# Ever get in an argument because you correct people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478 "2012-05-01T03:52:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/21 "2012-05-01T14:38:51Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > One of my favourite go-to phrases; “Oh, really? I’ve never heard that before.” You don’t have to tell them the reason you’ve never heard it before is because they’re completely full of shit. I have been known to say: “Thank you for your input.” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/22 "2012-05-01T15:07:59Z")
> [@grude](#): > > … I hate when this happens in chit chatting because I cannot let such obvious bullshit stand! That sounds exhausing. Do you also pull over every bad driver and give them a lecture on using their turn signals/checking their blind spot/not running a stop sign/etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/23 "2012-05-01T15:11:53Z")
Sometimes people are even [wrong on the Internet](http://xkcd.com/386/). Personally, I find these even harder to pass up. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/24 "2012-05-01T15:23:35Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I hate when this happens in chit chatting because I cannot let such obvious bullshit stand! Why stop at people in real life? The greatest challenges [lie ahead](http://xkcd.com/386/). > [@even\_sven](#): > > Could she be talking about a green card? I believe there are a lot of rules about overseas travel for green card holders, and its important for them to maintain a US presence. Her husband is “from the US.” Can’t see how to get from there to a green card unless she is completely confused, and if so, arguing isn’t going to help. ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/25 "2012-05-01T15:25:35Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Life’s too short to fight every battle, as you get older this will become clearer. > > For when you really can’t resist, the phrasing, you’re looking for, goes like this; > > “I know you believe that, and I could be wrong, of course, but I’m pretty darn certain, yada, yada, yada. I think you need to check it out!” > > There, now you did your part, imparting your wisdom, the ball’s in their court, and no one’s been offended. Brilliant–I am stealing this! (do I need to give you a footnote?) :p: ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/26 "2012-05-01T15:50:49Z")
At this stage of my life, they usually need to pay me to get me into these sorts of arguments. Fortunately, they often do. “They cured your hepatitis C by giving you a series of 3 shots? No, sorry, I’m afraid they didn’t. The tests show you still have it. What they gave you was a series of shots to keep you from getting Hepatitis B on top of the hepatitis C you still do have. No really, here’s your current viral load and everything. No? You think you’re cured? That may not be a helpful belief for you in the long run, but okay, you can go now. We’ll talk again in 4 to 6 months.” ---
**Author:** ![Barrett\_Bonden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Barrett\_Bonden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrett_Bonden)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/27 "2012-05-01T15:54:32Z")
One of my favorite literary quotes: [QUOTE=Jane Austen] Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/28 "2012-05-01T16:10:34Z")
> [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > Her husband is “from the US.” Can’t see how to get from there to a green card unless she is completely confused, and if so, arguing isn’t going to help. Maybe he’s “from the US” in the sense that he grew up there as an illegal immigrant, and applied for permanent residency as an adult. I know quite a few people who have done that, and I don’t know all of the rules, but it can make it very complicated to go back to the home country to visit relatives and the like. If he is a permenent resident applying for citizenship, he needs to be present in the US 30 out of 60 months prior to applying for citizenship, hence the frequent trips back. Or maybe he is a US citizen who grew up in the US, but moved wherever as a teen. Now he needs 3 years of “US residency” after age 14 in order for his kids to automatically be citizens. Or maybe (and this is probably pretty likely) he has to go back to the US periodically to renew his visa to wherever he is. It’s often easier to apply for a new visa/visa extension from outside the country than from within. She’s misinterpreting that as “keeping his citizenship” when he really means “keeping his residency in country X”. People don’t usually say random wrong stuff for no reason, but people often don’t communicate what they are trying to say very well. In most cases it’s probably not worth trying to puzzle out what they were trying to say, but it’s also not helpful to completely sjit them down. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/29 "2012-05-01T16:12:53Z")
I normally do not, but I have to admit I sometimes can’t help myself when the person making the mistake is a bombastic blowhard. What I really, really enjoy more than I should is asking a blowhard like that questions that push them into a corner. This only works when someone is a very predictable kind of stupid: the loudmouth who is used to being the smartest person he knows because he carefully surrounds himself with idiots. I can’t stand that guy, and will gleefully hoist him on his own petard whenever possible. This is a flaw on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/30 "2012-05-01T16:22:00Z")
> [@Craz3d117](#): > > It can be very frustrating, but I try not to openly correct someone who isn’t my direct friend, unless it’s a matter that **effects** me of course. Affects. Now, shall we argue? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/31 "2012-05-01T17:21:45Z")
I got sent the the principal’s office for correcting the computer teacher one too many times. Generally if I’m correcting people I try to be diplomatic, preface the correction with “I think…” or “I’m pretty sure…”, or even “That’s what I thought too, but…” ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/32 "2012-05-01T17:34:50Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Maybe he’s “from the US” in the sense that he grew up there as an illegal immigrant, and applied for permanent residency as an adult. I know quite a few people who have done that, and I don’t know all of the rules, but it can make it very complicated to go back to the home country to visit relatives and the like. If he is a permenent resident applying for citizenship, he needs to be present in the US 30 out of 60 months prior to applying for citizenship, hence the frequent trips back. > > Or maybe he is a US citizen who grew up in the US, but moved wherever as a teen. Now he needs 3 years of “US residency” after age 14 in order for his kids to automatically be citizens. > > Or maybe (and this is probably pretty likely) he has to go back to the US periodically to renew his visa to wherever he is. It’s often easier to apply for a new visa/visa extension from outside the country than from within. She’s misinterpreting that as “keeping his citizenship” when he really means “keeping his residency in country X”. > > People don’t usually say random wrong stuff for no reason, but people often don’t communicate what they are trying to say very well. In most cases it’s probably not worth trying to puzzle out what they were trying to say, but it’s also not helpful to completely sjit them down. All good explanations but I also like: Or maybe he’s been lying to his wife about the reason for his trips. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/33 "2012-05-01T17:54:31Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > All good explanations but I also like: Or maybe he’s been lying to his wife about the reason for his trips. And Grude has screwed it up for him. Now the wife is going to start asking questions. I avoid correcting people for that reason. I don’t know if I fully understand the context and don’t want to stick my nose into such a mess. Plus, I hate correcting people then finding out I was wrong. That sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/34 "2012-05-01T19:08:02Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > The biggest argument I’ve ever had with my best friend of 20 years was over how many tollbooths there were on I-95 between Washington, DC and Wilmington, DE. She said there were 4, but there are only 3. For the record, I hardly ever get into arguments with her because she cannot stand to be corrected, and for some reason, I felt like this issue was the one issue I MUST PRESS. > > There are three tollbooths! One before the tunnel in Baltimore, one over the Susquehanna River (only on the way north), and one right outside of Wilmington. She insisted there was a fourth but couldn’t remember where it was. That’s because it doesn’t exist, genius! THERE. ARE. FOUR. TOLLBOOTHS! (Yeah, I spent the weekend at a comic books expo. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Craz3d117](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c4cdca/32.png) [@Craz3d117](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Craz3d117)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/35 "2012-05-01T20:32:45Z")
> [@Number](#): > > Affects. Now, shall we argue? 😃 Haha, no need, you are completely correct. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/36 "2012-05-01T20:50:12Z")
Any time I correct my mom on anything there’s an argument (unless it’s related to my field or she’s asking for my help), granted the times I do correct her are rare. Unfortunately, this also applies when I’m caught off guard and DON’T correct her. For instance, my mom pronounces “foliage” as “foilage” which sounds like a term for gratuitous overuse of tinfoil. We got into a conversation about the mountains around here and she said the word “foilage” at some point. I didn’t know what she was talking about and went “… oh, foliage?” And then I got a 5 minute lecture on how I always have to be right. _le sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/37 "2012-05-01T21:48:19Z")
Because of THIS place, I argued in length, to a bar full of patrons, that the water in he toilet bowl does NOT spin counter clock wise just because we happen to be in the northern hemisphere. I fought like a valiant soldier to fight this ignorance to no avail. What was even more frustrating is that I explained to them the science why it doesn’t work that way. Their only axiom was: “I’ve always been told that since I was a kid. So it must be true.” ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/38 "2012-05-01T23:44:50Z")
I try to approach situations like that with the assumption that I may be wrong. Probably not, but it comes off much less confrontational when phrased like that. Most of the time I let it slide due to general apathy. ---
**Author:** ![DearestDane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@DearestDane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DearestDane)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/39 "2012-05-02T17:26:29Z")
I have been flamed on Youtube for pointing to the indisputable fact, that some Scandinavian names had been misspelled. I didn’t answer the insults thrown at me, though, so it might be said that I didn’t really get into any arguments. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478/40 "2012-05-02T17:49:27Z")
Last summer I had to stop myself. I was on vacation with a friend, and we had this conversation: Her: Do you know why the sky is blue? Me: Yeah, it has something to do with how the light scatters. Her: No, it’s because the sky reflects the ocean and the ocean reflects the sky. I was about to argue with her, and then wondered if being right was worth ruining a vacation. And she was so proud of herself for knowing that bit of “science” that correcting her would have been akin to calling her a moron. Me: Really? That’s cool. Hey, how about those lobsters last night? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-in-an-argument-because-you-correct-people/620478.md?page=3)