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Common sense might need a rebrand. Because these days, it feels more like a rare superpower than something everyone has.
Case in point: this viral Reddit thread, where people shared the basic life skills adults should know… but somehow don’t. From cooking and following simple instructions to reading a regular clock or even remembering to wash their hands it’s a surprising mix of shocking, funny, and downright baffling examples.
Scroll on for the skills people can’t believe aren’t universal and see if you’d add a few more to the list.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Critical thinking. Too many people just taking information that is spoon-fed to them and accepting it as fact. Take 30 seconds and think things through.
HawaiianShirtsOR:
"The computer isn't working!"
Did it give you an error message?
"It says 'click OK to continue.' What should I do?"
Click OK.
"Are you sure?"
RELATED:
#2
Cooking. People treat the ability of cooking as some amazing skill that few have, but cooking for yourself is one of the most basic tools you should have to be able to keep yourself alive.
Great-Wishbone-9923:
I was a traveling chef for 13 years, teaching people how to cook, in their own homes, using their own tools.
People are super f**king afraid of the kitchen. They think if you can’t make a gourmet dish right away, you can’t make grilled cheese. It’s crazy how many people thought cooking was hard, until I showed them.
Olive Moon 4 months ago
I agree. However, I think in today’s world people (especially parents) come home exhausted. There’s still the household chores, and spending a lot of time preparing meals is just put on the back burner. My daughter is a great cook, she’s just too freaking tired to start preparing and cooking a meal when she gets home. As is her husband. This is our world, now.
#3
I’d say basic fact checking. People don’t seem to know how to check a source or multiple sources and validate something. When I do it people look at me like I’m Gandalf , what wizardry is this???
TomCatInTheHouse:
"How do we know we can trust those sources though?" is a common response I've received.
#4
I'm a guy. The older I get the more it bemuses me that some men view cooking and keeping their place clean as "woman's work".
It's not "woman's work" for a guy to be able to sustain himself. And no woman ever looked at the apartment of a guy who lived like a pig and didn't know his way around a kitchen and thought "Wow! What a manly man!"
Expecting a grown woman to do all your cooking and cleaning is how a 7 year-old child views their mother. We're not supposed to stay at that stage of development our entire lives.
#5
Spacial awareness and etiquette in public spaces. 100% of the time people gather in walkways forcing anyone using the walkways / entryways (entryways always at bars or parties - the bar could be empty while the entryway is impassible) to walk around them. That, or they stop walking right in front of you as well not checking (as they would/should if they were in a car) to look to see if someone is coming before crossing pathways. It’s so simple and yet it seems as if it’s flat out impossible for people to acknowledge.
pah1027:
Same with carts in stores. Evidently everyone thinks they are the only one in the store aisles.
#6
Simple finances. Not about investing or interest rates or that. But basically...yes you can afford this..no you cannot afford this...yes if you get this on sale, you save money...yes, if you cut out a Starbucks a day, you save money...if you pay off your credit card, you will have more money after.
HMSSpeedy1801:
If you buy something you didn't otherwise want or need simply because it was on sale, you didn’t “save money.”
#7
Simple grammar.
You’re vs. your.
To, two, too.
Saw vs. seen
Have vs. of.
SlapThatA**e:
It mostly happens because majority don't know or just don't care about turning off "auto correct" function on their phones.
#8
Have a quick confrontational conversation that will take less than 5 minutes and prevent a lifetime of misunderstandings and awkwardness.
Seriously...why can't people just do it?
fitblubber:
Because my experience of confrontational conversations was my dad getting into massive fights . . . every single bloody time.
But yes, you're right. It's a great skill to have.
#9
Self reflection, being able to grow.
Delicious-Trip-384:
Many people are content to just say "well that's the way I am" because it's easier than recognizing that they're s**tty people. Working on yourself is hard work and you have to face some uncomfortable things about yourself. Most people are too contented and weak to actually work on themselves.
BookFanatic 4 months ago
Which do you think is harder? Recognizing you're a s****y person, or actively trying to change that?
#10
Make/take a call in public without using speaker phone.
Teejay717:
I can't take any calls in public at all... I don't know why, it just makes me feel distracted like a bus might be barreling down the sidewalk or something and my situational awareness is compromised because I'm on the phone lol. It's weird but I just can't talk on the phone in public without feeling anxiety.
To your point though, yeah people who talk on speaker are rude.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I went to grad school with the researcher who did all the distracted driving and tired driving research. I never use my cell while driving because I'll have to answer to Dave.
Rick Murray 4 months ago
If I'm out and my phone wobbles (it doesn't ring) then swipe to red. They can leave a message and I'll get back....maybe, someone. Most people that might call know I prefer texts or emails to speaking.
#11
Reading.
I don't mean being illiterate, the number of people I see walk up to doors with signs telling them it's locked or the wrong way or please go find an employee, and they struggle for several minutes without reading the signs.
TomCatInTheHouse:
Yeah. But honestly there are so many signs hung everywhere now for everything that I think a lot of people have just tuned them out.
Myoviridae 4 months ago
I am agreeing with the reply on this post. I have tried to open the (locked) door to a gas station convenience mart even though there was a sign posted saying they did not have internet and were therefore closed. The reason I did this was that there are at least 10 signs on/around the door advertising alcohol/cigarettes/vapes/food and I have learned just to ignore them.
#12
Speaking specifically about the USA, an entirely car dependent nation.
You know how many adults have pulled up to my shop over the years and asked me to put air in their tires? While parked next to the complimentary free air pump in the parking lot. That when pointed out to them, they say they don't know how to use?
I'm sorry, you're a grown a*s adult and you can't manage to put air into your car tires? The most basic of maintenance on one of the most expensive things you own?
#13
When they lack basic manners. It doesn’t matter if we come from different walks of life etc etc. Having BASIC MANNERS is the bare minimum of being human.
#14
Washing your hands after using a bathroom. D**n disgusting and I see men do it all the time…
trb15a78:
I've fired more people than I care to admit from the restuarant industry because of this. Simply will not stand for it.
Moana Manana 4 months ago
I saw a documentary on a German TV where they had a hidden camera in the sink area. When a man just walks past the sink without wasching his hand, a camera team is approaching him asking why he didn't wash his hands and even show him proof he didnt... One guy simply answered: "mine is clean." I can't remember any other answer but that one....
#15
Understanding when it is not a good time to ask questions. But doing what you are told.
If the tone your partner is using is urgent enough, and:
- Is telling you to pack your things and go
- Or to close the car window in a red light
- Or to not go through a dark alley, ...
YOU FIRST DO IT!!
Then you ask questions.
Rick Murray 4 months ago
No, first pull out your sword. Second, beckon with your free hand while saying "come get some". Wait, am I in the wrong genre here?
#16
Basic navigation, without a GPS.
I live in the middle of nowhere on a mountain - cell service is spotty. This situation has happened no less than 3 times in the past year, including yesterday:
I have a DoorDash order on the way. It is getting close to the promised delivery time. I get a call from DoorDash - the driver needs to speak with me. I answer.
Driver: uh yeah....I can't find your house, and my GPS stopped working so....
Me: no worries - where are you? I can talk you in.
Driver: I'm on already.
Me: oh okay, well just keep coming up - we live a little past the top.
Driver: yeah I went up there and I didn't see it.
(I should note here that ALL of the mailboxes on the mountain road I live on are GLARINGLY obvious, and it was daytime.)
Me: ummm then you just didn't come far enough. Did you go past ?
Driver: no, but I couldn't find it.
Me: okay but house numbers keep counting - you just have to keep going until you find
Driver: yeah but my GPS went out so...
Me: right but if you are looking for 2000 and the numbers are going 1990, 1992, 1994, then you know you're heading in the right direction to reach 2000. So...you just have to keep coming up.
Driver: well my GPS stopped working so...
Of the 3 times - 2 of them I had to literally stay on the phone while they drove on the correct road in the correct direction, insisting over and over they didn't see it, with me saying "just keep coming" to literally lead them to my driveway like a toddler.
And the 3rd? They gave up. You are reading that correctly. I had them on the phone with DoorDash support and they just said "we can't deliver it without a GPS" and drove away in the opposite direction.
Baffling. I said "basic navigation" but really just - knowing how house numbers work: even one side, odd the other. Both sides go up in the same direction. If Number you are trying to find > current number you can see and numbers are going up - keep going - otherwise, turn around - it's not that hard.
And why on EARTH would you take a job as a delivery driver when you CANT do that?
This felt good. Thanks, reddit.
#18
Being able to search for information instead of asking others to do it for them.
Of course, that would eliminate 80% of reddit posts...
#19
Knowing how to be a good person. I’ve read and heard multiple say they don’t understand people having morals and ethics without being religious. It’s easy. Treat others how you want to be treated. You don’t have to complicate it with laws or rules. You don’t have to be in fear of an invisible sky daddy. Just be nice.
#20
Sewing. I’m not talking about making a quilt or a stuffed toy. I’m talking about putting a needle in a thread and simply closing a tear or repairing something instead of buying to replace. I’m 41yrs and learned basics and how to use a sewing machine with Home Economics at school and have self taught myself after. I really wish these skills were still taught in schools along with cooking. It’s more than crafting, it’s teaching self reliance.
SouthernGal 4 months ago
Basic life skills should definitely be taught in high school. I can promise you that have never really used chemistry or trigonometry in life, but I’ve used things learned in Home Economics constantly. Any advanced maths or sciences I needed for my career, I would’ve studied in college.
#21
I learned recently that my early-twenties niece doesn’t know how to tell time on an analog clock because they don’t teach that anymore in school.
Nearby-Record-7024:
That's an increasing concern for the clock test for cognitive decline. My mom had to draw a clock and we had to see if the numbers were in the right spots. The SLP said they were going to have to figure out a new test soon.
Daya Meyer 4 months ago
They don't teach at school? Who neds the school to learn this? What about parents, books, relatives, kindergarten teachers, neighbours....
#22
Being a decent human being. Why is it so f*****g hard for son any people to just accept that some people have different ideas abd beliefs without dehumanizing them for it?
#23
Communicating calmly.
It is shocking how many adults expect compliance when they are so d**n unpleasant.
Nervous-Narwhal-1175:
100%. Always some rude a*s co worker who doesn’t know how to communicate like an adult 😂
Scott Rackley 4 months ago
I've had to tell more than one engineer that the volume of their argument is not proportional to the validity of it.
#24
Chew with their mouth closed.
How can people stand to make noise chewing?
Se*yKatt77:
This is going to sound like it’s not related, but I promise it is.
I have a 16 yo stepdaughter and it’s been decided amongst her bio parents and myself that I don’t need to take on a parenting role with her. I get to just be her friend and it’s lovely 💜
HOWEVER, the one and ONLY time I ever jumped in was teaching her to chew when the her mouth closed.
She was 12 or 13 when I finally couldn’t take it anymore and I’d point it out anytime she did it. It bugged her a lot but now she’s 16 and chews with her mouth closed most of the time. I have no idea how she made it that long without someone correcting it because the sound made me so irrationally angry that I started eating with earplugs in until I decided that was insane and she needed to be corrected.
Let me add that I met her when she was 7. So I didn’t correct her from 7 to 12/13 which took sooooooo much effort on my part lol
#25
Reading a map.
I'm shocked at how many people are helpless without GPS telling them where to go.
#26
Critical thinking. Five minutes of this would eliminate 25 years of Fox propaganda.
#27
How to read and follow instructions.
#28
Apologize. Doubling down does nothing when you’re on the wrong but extend something that could be over and help you grow as a person.
#29
Changing the oil in a car yourself. Changing a flat tire. Putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher instead of piling up in the sink. Replacing an empty roll of toilet paper instead of leaving the new roll on the vanity top.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I live alone and still occasionally have the conversation, "WHY would you bring it all the way to the kitchen and stop short of putting it in the dishwasher?!"
#30
Zip merging on roads, like WTH, come on people.
Full_FrontaI_Nerdity:
Our Driver's Ed teacher for decades taught his students to merge early to avoid zippering. So when visitors do it here now, the locals get pissed about them "c*****g the line."
#31
Lacking the ability to look up an easily-answered question using a search engine, yet having the ability to post the question on social media.
Anonymouse 4 months ago
simple rule - post a wrong answer, the internet LOVES to correct you. They mostly ignore requests for help, lol
#33
Cover your d**n mouth when you cough!!!!
Did everyone collectively forget that we endured a pandemic not too long ago??
JUST DO IT! You're not a child. You won't break any bones covering your mouth. It's not an energy-intensive task to cover ones own mouth. The same hand you used to eat with, USE IT to cover your cough.
As if it isn't bad enough you being around other people in a crowded environment, spreading your germs around shamelessly like stds, cover your cough! We don't need to share your misery.
Anyway that's how I nearly died from long COVID.
#34
The ability to be considerate of others around them, especially in public. Eg standing in front of a metro/train door instead of letting them out first, same with lifts, stopping at the top/bottom of the escalator and blocking the way, standing in the middle of the street perfectly blocking the path for others (vs standing to the side where others can then still pass easily), allowing their screaming (literal screaming) child to run up and down anywhere public and being a nuisance to others, riding their bikes on clearly walking areas especially busy ones, smoking in the metro, etc.
WakandaPanda 4 months ago
This is down to most people now living in their own little bubble, usually focused on their smartphones !
#35
Basic cooking. I don't expect people to be able to turn out a 5 course dinner worthy of being served before royalty but I do expect them to be able to feed themselves a healthy balanced diet. It shocks the hell out of me when people struggle to even manage to heat up a preprepared meal let alone make instant ramen...
K Barnes 4 months ago
My ex didn't cook (sigh) and I convinced him to add some fresh veggies to a frozen pizza (peppers, mushrooms, onions). He said it was better with the veggies but wouldn't do it again because cooking was too much work. Slicing some veggies and placing them on a frozen pizza was "cooking" and "too much work" for him. I don't know how I stayed with him for as long as I did.
#36
When a traffic light is blinking red in all directions at an intersection it’s a four-way stop dummies.
Khavrinen 4 months ago
And when the traffic lights are not working because the power is out, that counts as a four-way stop, too. Last time that happened where I live, I saw MULTIPLE people drive right through intersections without even bothering to slow down or look for cross traffic. "Hey, there's no red light, so I can just go, right?" Scary as h*ll.
#37
Cooking. I never learned. My first girlfriend was Latin and she was shocked I couldn’t cook. Taught me everything. Now I’m shocked more people aren’t taught in my country.
#38
Cleaning
You’d be amazed how many adults don’t understand that floors need to be swept/vacuumed regularly and hard floors mopped regularly too. With hot water, not cold.
Or they don’t understand that cleaning the toilet is more than just using the brush in the bowl. The seat needs to be cleaned too. As a bare minimum.
Firstname Lastname 4 months ago
While I understand, some days I am too overworked to bother. I don't live in a pigsty, but my apartment doesn't sparkle.
#39
Swim.
#40
Not owning or understanding how to use the most basic of tools. The number of times I've had to teach friends how to use a screwdriver is maddening.
#41
I’m routinely aghast when adults, especially people aged 30-45, don’t know their way around a computer.
#42
Use a turn signal.
#43
Taking information for granted and not really thinking it through.
#44
Basic communication, especially with their partner.
So many relationships and families are extremely dysfunctional because people can't communicate properly. Doesn't help when reactions are never good, so why would anyone *want* to talk to each other when everything is a battle? Secrets are kept, trust is broken, things get bottled up and blown up all the time... all because people just can't have an effective conversation with each other.
It boggles my mind how many people are like this and they wonder why they hate their family, can't keep a partner, their kids don't talk to them, and friends keep distant at best. So much can be settled if people could talk and also listen effectively.
#45
Ctrl x/Ctrl c - Ctrl v.
#46
Changing a tire.
Geoffrey Scott 4 months ago
Taught BOTH daughters when they got their license. Made 'em do 1 oil/filter change too.
#47
When someone is terrible at parking. Especially when they keep backing in and out in exactly the same direction.
#48
Not so much a skill but what I thought was basic knowledge in the English speaking part of the world: The other day I had to explain to a room filled with adults who "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" were. We were watching the 2017 The Mummy with Tom Cruise. They (at least five, all over the age of 25) had never heard of such a "monster".
Myoviridae 4 months ago
Well, guess I am fit to be put out to pasture. Did not know there was a Mummy movie with Tom Cruise.
#49
Read.
Most Americans can barely read beyond a 6th grade level.
#50
Read a map / know where they are. Not as shocking is basic geography as well like knowing approximately what elevation they live at. I tell people, oh yeah I live at 3000 feet but have to drive down to 1500 feet to go to the store and it causes my ears to pop. And they look at me like these numbers are foreign concepts, and mountains and valleys don't exist except in pictures.
WindySwede 4 months ago
914 meters, and 457 meters. So they are not domestic numbers, cause we use SI units 😏🙃
#52
Adding numbers. I am always amazed when people say they are broke but do DoorDash a few times a week and buy Starbucks every day.
Lady Eowyn 4 months ago
I just had a conversation with a neighbors who's upset that he might not be able to keep up all his streaming services. That's a want, not a need. I never eat out.
#53
Make change from a cash purchase - without a computer.
#54
You don't have to swing your car out to turn. I can't tell you how many time's I've seen people almost side swipe other drives or swing half way into another lane just to make a right or left turn. You're driving a Toyota Camry, not a god damned 18 wheeler.
Spittnimage 4 months ago
Those are the ones who didn't take driver's ed. Teacher would've put a stop to that for reasons mentioned above.
#56
Basic math
I remember the time where my family thought I was some kind of genius because I compared the price to area ratio of two pizzas to determine which was the better deal. They thought that required some expert level math.
#57
Basic IT literacy in the corporate workspace - quite common amongst the fresh graduates, which surprised me as they’re the gen that fully grew up with tech.
#62
Use hotkeys to do s**t on a keyboard instead of using the mouse. I get looked at like I'm a sorcerer because I can CTRL-P.
#63
Legible writing. I can understand messy writing. But when the writing is completely unreadable, it makes me wonder how did this person made it through school.
And their excuse is just "that's how I write ¯ _(ツ)_/¯.
#64
Cleaning in the correct order. I don't understand how this is hard to learn.
WindySwede 4 months ago
In MAX burgers here in Sweden. It was leaked that the correct way was to use the dishwasher to clean the toilet seats. And all so many nice things!
What do you think ?
Daya Meyer 4 months ago
I would like to add 'pay attention and listen properly' to this list. Many people don't have the ability to listen to more than three sentences.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
Knife sharpening. It's common among my friends for a guest to cook a meal. On almost a dozen occasions, I've gotten a message saying, "Did you sharpen our cooking knives? We keep cutting ourselves!" "Um, was there a sharpening steel in view of the knife block? I probably did it automatically." In about 3/4 of those circumstances, I wound up teaching them how to sharpen and keep their knives sharp.
Another Panda 4 months ago
Critical thinking is absolutely # 1. If we were taught to analyze and investigate properly, 90% of issues might go away. (eg, I should cover my mouth when J cough because the physical barrier prevents much of any airborne virus I might be a carrier of from being inhaled by another person.)
Daya Meyer 4 months ago
I would like to add 'pay attention and listen properly' to this list. Many people don't have the ability to listen to more than three sentences.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
Knife sharpening. It's common among my friends for a guest to cook a meal. On almost a dozen occasions, I've gotten a message saying, "Did you sharpen our cooking knives? We keep cutting ourselves!" "Um, was there a sharpening steel in view of the knife block? I probably did it automatically." In about 3/4 of those circumstances, I wound up teaching them how to sharpen and keep their knives sharp.
Another Panda 4 months ago
Critical thinking is absolutely # 1. If we were taught to analyze and investigate properly, 90% of issues might go away. (eg, I should cover my mouth when J cough because the physical barrier prevents much of any airborne virus I might be a carrier of from being inhaled by another person.)
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