at one point our district manager thought it was a good idea to implement a "just say yes" policy, where we literally weren't allowed to tell the customer no. Lasted for about 3 months and in that three months our unaccounted product and waste went up over 300% because when the POS didn't have a way to punch in a customer request we had to just do it anyways. </p>Extra Laps
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDk4OC9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDc2MjM3M30.UOoTP4s5njT6fwQpN7YVXhKHJWo2uD_KtN8SXJBfFWw/img.gif?width=980" id="d619f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5801e69bb7989f0ec00f31b7af769440" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="480" />animation swimming GIF by Percolate GalacticGiphy<p>The bottom floor of my secondary school was a square that had corridor all the way around. After some incident where a kid got knocked over, they implemented a one-way system. Unfortunately, they were Very Strict on enforcing it. If you accidentally walked past your class, you couldn't just turn around. They seemed very proud of their new rule... until everyone started showing up late for class because they had to do extra laps of the bottom floor. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lsdkob/people_of_reddit_what_stupid_rule_at_your/gor97o1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">FrosnPls</a></p>Missed Calls
<p>I worked on this company that had mandatory 1 hour lunch breaks. Since we ate on the premises, our lunch break was often 15 minutes or so. We tried negotiating having shorter lunch breaks so we could leave earlier and beat traffic. Next day an e-mail was sent from the own stating the fixed work and break hours for the whole team, and they were to be followed no exceptions.</p>Making Contact
<p>A place I used to work had a rule that executive-level staff needed to be contactable when on leave, so they had a section on the leave form for the address of where you'd be staying and a contact number.</p><p>Some knuckle-shuffler in HR decided it applied to all staff and the shenanigans began. People would put down the address and phone number of sex shops, sports grounds, medical clinics. I gave the latitude and longitude of the place I was going camping and the UHF channel my radio would be tuned to. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lsdkob/people_of_reddit_what_stupid_rule_at_your/gorbaea?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Flight_19_Navigator</a></p>In a Mini...
<p>Late 80's high school- rule was no shorts. Classmate came for an exam with basketball shorts on that were below her knees. Teacher made her go home to change. She came back in a micro mini skirt and wrote her exam. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lsdkob/people_of_reddit_what_stupid_rule_at_your/gorb4gr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Spellflinger2019</a></p>The Good Gang
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDk4NS9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDM2NTY3NX0.62DhHcplX3z9K2UTQmTu90xAA2FoUz0OEULzJrRRnAo/img.gif?width=980" id="22ea8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="da40850f9943bedaa78f06a42bc404da" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="336" data-height="237" />one piece pink GIFGiphy<p>A long while back, but my school banned the color pink because a bunch of students were wearing it one October and they thought it was a "gang" thing.</p><p>It was for breast cancer awareness month. The rule didn't go well for them. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lsdkob/people_of_reddit_what_stupid_rule_at_your/gori911?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">WaywardWriter</a></p>The naming process of new life is an enormous responsibility and can be an emotionally exhausting decision. This person is going to be glued to this "title" forever, or until they're tired of being saddled to it so they change it; when they're free of their parent's constant gaze. Thankfully I will never have children but I do have to name pets. And that is taxing as well. Thankfully there are people around who can set us all straight when we're not thinking straight.
Redditor u/Kubanochoerus wanted to hear about some of the bad ideas they were able to help avert by asking... Nurses and midwives of Reddit, have you ever tried to talk new parents out of a baby name? What was it?TINA!!!
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDMwMi9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzMzMDQ1MH0.tsr7EGvZjNsIJ22F7t7GruJyrRcQfxzwlXNwkCjXfio/img.gif?width=980" id="3f7f5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c6a780b51b9cd3888e7e641b0e723ca" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="360" />the best tina GIF by London Theatre DirectGiphy<p>My boyfriend's grandmother wanted to name her daughter Sunshine. The midwife said that wasn't allowed because "it wasn't a real name" and his grandmother had no other backup baby names. So, a few minutes later when she heard someone down the hall screaming "Tina", she named her daughter Tina because she couldn't think of anything else on the spot.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqh9nc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">goddesswithgatos</a></p>Poor Mo...
<p>Boss's friend named their kid Monster Galileo [last name]. Nurse tried to talk them out of it. Called in child services to talk them out of it. They insisted. Kid goes by Galileo. Honestly, I kind of like the sound of it for an adult or a performer's name but guy, being a kid named 'monster' has to be rough in school. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqh9jz?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">WeaselBit</a></p>Be Normal...
<p>My classmates mother was a maternity nurse and she has a couple who wanted to name their son "Collin" but wanted to give him a "unique" spelling for it. (I do not understand why parents do this. It doesn't make a boring name more interesting all it does is set your child up for lifelong inconvenience.) They spelled it out for her to put on the birth certificate C-O-L-O-N. <span></span></p>Listed
<p>In France there used to be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/11/style/IHT-the-ins-and-outs-of-french-first-names.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a list of names you had to choose from</a> (mostly based on that day's name saint and 3-4 others). Which is why there were so many Jean / Marc / Louis /Phillipe / Marie / Anne / Valerie, etc in France.</p><p>Now it's a free choice.... but <em>anyone</em> can ask a judge to cancel a name-choice and force the parent(s) to suggest one <em>the judge</em> finds acceptable. So no names like Coca-Cola, Xerox, Nutella, Sex Fruit, Devil, Blue Murder... PLUS the rejected name gets added to a "banned" list to streamline the rejection in the future. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqavqf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">LozNewman</a></p>Dirty...
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDY5Mi9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODkzNzM2N30.tqMPtERdRpTBQfo738SJ2xd8mWMY8hqx5Z6jQg8aFmQ/img.gif?width=980" id="51b84" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b854372f0e30251184c776d4de3c6366" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="270" />Mud Caterpillar GIF by Mitteldeutscher RundfunkGiphy<p>Not a nurse, but as a med student a patient wanted to name her child Mudpiles. The nurses silently protested and waited a few days. Mom changed her mind. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gopcqib?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">bigpsych5150</a></p>Midwife Down
<p>I once had a student named Linoleum. Some midwife dropped the ball on that one. My brother wanted to name our soon to be younger brother Corn Peas and our parents almost went with it because they felt bad about asking for his input and then rejecting it. Fortunately, they got over that and passed on the name. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gops5kf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BigOrangeBall</a></p>Hey Vi...
<p>And here my mom was talked out of naming me Violet. "Sounds like an old lady" they said. I got one of the most common names of the 80's. When I went to college I lived in a hallway where there were literally 6 of us. My roommate had the same first name too.</p><p>I do like my name because it sounds good with my last name but I have only once met a Violet in 37 years and she's my friend's niece. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gopey2v?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Maleficent_Mink</a></p>All the Dylans...
<p>Not in the medical field, but a teacher. There are certain names that each teacher avoids because we've had a student (or seven) with that name who were difficult in one way or another.</p><p>One year, there were four Dylans in the same cohort and they were all hell on wheels. One of the teachers at that grade level had a baby with his wife that spring, and she named the kid Dylan. The rest of us were like, "didn't you vehemently veto that?" </p>Oh Katrina
<p>I had a coworker named Trina. When she was pregnant, she told me that she and her husband had decided to name the baby Latrine. I had to explain to her that she was naming her poor baby after the hole in the ground that soldiers defecate into. She was horrified and changed it to Katrina. Two days after the kid was born, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqkn8n?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">SpecificMost19</a></p>Pegged
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDY5MS9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTY1NTE0M30.SQZ_yuSv01Fa-4XVp2LM5aF76d34BtyCX3b-We4t3FU/img.gif?width=980" id="7e2ce" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="43dd38cdba5c93d0a4e47b395da64b21" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="320" data-height="270" />Oh No You Didnt GIF by happydogGiphy<p>I have a false leg. My parents had to be talked out of calling me 'Peggy' by the midwife. I was born missing a leg. I was given my first physical false leg in a year, but it was always obvious the leg wasn't there! </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gopsck4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">orangemessy</a></p>People Describe The Most Basic Things That Humanity Just Figured Out Relatively Recently
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay |
I sometimes marvel at how much society has advanced. Smartphones have only been a part of everyday life for the last decade, but you'd think it was always this way. My mother was a child at the time of the moon landing, which really wasn''t all that long ago, and she recalls watching it take place and thinking she would never see anything grander than that in her lifetime.
After Redditor notokidoki_ks asked the online community, "What is something that seems basic, but that humanity figured out only recently?" people shared their observations.
"That doctors washing their hands..."
<p>That doctors washing their hands after going to the toilet increases survival rates significantly during surgical procedures.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3pfd5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3"></a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3pfd5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">nbfox3137</a></p>"We are going back..."
<p>Glass. Some cultures have had glassware for a long time while others developed without it. Japan and China are great examples of not having it and it impacts their architecture design as they did not have glass pane windows. China also has had arguably some of the best ceramics artisans because of the need for stone wear where glass cups would have worked.</p><p>We are going back a couple hundred years here but that's still fairly recent in terms of mankind's history.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4b1zo?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">666pool</a></p>"Two years ago..."
<p>Two years ago scientists learned that tongues can smell. They can detect some odors as part of the tasting process.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp40g3b?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Cattlenfell</a></p>"Scientists knew that nutrition deficiencies..."
<p>All vitamins were discovered between 1913 and 1948.</p><p>Scientists knew that nutrition deficiencies were causing diseases, but couldn't figure out what was deficient. They fed mice highly purified food, but the mice failed to thrive until milk was added, leading to the theory that there was some life-sustaining, but unidentified, component in milk that was not present in the other food. That led to decades of speculation and research until the first vitamin (A) was discovered in 1913.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4chtt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Enreni37001</a></p>"There's a reason..."
<p>How to tell if someone is dead.</p><p>There's a reason people used to keep family members who they thought had passed in their home for weeks before burying them.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3t7tk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Ms_khal2</a></p>But the smell!
<p>What about the smell?</p><p>This is how you know my modern sensibilities would doom me if I happened to be a time traveler and got stuck in the past.</p>"The earliest cutlery..."
<p>Cutlery that doesn't make the food taste awful, and isn't ridiculously expensive.</p><p>Gold and silver cutlery were useful to the rich (besides being a display of wealth) because they could eat without affecting the taste of the food. Copper, brass, tin etc. all really strongly affect the flavour of the food.</p><p>The earliest cutlery is some 4,000 years old, but for most of that time, very few people used it; instead they'd eat with their hands.</p><p>Stainless steel was only invented in the 1800s, and its high resistance to acid and no discernible taste made it suitable for cutlery.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4u2e0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Ishmael128</a></p>"That hitting kids..."
<p>That hitting kids is bad, and does not enforce positive behavior. Some knew this instinctively, but mostly, nope.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3utd2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">pearlescence</a></p>"There simply isn't..."
<p>A scientific understanding of what culture is and how it works.</p><p>Before the 1800s or so, people just assumed their culture was the one, single, objectively real and correct way to live, therefore all other cultures were objectively wrong and the people weren't really human.</p><p>It was common for anthropologists to encounter remote societies that insisted "The people in the next valley are monsters, they are not human" - and if you went into that valley, they'd <em>say the same thing</em> about the people you were just talking to.</p><p>That made it pretty easy for actual social scientists to grasp how cultures define reality, but even now the average person has very little social science education and people tend to still believe their cultural norms are 100% real, natural, and objectively correct - i.e., look at how angry people get when you explain that gender isn't biological, it's cultural.</p>"People commonly think..."
<p>How dogs drink water. People commonly think dogs make their tongue into a spoon to lap it up but the tongue curls backward.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4emag?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">inkseep1</a></p>I took care of a friend's dog very recently...
<p>...and now I'm poring over the image in my head of her lapping at the water in her bowl. <em>It's so cool</em>.<span></span></p>"Pretty much everything used in statistics..."
<p>Loads of math that gets used all the time. Pretty much everything used in statistics wasn't known until the 20th century. We had a good grasp of probability theory and a few distributions, but not many statistical tests as we know them today. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_tasting_tea" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The idea of a null hypothesis as it is used today wasn't codified until 1935</a>.</p><p>Same goes for a lot of linear algebra, computers kinda made linear algebra really important, so people are still discovering heaps of useful things about it today.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp5ku4h?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Cytokine_storm</a></p>Now that we've gone through all of these examples,
<p>I can't help but think of others, such as the fact that the chocolate chip cookie wasn't invented until the 1930s, and that pockets in clothing didn't become a thing until roughly 500 years ago. I know, right?</p><p>Got some of your own observations to share? Feel free to sound off in the comments below!</p>If there's one thing I think most of humanity can agree on, it's that people are annoying. People are the worst. You'd think they'd get the simplest concepts into their heads but they don't... and then they have the audacity to fight you on it. Take this pandemic, for example. Why are we still arguing over whether people should wear masks? The fact that so many people refuse to wear a piece of cloth is ridiculous when there's a deadly virus going around. What's up with that?
After Redditor moneybot13 asked the online community, "What are you sick of explaining to other people?" people shared their stories.