Nobody has all the answers. Not even Wikipedia. So, generally speaking, we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves if our lack of understanding of the universe takes center stage. In fact, acknowledging the limits of your mind instead of giving into your insecurity to always appear smart is a sign of intelligence.
To show you that we all have our moments, Bored Panda is taking a look at a discussion on Reddit, started by user Big_Piccolo_8369 where people have been revealing what things they found out embarrassingly late in life. From preserving veggies to making decisions when you're horny, continue scrolling and check out some of the most popular entries!
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Percentages are reversible. So 8% of 25 is the same thing as 25% of 8 and sometimes the reverse is easier to calculate.
We managed to get in touch with Big_Piccolo_8369, and they said this post was a result of a conscious attempt to create a viral thread.
"I kept on trying to think of questions that would blow up. Since everyone has found out something way too late, and Reddit users love answering questions about themselves, I decided to ask that question," they told Bored Panda.
"I was kind of expecting lighthearted answers, but I was met with random things to do if you get sued or if you buy a house or something. I did see some funny ones so it sort of worked out."
Being well-educated in one area doesn't mean that a person can't be a total idiot in other areas.
Dr. Adi Jaffe, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology and teaches courses at UCLA that address addiction, pointed out that the more we learn, the more we realize how little we actually know. But when we lack this awareness, we fall victim to the Dunning Kruger Effect (DKE) — a cognitive bias in which people wrongly overestimate their knowledge or ability in a specific area.
"Because the world is full of know-it-alls who don’t actually have any idea of what they are talking about—and the more aware we become of this phenomenon, the better we'll be at deciphering the trolls spouting fake news from the truth-tellers," Jaffe explained on Psychology Today.
Don't ignore bullies. That's terrible advice.
The only way they will leave you alone is through the sight of their own blood.
Taking medication for mental illness actually helps
And don’t let anyone tell you that “you should just get some exercise or go for a walk and you’ll feel better”. That may help some but not all. Instead, I suggest, kicking the person in the shins and then start running. That way they can’t be mad since they were the ones that gave you the advice to go for a run
Many tend to overestimate their capabilities."People will rate themselves as average or above average on essentially all tasks," Jaffe said. "If you understand how averages work, you know this is impossible (some people have to be below average, some are average, and some are above average for the whole thing to work)."
But the incompetent fail, through life experience, to learn that they are unskilled. Why?
"One reason is that people rarely receive negative feedback about their skills and abilities from others in everyday life. We can call this tact, being diplomatic, or respect for others, but the end result is the same: We typically shy away from telling people they messed up. But what DKE teaches us is that people need honest feedback."
You can’t get lazy with birth control just because you turn 40.
Signed, Middle Aged Mom of a newborn
There's another reason why so many of us may not accept that we are incompetent or lacking knowledge. We may be ignorant of an important form of feedback: social comparison.
"One of the ways we learn about our competencies is by observing the actions of others. Research shows that, compared with people who are experts in particular areas, people who are incompetent in those same areas are less able to identify the skills in others," Jaffe explained. "Consequently, they are unable to learn that they had less competence in the area and were more likely to overestimate themselves."
So when you think you're really good at something, finding an objective way to assess your expertise might be really useful.
Flushable wipes are not to be flushed ever.
The people you work with aren't your friends. Always keep your guard up. Any and all of them can throw you under the bus at any time.
That's a bit harsh. I mean, they could be your friends. And on that note, your "friends" can also throw you under the bus, so...
When it comes to trying to save someone from addiction: love is not enough.
Just because I hold an opinion on something doesn't mean that I need to share it. I spent WAY too much of my early adulthood inserting my viewpoint into discussions that I wasn't really a part of.
A crypto investor, a vegan, a Trump supporter and The Last Jedi hater walk into a bar. How do you tell them apart? No need to, you'll know within five minutes.
It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.
Just because they're older than you, doesn't make them more mature. Would've saved me from an entire marriage
“This little piggy went to market”.......the pig was not shopping.
That most people can actually see pictures in their mind. Growing up, I always thought 'counting sheep to fall asleep' meant using my head to think the words "1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep" etc, and so I was understandably puzzled as to why sheep, and not any other word?
Then, when I was 34 years old, so not exactly young, I actually figured out that I have aphantasia.
Turns out, nearly everyone can actually 'see' animals, or their family member's faces, or characters from a movie, in their head - whereas I've always built quite detailed descriptions, in words, because that's all I have in my head.
That's interesting. Like the people who have an inner monolog and those that don't
And I have neither! I don't think in pictures, and I don't have an inner monologue.
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Yes, I only discovered that people could 'see' a face in front of them just from their thoughts later in life too. I'd never understood how people could remember things like hair and eye colours, imagining that they must make a mental list of all these things for everyone they meet. To me it's like some kind of super-power. Then again, I'm aware that some people can't play music in their head, whereas I can conjure up a whole song, different instruments, voices, harmonies etc. so maybe I'm the one with the superpower?
That's me! I would make a worthless eye witness!
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I've never understood the " picture it in your mind" idea. Like the OP said, I can build quite complex descriptions of things in my head but I never get actual images. And now I have a word for it. Cool.
I always thought people were speaking metaphorically when the said they were “picturing” something or that they could see it in their “mind’s eye”
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Ugh, I can't imagine how it would be being like that. Being a creative writer, I visualize what the scenes would look like that I'm writing about to get a better perspective of how the reader would see it. Then I write what I see in my head. For me, it would be impossible to do so without that visualization.
I have this as well. I have a hard time being creative because I can't picture what I want the end result to be. But I am great at problem solving. Even my dreams are like I am reading pages of a book. Its all just words. No pictures
I can’t imagine not seeing in a dream, I feel so bad for you
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I have some sort of mild Aphantasia. The images are very very hard to "see" for me.
why does everyone in the comments have aphantasia, is it that common?
Because 1% to 3% of all people have it, which makes it way more common than you'd think!
Load More Replies... What's really freaky is that that it's been shown that an above average number of Disney animators have aphantasia. Especially the early ones.
I can relate, even though it's a bit different for me : I can see the faces of people I know or places I've been to.. but I am completely unable of "making up" an image in my head. if I haven't seen it before, it doesn't exist to my brain. also I've never heard an "inner voice" in my life
Oh wow. I remember reading somewhere that not everyone can imitate someone's voice in their mind...don't know how true it is. It always seemed so normal.
The other related thing is whether you "hear" words when you read. Most really fast readers don't, but if you like word play you may be more likely to.
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Yep, this was me, only found out in my early-40s that other people could actually 'see' things when they shut their eyes.
Me too! I only figured this out a couple months ago, and spent a solid week asking everybody I knew whether or not they actually saw things. I was completely blown away when I realized I was the odd brain out.
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Oh, I think I have aphantasia, too. Works for me, though. I write short stories and novels.
Wow I am 74 and have never seen a person or face in my dreams or in any other way. Thought that is normal. You learn something everyday.
Only in this way. We all have our oddities and that's a good thing.
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My inner voice can't do accents or other people voices, I didn't know that was weird till I was 39!
Curious: can you place someone else doing an imitation, or can you tell who someone is by their voice alone?
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I don't see colors, animals, or humans in my mind. I have no conscious memory of my dreams. I only see shapes, like numbers and outlines.
I just recently learned I have the same problem. It made it rough in classes when I was a kid and the teacher would tell us to visualize what's going on in a story. If I really concentrate, I can conjure up a still image, but it fades away as soon as I start reading again.
I’m quite good with remembering word spellings, because I can envision them in my head. And for some strange reason, I always look upwards when I do it, lol
My dad, who is good at spelling for no apparent reason, does this too. I've tried it and occasionally it works but usually I either use a synonym or brute force it with auto correct or speech recognition.
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I never understood how I could literally make a whole series in my head now I do
So people can actually see pictures in their head? I thought it was just like an expression or something. IDK
We all have pictures in our minds but some of us just aren't aware of them... until we are.
I leant that from myself too and not too long ago. As a creative person in drawing and writing it would be so much easier to be able to see it all.
Having read down into the huge comment string on this topic, I am impressed with the great variation in people's abilities in this area. From personal experience (VERY nearsighted undetected until age 8) I know we all start out thinking EVERYONE has the same experience as ourselves, and it is mind-blowing to find out otherwise. This is such an interesting topic.
Uh oh. Well, that's an interesting way to learn I have aphantasia. Didn't even know it was a word. I dream, but I can't voluntarily create mental images and I didn't know that wasn't typical until now. I'm 64.
I think I might have this, if only a little bit. I can form images that are new and unique, but I can't really form images from memory. That is like detailed describing.
Yeah same here. I can’t close my eyes and imagine anything. It’s just black. But I think, I get fast flashes of images when people tell a story. Enough for me to know why it’s funny. But mostly I think I find stuff funny, cause my brain connects me to a similar memory. I really don’t know.
Well, not for me at least. I'm autistic and I have lively images and a busy inner monologue in my head.
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Never make an important decision if you are hungry or horny.
Both have a massive impact on your decision making abilities.
If you press Windows Key + V you can see a list of all the things you've copied
No one really cares about you. I don't mean that in a bad way. But everyone is so busy thinking about themselves, you are always an after thought.
The most embarrassing thing in your life, probably doesn't matter than much to someone else.
We live in an egoistic world. Everyone only thinks of themselves. I'm the only one who ever thinks of me! (I heard this from a teacher maybe 40 years ago)
Your brain isn't trying to make you happy or your life easier.
It's trying to keep you alive. Everything else is secondary.
In fact it's just trying to keep you alive long enough to breed and multiply your genes. Ideally by having grandchildren.
That gargling saltwater works way better than cough drops for colds and sore throats.
Do all the crazy stuff when you are Young. By the time you can afford it, you no longer have the stamina to.
Your oral health is just as important as your general health.
Life can literally change forever in the next second, hour or day and that when people say to enjoy every moment of life as if it’s your last, it’s actually good advice to maintain a positive attitude and feel like you have no regrets.
I’m speaking from personal experience - my SO has been diagnosed with a major issue and the good days are limited, so we are living our best life, just enjoying the simple things.
That’s why it makes me so mad when people make fun of YOLO, yea it’s become a stupid term now but it really is a good saying to live by, you shouldn’t get it tattooed on you but it’s made me realize i wasn’t going to get anywhere in several years and made me reconsider many bad relationships
Hard work isn’t always the answer.
When I worked a minimum wage job, I would work hard and not take breaks, so a great job, and always finish early. I just then got told to pick up the slack for the employees who spent their time goofing off. Never got a promotion, raise, or even a “Hey, good job”
Basic living skills
My parents were hoarders and neglected me growing up, we lived in filth and wore dirty clothes, rarely bathed etc. So I never learned what goes into keeping a house clean, or good hygiene practices, or the basic skills needed for normal life.
I know "in theory" how to do those things now, but the underlying core organizational, management, etc skills still aren't there. It's kinda hard to explain but it just feels like there will always be a gap for me.
I grew up with a chronically sick mom. Same, it is hard for me to get motivated
That kitten's baby teeth also fall out. Found out when playing with my cat he was young.
Rollercoaster of emotions between it happening and me googling while holding a little ~~canine~~ fang in my hand.
Jeeezus, I almost made an idiot of myself. I was going to post "*Feline", then googled it just in case, and learned that corner teeth/fangs are called canine 🤣🤣🤣
Apparently you’re not supposed to rinse off your toothpaste.
Edit: Just Google it. Apparently it’s better to leave the toothpaste residue in your mouth so the fluoride can work on your teeth.
"Every action made in anger ends in sorrow."
An attorney, when I was 24
That when people ask to borrow money especially if it's a friend or family just expect to never see it again.
I tell people that I don't LEND money. If I have it to give I do but I never expect to see it again. I also tell them they can choose to return it if they wish (so far no one has lol). If I don't have it to GIVE I just say No.
If you're a parent of a child who has had psych evaluations done by their school district you need to read each and every single thing that's documented in those papers. Then ask yourself if your child may not have the correct diagnosis after all.
I went 32 years without knowing I was Autistic. I just found out last year. Who I'd be today if I had only known... I'm traumatized as hell from this.
The documents from my schools psych evals had loads of evidence to support this, but no one ever said a word to me! No one!
Take matters into your own hands and never EVER rely on the system.
That after high school it's incredibly hard to find real friends.
Team events are a good way to meet people and it doesn't always have to be sports. Maybe the local pub runs a quiz where you can join a team, or a dominoes team, or allsorts. Even a dog-walking club or down at the dog park? I think you probably need a dog for the last two but if you arrive before someone, talk only to them and then leave after them, they will never know. At the dog park, that is. They will definitely notice if you join a dog-walking club without a dog and they will think you are strange. And that hurts. Or so I've been told.
On Wednesday I learned that pancakes are so called because they are a cake made in a pan. smh
I’m 61yo
you can preserve fresh vegetables by getting plasting containers and putting paper towels on the bottom and the top. it absorbs the water. its the water from condensation that makes them go bad so fast. then just change the paper towels every few days and wipe out the container. Makes them last WAY longer.
i wonder how i am not dead that i did not know this. Especially as a single guy. My fresh veggies can last 3 weeks. I dont have to get little bits and keep going back to the store.
My name is Aaron. Turns out when you go to the bank, and the post office and the store, you are running Errands. Not Aarons.
A pony is not a baby horse.
Edit: the number of people who are responding to this saying that they didn't know this makes me feel so much better for having learned it last year from reddit. At 36 years old. Glad I'm not the only one it took a while for! Cheers.
That you can get pregnant the very first time you have sex.
Well, according to a high ranked member of the Greek Church, a woman cannot get pregnant if she doesn't participate (I really don't know what that means) and also she can't get raped unless she wants to (again... I have no words...)
Note: this post originally had 105 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Just because it usually doesn't work out doesn't mean it never does. 15 happy years so far with my first boyfriend, thank you very much. 21 if you count the years spent dating. Just.... think carefully. Be sure you're sure. You're both likely to change much and divorce is expensive (financially and mentally). But don't throw a good relationship away just because everyone thinks they know better than you, either.
Load More Replies... That doctors are not superhuman. Yes, they went to school for many years are they know more than you do - but they make mistakes, too. Don't trust blindly, listen to your body, question them & get second opinions as necessary. And especially, if you have a bad allergy, always ask the pharmacist to double-check. I have been saved by that TWICE when the doctor assured me that they were not prescribing me a beta lactam antibiotic but in fact they were.
If the doctor says probably the pain is indegestion or whatever comment to get you to leave, then ask them back what evidence they have. Unfortunately, we all make mistakes but to disregard a patient with no evidence is lazy. Because the person might have stage 4 cancer by the time they decide to run any tests.
Load More Replies... When you get paid, pay your bills before you spend money on anything else. If you have money after that, save a good chunk of it.
In the joke "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side", 'the Other Side' is death. The chicken crossed the road because it wanted to die.
Just because it usually doesn't work out doesn't mean it never does. 15 happy years so far with my first boyfriend, thank you very much. 21 if you count the years spent dating. Just.... think carefully. Be sure you're sure. You're both likely to change much and divorce is expensive (financially and mentally). But don't throw a good relationship away just because everyone thinks they know better than you, either.
Load More Replies... That doctors are not superhuman. Yes, they went to school for many years are they know more than you do - but they make mistakes, too. Don't trust blindly, listen to your body, question them & get second opinions as necessary. And especially, if you have a bad allergy, always ask the pharmacist to double-check. I have been saved by that TWICE when the doctor assured me that they were not prescribing me a beta lactam antibiotic but in fact they were.
If the doctor says probably the pain is indegestion or whatever comment to get you to leave, then ask them back what evidence they have. Unfortunately, we all make mistakes but to disregard a patient with no evidence is lazy. Because the person might have stage 4 cancer by the time they decide to run any tests.
Load More Replies... When you get paid, pay your bills before you spend money on anything else. If you have money after that, save a good chunk of it.
In the joke "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side", 'the Other Side' is death. The chicken crossed the road because it wanted to die.
