# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/61 "2019-12-18T18:05:05Z")
> [@bump](#): > > “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. So the end musty-fies the jeans? ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/62 "2019-12-18T20:50:50Z")
“Mistake” is generic. “Deliberate fuckup” is more specific. A guy slapping an available strange butt is not mistaken in his aim or intent; he is accumulating masturbatory memories. Slap ass NOW; jerk-off while fantasizing LATER. He knowingly committed sexual assault. He is a fuckup. ---
**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 19, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/63 "2019-12-19T15:35:07Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > 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.” Two problems. One is that it’s used both ways; and therefore carries, at least for a lot of people, a strong connotation of ‘it wasn’t my fault!’ The other is that as far as the OP instance, no, I don’t think it was ‘unintentional’ for him to grab her ass; I think it was entirely intentional, and not an ‘accident’ at all. The issue in drunk driving is the difference between ‘intended effect’ and ‘foreseeable effect’. The person’s intention is to drive while drunk. The foreseeable effect of that is a greatly increased risk of causing a collision. People calling it an ‘accident’ seem to me to be assuming the two can be separated: that the drunk driver didn’t intend that increased risk, even though they knew they were taking an action that caused it, because they didn’t want to take it into consideration. People objecting to calling the resulting collision an accident seem to me to be saying that the two can’t be separated: that the drunk driver may not have intended the specific collision, but they did intend the increased risk, even if they wish it weren’t so. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/64 "2019-12-19T16:49:58Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > So the end musty-fies the jeans? OK, now that was a stinker. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/65 "2019-12-19T18:00:17Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Two problems. One is that it’s used both ways; and therefore carries, at least for a lot of people, a strong connotation of ‘it wasn’t my fault!’ The other is that as far as the OP instance, no, I don’t think it was ‘unintentional’ for him to grab her ass; I think it was entirely intentional, and not an ‘accident’ at all. > > The issue in drunk driving is the difference between ‘intended effect’ and ‘foreseeable effect’. The person’s intention is to drive while drunk. The foreseeable effect of that is a greatly increased risk of causing a collision. People calling it an ‘accident’ seem to me to be assuming the two can be separated: that the drunk driver didn’t intend that increased risk, even though they knew they were taking an action that caused it, because they didn’t want to take it into consideration. People objecting to calling the resulting collision an accident seem to me to be saying that the two can’t be separated: that the drunk driver may not have intended the specific collision, but they did intend the increased risk, even if they wish it weren’t so. It’s more that the words have separate meanings that people often conflate with each other. I mean, I can do something intentionally based on poor judgment (or not), and have it go south on me, and that decision would have been a mistake on my part. How it goes south on me could be foreseeable/inevitable, or it could be the result of some random component. Generally the latter is what people are talking to about “accidents”. The accidental component doesn’t have anything to do with the mistake component. Let’s say I decide not to wear adequate clothing when it’s cold, and I end up with hypothermia. That’s definitely a mistake on my part, but it’s not an accident. But if I wore adequate clothing, and got splashed by a car driving through a puddle, and end up with hypothermia, that wasn’t a mistake on my part, it was an accident. Where it gets dicey is when the mistake made significantly increases the chance of unforeseen and random things to happen to cause a negative outcome. So if I wore inadequate clothing, then my likelihood of some kind of unexpected negative outcome increases dramatically. Making the mistake of driving too fast significantly increases the chance you’re going to get in a wreck, for example. But all those potential wrecks are still accidents, even if you made mistaken decisions that make them significantly more likely, as there’s still a considerable element of chance involved. You may well intentionally drive faster than is safe, but still make it where you’re going without incident. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/66 "2019-12-20T00:28:24Z")
I’ve heard everything from armed robbery to murder called a mistake. Why should Tex Watson be kept in prison for the rest of his life because of his past mistakes? Makes me sick. An intentional act is not a mistake. An asshole is an asshole because of deliberate acts. Not mistakes. You are not taking responsibility for your assholeries if you call them mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859/67 "2019-12-21T00:39:34Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > & the nominees for most assiholic comment of the year > > **I am a biker. Baker knows that I am a biker. I was hit by a distracted driver. I survived to tell the story. Law enforcement’s attitude the entire time until I started throwing money at the problem was “Whatever, you are a biker, you know your life isn’t valuablezsw.” As I recall, Baker hit the same brick wall when her father was murdered by an asshole who didn’t care about causing damage and death.** > 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? > > \*\*Aren’t you just so precious. You are old enough to post here, but still think that money means nothing when it comes to legal matters. Soooo cute! Either that or living under a rock. I’m a kind person, so I’m just going to think that you are just sweet and innocent. \*\* > > 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. And gosh, your rationalizations for impaired drivers actually make me wonder if you are someone who would do such a thing. Seeing as how I think there is no excuse for someone to choose to drive while being voluntarily impaired/distracted and you think its not a big deal even if someone is killed, I don’t think we can come to agreement on this issue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-stop-calling-things-done-intentionally-mistakes/844859.md?page=3)