People Debunk Common Myths About Their Profession
Reddit user Madalyn_Robert asked: 'What's a myth about your profession that you want to debunk?'
People tend to have a lot of opinions about other people's workplaces, whether or not they've ever worked in that industry themselves.
There are some professions, like teaching and retail, where people will assume they know all there is to know, even if they've never set foot in that position, and there are others, like the CIA, where people view these positions as elusive and awe-inspiring.
But there are beliefs that people share that frustrates those who are actually in the industry.
Redditor Madalyn_Robert asked:
"What's a myth about your profession that you want to debunk?"
Veterinarian Secrets
"Veterinary medicine is not a happy-go-lucky career choice where you get to deal with cute animals rather than people. Most of your patients are sick or scared, and every case involves a fraught negotiation with their stressed-out human."
- Drabby
The Truth Behind Anesthesia
"Anesthesiologist: you're not asleep you are anesthetized. When you're asleep and someone stabs you, you wake up."
- Drsuprane
"Even more terrifying, anesthesia doesn’t exactly prevent you from feeling what’s happening, it (in effect) disrupts the timing clock that allows different parts of the brain to talk to each other. You won’t be able to remember it or be conscious to experience it, but somewhere some part of your brain is receiving those pain signals and is trying desperately to tell the rest of your brain what’s happening."
- Steaveee
Preventative > Reactive
"Maintenance is worth doing and is definitely worth paying for."
"People say, 'I don't know why we pay those maintenance guys, nothing ever breaks around here!'"
"The reason Germany and Japan (and South Korea) became and remain such manufacturing powerhouses is because they know the value of maintenence. If you keep everything in clean good working order, you end up with minimum down time. Working maintenance into manufacturing schedules keeps output level, because you have no unexpected downtime."
"It's the same for your car or your home. Setting aside time and resources for maintenance means you won't lose unexpected time and resources when things break. Good maintenance will spot things before they break and switch them out. That's worth paying for."
- TriviaBanal
The Power of a Reboot
"IT. Rebooting is NOT a waste of time and solves a remarkable number of problems."
- gfhggdssgg
"Instead of using shutdown, use restart."
"Modern versions of windows have something called fast startup, which basically hibernates when you shut down. You don't get the benefit of a reboot."
- gerwen
Giant, Flying Puzzles
"Commercial aircraft are built almost entirely by hand. Like 96%. There's very little automation in the process."
- Kalepsis
"Authentic, handcrafted commercial airliners."
- Keyspam102
"Free range, GRASS FED, Authentic, handcrafted commercial airliners!"
- Wiggly96
Doing Library Things
"I am a public librarian. While curating books is still a portion of the job, much of it these days is taken up by database assistance and training, program development and teaching, and public education. It’s much closer to school teaching, but for adults and without grading homework, than it was in the past."
- SmallDarkCloud
Rate the Emergency
"If you go to the ER via ambulance, it does NOT mean you will be seen quicker."
"ERs take the sickest people first, definitely not the ones who come in by ambulance first."
- DoIHaveDementia
Not in Charge
"Teachers have very little say in anything. We advocate the best we can but most of the time, it’s out of our hands, including holding children back who desperately need help."
- chasindreams22
Define "Recycled"
"Print industry. Your paper isn’t as recycled as you think it is."
- mullett
True Lawyers
"That all lawyers make absurd amounts of money. The ones that won't sell their entire life for big bucks tend to make pretty average money."
- dudeblackhawk
"Yes! Some months I barely make enough for all my expenses. Some months I make a lot of money. Some months I make absolutely nothing. Having a private practice in my country means financial instability. The Estate does pay me to represent people who can't afford a lawyer but it pays very bad and takes forever to get that money."
"Also, we're not all like in the movies. Most of us actually care about the people we represent and we try our best to help them."
- ZucchiniAnxious
Not Everything Is Memorized
"I can write code. I cannot debug most of your Windows problems without googling them."
- Resies
Underpaid and Overworked
"School Custodian here and we are NOT overpaid cleaners. What would you pay someone that can paint, Sheetrock, tape/mud, patch concrete/asphalt, operate/repair commercial landscaping/snow removal equipment, operate/repair commercial custodial equipment, restore various types of floors including vct/hardwood/carpet/tile, replace toilets/faucets, air filters, belts, trim/fell trees, shovel roofs, etc?"
"Not all of us are cleaners/janitors, which are vital and underpaid as well. Some of us are Jack/Jill of all trades and you want to pay us peanuts?"
"All employees of a school are important and administrators shouldn't try to balance their budgets on the backs of workers when I've seen an exponential amount of administrative salary and stupid purchasing decisions, not to mention unfunded mandates from the state."
- Nutella_Zamboni
Speech-to-Language Complexity
"There is sooooo much more to the speech-language pathologist scope of practice than working with kids who stutter or can't say their 'r's."
"An entire half of the field is in the adult medical setting working with people who have dementia, swallowing disorders, oral cancer, strokes, Parkinson's disease, and voice disorders, plus some other niche areas like transgender voice or accent modification."
"The pediatric half of the field also works with AAC devices, social skills, literacy development, syntax, executive functioning, writing, feeding, and more."
- bibliophile222
Realistic Therapy
"Therapist here, specifically a couples therapist."
"Therapy is not just about venting or having someone agree with you all the time to make you feel better. Yes, we validate and listen and venting happens at times. But we also challenge you, encourage you to set goals and make change, and sometimes give 'homework.'"
"Therapy is an active process and if you want to see change you have to be willing to make change. I think the media has really warped people's ideas and they expect miracles to happen by showing up without any effort. I wish I could do that for you! But I need you to partner with me to make things happen."
"Also, very few therapists actually have you lay on a couch."
- Dependent-Citron4444
Well, Then.
"Scientist (more specifically, molecular biologist in biotech)."
"I am not hiding the cure for cancer, and I don't know s**t about actual medicine."
- DaOleRazzleDazzle
It's surprising how much we often think we know about other people's professions, and it's probably annoying to them to hear misconceptions day in and day out from the general public.
This is a great reminder of how much we can learn from each other, even just in the workplace.
There's an endless supply of knowledge in the world, and we're bound to get some of it wrong.
But it sure is annoying when a person continues to believe false knowledge after it's been disproven.
Already annoyed, Redditor Aarunascut asked:
"What's an annoying myth that people still cling to?"
Hobbies, Who?
"That having hobbies as an adult is only worth it if it brings in money. No, I love my meaningless and expensive hobbies, even if they don't bring in any income."
- Sneezy_baby
Joy Is Worthy
"I've been interrogated about why I'm a trained swordfighter."
"Because it's fun, you dolt!"
"I'm not going to try to rationalize about how it's an effective way to stay in shape or how sword fighting trains skills used in practical self-defense, or how studying the manuals is an intellectually-stimulating academic pursuit."
"I'm just an adult who likes playing with swords."
- Drach88
History Hidden Under Paint
"Ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture being pure white marble."
"They are now. That's because art dealers long, long ago washed the paint off."
- Needydadthrowaway
Is MSG Really So Bad?
"My grandmother saw me adding MSG to a curry and the look on her face was like I was pouring rat poison into the pot."
"Meanwhile, she has basically shaved her diet down to only food with very high natural MSG content. Miso soup with kelp seasoned with soy sauce is her go-to meal when she doesn't want to think about it, her backup is a soup made from dried fish, tomatoes, gochujang, and kimchi."
"Inconsistent, I tell you."
- dudemanguy301
Scientific Fact or Idiom?
"The saying that, 'Lightning NEVER strikes twice in the same place.'"
- Back2Bach
Wait an Hour to Swim after Eating
"I was on a swim team as a kid, and if I ate and swam too close together, I most definitely got abdominal cramps."
"I always attributed it to the intensity of swimming because when this happened, this was with full-on swimming (either competing or training), and properly swimming uses basically every skeletal muscle you have."
"Eating and hopping in the pool for a float or to screw around with friends never gave me trouble."
- bigalfry
When Life Gives You Lemons
"Don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad!"
"I don’t want your d**n lemons, what the h**l am I supposed to do with these?"
"Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!"
- BismarkUMD
Buns Bunny vs. the Optometrist
"That carrots give you good eyesight."
"But have you ever seen a rabbit with glasses?? No?? It works! (sarcastic comment)"
- TimBambantiki
Alpha Males
"The alpha theory for wolves, people still believe it even though the person who made the theory took it back. The ‘alpha’ of wolves is actually just the pack’s parents, and the pack is usually made up of their offspring."
"But this is a useful myth. Because the people who continue to espouse it and live their life by 'I'm an alpha' ideology gives a demonstrable reason to avoid them."
- MalkavianPrinceofJC
10% of Our Brain
"I hate this one. Our brain is a massive, fuel-guzzling organ that's full of folds and wrinkles to increase its size. To make an organ that big and then only use 10% is stupid."
- PM_;EOttoVonBismarck
Missing Persons
"That you need to wait 24 hours to file a missing person’s report."
"Yeah, in fact, it's the exact opposite, the first 24 hours are the most important."
- Aesk19
Define "Undercover"
"An undercover cop has to tell you they're a cop if you ask them."
- No_Instance_1851
Dietary Needs
"My grandma told me not to cross my legs because the baby wouldn't have room. I told her the baby was making me uncomfortable and I was going to move into whatever position I needed and that is what is best for both of us."
"My sister was even more annoying. She thought she had better medical knowledge because of nursing school, but she really didn't."
"We were at a friend's wedding and I ordered my steak medium well (you aren't supposed to have it medium) and it came medium. The risk is super low. I decided that sending it back to the kitchen would make it more likely to have an issue than eating it as is."
"She said something. I am diabetic. I didn't eat the wedding cake, but I had a chocolate-covered strawberry. A single chocolate-covered strawberry. She was asking if I really should be eating that."
"Yes. I should. The less than 20g of carbs were within my limits, and I was moving around all day and I needed the sugar!"
"To be fair, my family isn't in my life anymore because they are abusive and toxic people. So many pregnancy myths are about control. Pregnant women already have such a loss of control and agency. It is so dehumanizing."
"S**tty people use it to erode the confidence of first-time parents. They want to seem wise and relied on others for advice. They want you to think they know more than you and get you to trust them over yourself."
- Viperbunny
What Free Lifetime Pass?
"If you give birth in Disney World, YOU DO NOT GET A FREE LIFETIME PASS."
- mrkrabs445
Natural Births
"I have issues with the unassisted birth crowd."
"They say, 'Your body was made for this. Women gave birth for thousands of years without hospitals.'"
"Yeah, and the mortality rates for both birthing parents and babies were way higher than it is now. They also typically had midwives and doulas with them, not this unassisted bulls**t."
- NerfRepellingBoobs
The world is constantly overflowing with information, and we're bound to get some of it wrong some of the time.
But pieces of information that are repeatedly misinterpreted, as shown here, can be wildly concerning.
People Break Down The Biggest Myths They Learned In School That Were Later Disproved
Let's face it, we were lied to in school with some of the lessons we were taught.
When we grow up and learn the errors of our ways, we must then strive to relearn the things we thought we know.
How do these myths in education even get started?
It feels like we really shouldn't start listening to anything significant until college.
That's why I stopped paying attention in middle school.
RedditorAthompson9866realized it was time we all discussed and unleashed some truths.
"What is the biggest myth you learned in school that has now been disproven?"
And then... BOOM
Ted-Ed Animation GIFGiphy"This is super specific but I had a biology teacher who told us the human genome was so complicated that they'd never be able to map it and then they did like... 3 years later."
seanofkelley
Identities
"That Dutch people have weird family names because Napoleon forced them to have family names and they chose the silliest ones they could think of."
nondedjuuu
"Nicknames + place names/German names that got turned into Dutch words. For example 'Naaktgeboren' (born naked) is probably from German 'Nachgeboren' (after born), meaning a child that was born after its father died. It also was already in use before the French invasion, like many of the weird family names."
nondedjuuu
Behavior Patrol
"That if you did anything bad it would go on your permanent record."
Kashhvortex
"In retrospect this single lie probably prevents 80% of misbehavior in school, or in my case heavily incentivized avoiding getting caught."
mechapoitier
"As someone who worked in schools on the record side, this is true to an extent- most schools send discipline reports so that admin and counselors at each level could look back at your behavior from however long you were in that district- sometimes they transfer it to other schools if you move too. It doesn’t go to the college level but can impact rec letters and if you are expelled that is technically a legal process and can be shared as well."
KawaiileesiOnTwitch
Revolution!
"Just a few years before the young Einstein completely disrupted physics, the physicists of that time were saying that everything about physics was discovered and understood. That research in physics was dead/dying... Then came in quick successions: general relativity and quantum physics... total revolution!"
PedanticYes
Head Forward
nose tissues GIFGiphy"That you should tilt your head back when you have a nose bleed. Nah bro."
Illustrious_Sir9612
"First time I did that, I vomited. Learned immediately. Never did that again. Whoever suggested that deserves to step on lego for all eternity."
II_Daisy_II
Now that is a dangerous lie... not to mention the taste!
Awake!
College Sports Sport GIF by Sealed With A GIFGiphy"Bears don't actually sleep then entire time they hibernate."
Tac0Gat0r
"Right?! Man, I was taught that any animal that hibernates is just sound asleep through the whole winter. Imagine my surprise when I learned the truth."
Athompson9866
'Lucy'
"I had a biology teacher try and convince a class of 15 year olds that we humans use 10% of our brain. We told her that she shouldn't base her lesson on 'Lucy' and we Googled it to show her that she was wrong. I got kicked out of the class for pulling out my phone. Had a fun chat with the principal."
Jimvlah
Counting Up
"That the metric system would be fully adopted in the US by 1995."
PinkRoseBouquet
"Interestingly enough I learned today that the US measures it’s pools in meters like sane people so today I stupidly assumed they just use metric for swimming and I walked into a 1.76 mile open water swim thinking it was 1.76 kilometres and ended up doing a way longer swim then I expected but it’s ok I got a cool shirt and came like 200th out of like 700 people so that’s cool."
AffectionateAir9071
99 Flavors
"Mine is that your tongue has specific areas that taste only specific flavors. Like there was a spot on your tongue that only tasted sweet, one that only taste salty, one that only tasted bitter, etc"
Athompson9866
"I immediately started experimenting with my tongue during meals after learning that at school. My conclusion was: That's complete bs. Lol."
Friendly-Taco
Wrong!
Special Project Work GIF by ABC NetworkGiphy"One day our High School Physics teacher wrote on the blackboard 'Everything you know is wrong.' 40+ years later I think he might have been onto something, but then again maybe not."
thitherfrom
The more you know. The better life can be.
Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
How can an entire race stay so gullible for so long?
There are lies that we are still being fed and swallowing to this day.
Myths have a long shelf life, even when proven false.
We need to start digging deeper and then settle with reality.
I guess childhood naivete really is hard to let go of.
RedditorGlamourzZwanted to expose some long overdue truths. They asked:
"What’s a myth/pseudoscientific belief that has been debunked many times, but people still believe?"
Step on a crack. Break your mother's back. Lies. I know. I've tried. Kidding.
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis, no it won't!"
Cancer-Cinema
"I crack my fingers all the time and because I'm hyper mobile my knees crack every time I bend down more or less. But I love the feeling of it."
l52286
Fluid Scam
"Detox teas. Liver and kidneys do that for you."
BlacGirlMagik
"'Detox' is a scam warning word to me with 'cleanse' right behind it. I might be willing to believe what I'm being told about a product but the moment they use those words they've lost all credibility. The funniest experience I ever had with a product like that was a coworker telling me about this amazing drink that cleaned your intestines of waste that somehow got stuck and built up."
"The 'proof' that it worked was these long nasty looking things they crapped out after drinking this supposed miracle cure which they of course took pictures of to show everybody. I looked into it a bit and found that the primary ingredient they all used was the same as is used in gelatin. People were essentially making jello molds out of their colon and then showing off the results."
Tangent_
Greens
"Spinach has a ton of iron compared to other vegetables. The scientist missed a decimal place and he said it has 10 times as much as it really does. That’s why Popeye loves his spinach. It actually has the same amount of iron as every other green leafy vegetable."
Nettius2
On the tongue
masterchef junior taste GIF by HULUGiphy"'Taste zones.' All taste buds are all over your tongue; there is no such thing as a 'sweet zone,' a 'sour zone,' etc."
berael
Thank goodness that knuckle one is a lie. I can't stop myself.
LIES!
bonnie gordon GIF by AlphaGiphy"-- Caffeine stunts your growth."
"-- Pretty much any 'food pyramid' promoted by the western world prior to ~1998."
sskoog
“evidence”
"Graphology. That you can determine traits about a person by their handwriting. I did an entire research paper on it. Plenty of 'evidence' in the common sensational news, but not a single damn article or shred of evidence from the academic research area, excepting 'yeah no we tried it and didn’t find any correlations.'"
Commander_Meh
Columbus Who?
"Europeans knew the world to be round in Columbus' time. Columbus just calculated the circumference very incorrectly and is lucky there was a whole other continent to run into before he and his men ran out of supplies. To be abundantly clear, the Ancient Greeks figured it out."
"So did the Chinese, the Egyptians, the Persians, and probably the Maya and many many others. My point is that 'proving the Earth wasn't flat' is a myth. Anyone thinking the Earth was flat had nothing to do with Columbus' bid to find a westward passage to East Asia. It is a myth that people thought the world was flat in his time."
Lord0fHats
Doggie Colors
"So my ex is a vet. Dogs can actually view pretty much all of the visible light spectrum from red to blue. They just don't see colour as vividly as humans do, so they don't distinguish very well between different shades. Blue and Violet they can just make out. Indigo and violet are impossible for them to distinguish."
"See also: the difference between reds and pinks and the innumerable shades of blue, green and blue-green."
Apocryph761
Fly High
Honey Bee Loop GIF by Kev LaveryGiphy"The thing with the bumblebee technically not being able to fly because of aerodynamics. Used as a kind of motivational tale about overcoming obstacles."
"Turns out, modeling a bumblebee as a kind of plane is a bad idea, you know with the moving wings and stuff. If you think of a bumblebee as similar to a helicopter then all of a sudden the aerodynamic calculations work out and the bumblebee can fly."
Fridge_ov_doom
Blue
"Your blood is blue. C'mon people, you're saying blood turns red when exposed to oxygen, but neglect the main fact. Hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen to your body's organs and tissues and transports carbon dioxide from your organs and tissues back to your lungs."
wolfpack123343
Still good for you...
“'Tomatoes aren’t vegetables, they’re fruit.'"
"They’re both. They’re botanically fruit, but vegetable is not a botanical category, it’s a culinary one."
MarvelousOxman
"I just don't get why we single out tomatoes. Beans, peppers, squash, corn, and plenty of others are technically fruits, but for some reason, 'a tomato is actually a fruit' is the fun fact we teach to kids."
FutureBlackmail
Shave It
"That hair grows back darker and thicker if you shave it. Only hormones change hair consistency and color. Laser and electrolysis can do the thinning and removal. Every argument for this myth is a misconception and easily proved otherwise by those who actually know about hair and how it works."
supagirl277
Liquid
Water Douse GIFGiphy"That water has memory and feelings.. my mom believes that..."
dadika08
"If you Google 'water memory' a bunch of 'resources' will show up explaining this."
meetmyfriendme
I Debunk It
"Does the lack of scientific evidence that could prove efficacy count as debunking? If so I could point to astrology. Also, fun fact, the Reagan white house had an official astrologer that gave advice occasionally on government policies."
etherend
"Not really 'official,' but she did have way more influence on things (particularly scheduling) than many actual White House aides."
"Nancy Reagan really believed in her, so staff had to take her advice and make it seem like it came from the president's advisors, so the public wasn't aware of the astrologer's influence. Pretty weird situation altogether. Her name was Joan Quigley if you're interested in reading more about it."
Ragnarok2kx
Family Structures
"The Alpha Wolf. The guy who initially published this stuff put his entire life into disproving himself, but the myth is out here and a lot of people ate it up. From personal experience there's a lot of overlap with the bootstrap-believers."
"Wolf packs in nature are most often family structures and they're very social creatures. Here's a source: https://sciencenorway.no/ulv/wolf-packs-dont-actually-have-alpha-males-and-alpha-females-the-idea-is-based-on-a-misunderstanding/1850514"
raxeira-etterath
Man's Worst Friend
"That dogs are a good judge of character. Hitler had dogs that loved him."
BlueRFR3100
"I mean he was probably lovely to his dogs, it was every other human in existence he was an **shole towards Dogs won't care that you are a monster to millions of other human beings, as long as you treat them right - dog's can't read, or get onto twitter, so cannot form opinions of their owners based on other people."
ThatOne749
Did he give up?
"Homeotherapy. It's based on one quack theory that toxins that cause symptoms similar to symptoms from an illness, will cure you of that illness! That's not how it works. The guy who originated the theory went on to kill people with this nonsense. Did he give up? No, he was a trier."
"So he amended his theory to; a dilution of the toxin that is so dilute none of the toxin remains will cure you. Because it gets more effective the less there is! If they dilute it so much that there's no active ingredient left, they claim that the water or sugar 'remembers' the effect of the active ingredient. But only if you slap each dilution!"
"This bull is killing people today. They are forgoing effective modern medicine, because they are told sugar pills and water or alcohol drops will save them."
n3m0sum
Cheers Anyway...
Red Wine GIFGiphy"That drinking red wine is healthy. Debunked a decade ago: people who drink wine eat better than people who drink beer. Hence the first group will have a slightly better health, but that's not due to the wine. Alcohol is a poison. And I love that poison..."
Apotak
Now the truth shall set us free. Spread the good words.
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