# Can we stop calling things done intentionally "mistakes?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859 "2019-12-14T17:10:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/41 "2019-12-17T01:42:35Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Oxygen and glucose depletion due to running? Apparently you can lap the bridge once, twice, or three times. No idea how far that is. Each lap is a 5K so three laps is a 15K/ 9.32 miles. Too short for glucose depletion(unless his stores were low at the start) and only those who finish in under an hour are running fast enough to go anaerobic. He was clearly not suffering from either condition. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/42 "2019-12-17T12:52:51Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Each lap is a 5K so three laps is a 15K/ 9.32 miles. Too short for glucose depletion(unless his stores were low at the start) and only those who finish in under an hour are running fast enough to go anaerobic. He was clearly not suffering from either condition. Actually, it was a 5k (8am) & a 10k (9am); two separate races with at least a few mins of recovery time between them. He was reported to be doing the 5k (3.1 miles) Further, judging by other runners in the video; their speed (not particularly fast), their attire & what some are holding, how many are mugging for the camera these are _not_ elite racers; not the folks who are running an anaerobic pace. Given the number of finishers there were (\<2500) & how close together they are this had to be early in the race. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/43 "2019-12-17T14:35:37Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I got a degree in journalism, which in retrospect was a mistake. > > Am I right? That’s the right usage for sure. Things can also be mistakes AND accidents, if you do something deliberately, but there’s an unforeseen negative turn of events. An example could be: “I let what I thought was a fart, but that was a mistake, because it wasn’t a fart.” There was a deliberate action to try to fart, but it turned out to be a mistake (a poor choice in this case) because it was actually poop, but you didn’t know beforehand. So the action (trying to fart) was a mistake, and the outcome was an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/44 "2019-12-17T15:59:22Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > Agree with the OP. It bugs the shit out of me when the NFL refers to Michael Vick’s actions as a mistake. Buying the wrong size batteries is a mistake. Slapping reporters and electrocuting dogs are not mistakes, but intentional criminal acts. In a similar vein, speeding up to try to beat a train at a crossing and getting smushed is a mistake. Sabotaging the tracks in order to get the train to derail is a criminal act, not a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/45 "2019-12-17T17:22:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > In a similar vein, speeding up to try to beat a train at a crossing and getting smushed is a mistake. Sabotaging the tracks in order to get the train to derail is a criminal act, not a mistake. Why can’t they be both? It’s like you’re saying that anything criminal that someone does intentionally can’t be a mistake. What defines a mistake is the outcome- if you do something and it turns out to be a beneficial thing, then it’s not a mistake. If it turns out to be awful and stink, then it was a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/46 "2019-12-17T19:41:37Z")
I have done things that I did absolutely on purpose and later realized they were stupid and I wished I hadn’t done them and they were a result of not thinking through the consequences of my actions, or not thinking much at all. I consider those to be mistakes. I don’t know about the dictionary but to me “mistake” means “something wrong either because of its motivations or its consequences.” A sense of contrition is often sought by society from those who make mistakes, but a lack of contrition doesn’t mean it wasn’t a mistake. Calling something a mistake doesn’t absolve someone from accountability. It’s a value judgement about the action. A person who makes a mistake can still be an asshole, like the guy mentioned in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/47 "2019-12-17T19:44:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What defines a mistake is the outcome- if you do something and it turns out to be a beneficial thing, then it’s not a mistake. So the end justifies the means? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/48 "2019-12-17T20:08:48Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > So the end justifies the means? That’s not what I’m trying to say. I’m saying that things may sound good at the time, and turn out to be mistakes because things didn’t turn out to be so good. And often the reason that they don’t turn out to be so good isn’t necessarily related to the quality of the decision. I mean, if I decide to forego taking a raincoat on a day with 40% chance of rain, and it rains on me, I made a mistake in not taking a raincoat. But if it doesn’t rain, I didn’t make a mistake by not taking a raincoat. Of course there are just poor decisions that are always going to be mistakes- facial tattoos, going against Sicilians when death is on the line, etc… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/49 "2019-12-17T20:16:43Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Of course there are just poor decisions that are always going to be mistakes- facial tattoos, going against Sicilians when death is on the line, etc… Not building up a tolerance to iocaine powder. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/50 "2019-12-17T20:25:10Z")
Good grief, have we reduced the classic blunders to mere mistakes now? Golly this place has gone to the dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/51 "2019-12-17T20:33:36Z")
I hate it when an incident is described as an accident, but it was intentional In September of 2014 a guy looked down to put a CD in his truck’s player, didn’t see my dad on the motorcycle, and sandwiched my dad between his truck and the one in front of my dad. It killed him, but not instantly. The police said he spoke to them before the amublance arrived, saying he was in great pain. That was not an “accident”! It was at the very least manslaughter, but the killer was never charged with anything my family was told about. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/52 "2019-12-17T20:37:48Z")
You think the guy who hit your dad was deliberately trying to kill him? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/53 "2019-12-17T20:44:00Z")
There is a nontrivial hunk of the population that does not discern a difference between “accident” and “reckless disregard”, and they will fight you to the death if you so much as aim a flashlight at that blind spot. Because that’s where they keep their nihilism, bound and gagged, locked in a crate, wrapped in chains. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/54 "2019-12-17T21:13:40Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What defines a mistake is the outcome- if you do something and it turns out to be a beneficial thing, then it’s not a mistake. If I was trying to be maleficial and ended up being beneficial, then I made a mistake. In the case of the ass-slapping runner, I wonder what outcome of his action leads him to define it as a mistake? Is it because he thought the reporter would enjoy it, and it turned out she did not? Or is it because he thought he would enjoy it, and it’s turned out to be vastly negative for him? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/55 "2019-12-18T02:51:28Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What defines a mistake is the outcome- if you do something and it turns out to be a beneficial thing, then it’s not a mistake. If it turns out to be awful and stink, then it was a mistake. We’re using drastically different definitions of “mistake”, here. I’ll grant the usage of ‘getting a degree in a field there weren’t any jobs in was a mistake’; especially if the choice was made under the impression that there would be jobs. It seems to me to be shorthand, there, for ‘I was mistaken about where the jobs were.’ But seems to me that using your definition above, if somebody deliberately kills his grandmother but her death improves several people’s lives – say they were broke but inherited money from her–, then killing her wasn’t a mistake; but if it screws up lives instead – say she didn’t have any money or left it all to the ASPCA, plus he got caught – then it was a mistake, even though he did it entirely on purpose. Whether her death improved some situation or made it worse, I still don’t accept his telling the judge ‘Your Honor, it was just a mistake! I thought we’d all inherit lots of money, not wind up broke and in jail!’ He shouldn’t have killed her, whether he’d actually get rich by doing so or not. (And I don’t think glucose depletion would be any excuse, even if true. Other runners presumably also get glucose depletion, but manage to avoid groping reporters.) ETA: Miller, it’s possible to be charged with vehicular manslaughter even when there was no intent to kill. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/56 "2019-12-18T02:57:27Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You think the guy who hit your dad was deliberately trying to kill him? No, but his carelessness did. He took his eyes from the road, where they belonged, while his truck was in motion, and so his my dad. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/57 "2019-12-18T03:18:52Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > No, but his carelessness did. He took his eyes from the road, where they belonged, while his truck was in motion, and so his my dad. Your dad was a biker, everyone knows bikers think life is cheap and shit. Am I bitter about the non-response from law enforcement when I was hit by a distracted driver? Nah, of course not. However, this is why I am willing to pay for a good (expensive) prosecuting lawyer to have the drunk who hit my work minion go to jail for as long as possible. Looking for a CD while killing someone isn’t a horrible mistake/accident, someone fucking died because of carelessness. The drunk who hit my work minion didn’t make a mistake, it wasn’t an accident. He chose to drive while knowing he was impaired. It was a choice, not an accident. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/58 "2019-12-18T15:52:58Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > In the case of the ass-slapping runner, I wonder what outcome of his action leads him to define it as a mistake? Is it because he thought the reporter would enjoy it, and it turned out she did not? Or is it because he thought he would enjoy it, and it’s turned out to be vastly negative for him? My suspicion is that his thinking was that it would be harmless and funny and would get him some degree of minor notoriety as “the guy who slapped the reporter’s butt”. He was obviously was flawed in his thinking, and the actual decision to reach out his hand was a mistake. I’m not sure why that’s not clear. Had it turned out like he had expected, he wouldn’t be calling it a mistake, and would probably be considering it a good choice. It was not an accident for sure, but it was definitely a mistake on his part. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/59 "2019-12-18T16:46:11Z")
& the nominees for most assiholic comment of the year > [@flatlined](#): > > Your dad was a biker, everyone knows bikers think life is cheap and shit. > [@flatlined](#): > > However, this is why I am willing to pay for a good (expensive) prosecuting lawyer to have the drunk who hit my work minion go to jail for as long as possible. Wait a sec; don’t prosecuting attorneys work for the government? Are you saying you don’t mind tax dollars going towards them or you’re paying (bribing?) them on your own? > [@flatlined](#): > > The drunk who hit my work minion didn’t make a mistake, it wasn’t an accident. _He chose to drive while knowing he was impaired_. It was a choice, not an accident. Part of impairment is your ability to tell you’re impaired. The decision as to whether to drive or not must be made before drinking begins. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/60 "2019-12-18T17:04:05Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Your dad was a biker, everyone knows bikers think life is cheap and shit. Am I bitter about the non-response from law enforcement when I was hit by a distracted driver? Nah, of course not. > > However, this is why I am willing to pay for a good (expensive) prosecuting lawyer to have the drunk who hit my work minion go to jail for as long as possible. > > Looking for a CD while killing someone isn’t a horrible mistake/accident, someone fucking died because of carelessness. > > The drunk who hit my work minion didn’t make a mistake, it wasn’t an accident. He chose to drive while knowing he was impaired. It was a choice, not an accident. Yeah, that was still an accident. It was an accident the other driver was still 100% at fault for, but an accident nonetheless. “Accident” doesn’t mean “blameless,” it means “unintentional.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859.md?page=4)