# Burn \[why doesn't it hurt?\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 26, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934 "2016-09-26T15:21:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 24

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**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-why-doesnt-it-hurt/766934/24 "2016-09-26T22:46:16Z")

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> [@fachverwirrt](#):
>
> Here’s a radical idea: if you have no idea what you’re talking about, maybe avoid dispensing medical advice on the internet?

I have a better idea. I’ll continue dispensing information until such time as I’ve been proven wrong. In this case I have. But based on what I thought I knew about 3rd degree burns, I was in a perfectly fine position to dispense medical advice.

I hate to quote him, but this illustrates perfectly the concept of “unknown unknowns”, as Donald Rumsfeld puts it. I didn’t know that I didn’t know enough about 3rd degree burns. What I did know was what I believed was correct. Given that, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t dispense advice.

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