Starting with my pet hobby, genealogy. Unsourced information that appears in many user-submitted trees is not more reliable than primary documentation. Yet people will argue their pinched-from-someone-else’s-research “fact” is correct against all reason. My lone voice is saying “No, she didn’t marry her husband and, on the same day, go to another state and marry her husband’s son-in-law. You can look up the registry records online yourself and see is only one of those marriages is genuine. Her step daughter’s husband was not married to her, ever” (genuine example spreading like a virus across online trees). Against this implausible, improbable “fact” that can easily be checked, most people will tell me I am wrong “because it appears in so many trees”. Consensus trumps common sense.
This inability to evaluate sources affects other areas of life; I’m sure it feeds the anti-vaxx movement, and is the reason scams and spam are constantly spreading across social media.
Enunciate clearly. Lose the goofy cute little voice and speak up. And that’s just in person! This becomes even more frustrating when a voicemail sounds like mush, and the callback number takes some creative interpretation. Don’t speed through the callback number, and repeat it for me; perhaps I wasn’t ready with the pencil. Best of all, say the callback number early, before the message, so I don’t have to suffer through the *&%# incomprehensible message twice.
Oh God, yes. I deal with a mumbler at work. If that wasn’t bad enough, she often states some gossamer goal of a topic before I have a clue what system, what server or services or application is involved. It’s like trying to read a blurry book that was dropped in the bath tub and start in the middle.
The first few minutes of a conversation are pretty much lost. I’ve know idea what she is talking about.
Her : “You don’t know what I’m talking about do you?”
Me : “Um, not a clue. Who is it for, what is the project and what is your objective?”
Her : “Let me start at the beginning”
Me : “That would be swell, back up about 10 steps so I know what you are trying to accomplish”
Love her I do, and a great worker. But communication skills are lacking. She seems to think I can read minds.
Answer a simple question. When I ask my supervisor “What hours should I work tomorrow?” I do not need “Why are you asking? Are you planning to be out? What time does your bus come here? And go? How many hours have you worked this week? Do you feel well enough to work more hours tomorrow?”
Just say “2 to 9.” If I have a problem with that, I’ll let you know (Bus comes at 8:45. How about 1:30 to 8:30?")
Another hell yes. I go 'round and 'round with this girl about this.
No, despite some loss of higher frequency hearing, I do not need a GD hearing aid. Conversational tones in inside voices cause no problem for me. Rapid-fire mealy-mouthed mumbling while trying to render every word as one syllable no matter how many it actually has, is.
I think it’s easier to think of percentages (tipping, in particular) in terms of multiplication of instead of division. It’s also easier to stick with whole numbers reduced to significant figures instead of fractions or decimals until the end when it’s time to slide the decimal.
Say your total is $18 and you wish to tip 20%. 18 x 2 = 36. Of course, $36 can’t be right but simply move the decimal back: 3.6 dollars. Say you’re more of a 15% tipper and the total is $26. First, silly as it sounds, multiply by 1 (26 x 1 = 26). Then, since the other number in the percentage is a five, add half (ok, that’s division but I think a lot of people can approximate half a two digit number): (26 + 13 = 39). Again, move the decimal back: 3.9 dollars.
Outside of tipping, suppose there’s a 40% off sale and you spot some nice shoes that are usually $55. 40% off means you’ll pay 60% of the price. Multiply the price by the amount to pay and, again, use whole, sig-fig integers: (55 x 6 = 330) and move the decimal: 33 dollars is the sale price. Similarly, you could multiple the price by the savings to get the amount reduced: (55 x 4 = 220) or $22 off the marked price.
Hooking up stereo/receiver with all the speakers, input devices, and TV, etc. It is really, super easy. So many people have so much trouble with this. I’m convinced they’ve just come to a mental block, and refuse to bring out the reading and reasoning skills.
“Too many wires!”
“Well, lets think about it. This is the left speaker, so we’ll plug the wires into the terminals that say ‘left speaker.’”
“But what about this speaker?”
“That’s the right speaker, where do you think it goes?”
“I have no idea!”
It’s all even easier with HDMI, so there is only one cable to each device. Plug the cable box out to the receiver input 1, plug the bluray out to the receiver input 2. Plug the receiver monitor out to the TV input. Done.
Last person I had to help with this told me he’d hooked everything up, but it wasn’t working. As best I can tell, he had just plugged cables in randomly, so of course it wasn’t working.
The lefty loosey (loosy, loosie, lucy?) thing: It is never mentioned, but it is the direction the twisted thing needs to be moving across it’s top when you’re facing it. That can be confusing if it’s a jar or something that is horizontal, or you’re looking at from the side, so you might have to do some mental object rotation to picture the turning thing in the correct orientation. That mental rotation stuff is definitely a task where there are individual differences.
Now that the standard tip amount is 20%+ (take it to another thread), computing tips is super easy (supper easy?) Move the decimal to the left, and double, but don’t worry about being exact, just round up to whatever is easy. $58.36 becomes $6 + $6 = $12 tip. That’s about a 20.5% tip, don’t be so cheap, just pay it and quite whining. Yes, I know dinner for two costs $70 now.
Multiple notes on fax machines as far as which way the paper goes, etc. People refuse to read any notes they themselves have not written. “Can we put a note with instructions on the printer?” “There already is one.” “Can we put a note on the printer telling people to read the instructions?”
Even folks who have to recite “lefty loosey, righty tighty” - aloud or in their head - every time they are faced with a twisting opportunity baffle me.
Tighten and loosen directions are so deeply embedded in my soul I don’t even have to hesitate.
Not that I’m claiming genius-hood. There are plenty of tasks I’m deficient in.
As someone who was forced to learn that “writing” system back in the 70s and has always struggled with reading it, I gotta ask why it surprises you? It’s a terrible writing system even when done neatly and “legibly” as a font on a machine. Half the letters don’t look anything like the print version which has always (during my lifetime) been far more prevalent. Glad it’s going away.
The thing that puzzles me is how many people can’t figure out roughly where the 4 cardinal directions are when outside for more than a few minutes
Ms. Napier insists that instructions for getting someplace should not have compass directions, left versus right, distances, or road names, as nobody uses those things. She works entirely with descriptions of landmarks. She’ll tell me she was where the road turns really hard and there’s a big mailbox that sticks out, and I will have to ask her, wait, what state are you describing (we drive around a 3 state corner regularly)? Near what town? And she will describe places as being on the driver’s side or the passenger’s side, and will actually resist admitting which way she’s going for that to be the case.
Also, why do so many people accept that drilling through the center of the earth from my mid-Atlantic US location would bring you to China? It’s more like northwestern Australia. Why would our opposite point be in the northern hemisphere, if we’re already in the northern hemisphere?
It always amazes me how many times people will start some project without a clear plan. Maybe a play house or a chicken coop, workbench it could be anything. I always figure materials and exact size of each piece of wood, cut them out and put it together. I am always being told how fast I am when I am really not fast at all I take my time but don’t waste a lot of movement.
If they recycle Im surprised everuyone can’t do it correctly. Break down your boxes - oof a hard one! It’s so much easier to have stacks of empty boxes piling up and you get to take more trips to the recycle center - so much easier than flattening them. jeez o pete
Rinse out the bottles and cans, another hard one, so much to do, whines. it’s easier to be a pig.
and when the serivce center says they take textiles but not wet or fur covered clothes they don’t really mean it right?
you can haz these rules they don’t apply to most right?
Numbers don’t make sense in my head, but words and spelling do. I have to concentrate to do anything but simple math (and I mean like 2+2, not taking 15% of something) I can finally calculate a 20% tip with confidence, and I can make change the old fashioned way (cents up to the nearest dollar, etc) and accurately count a wad of bills. For anything else I use a calculator and/or my fingers. I work retail and am sometimes responsible for closing the store, meaning I have to do the end of day cash out. I don’t make mistakes but I’m slow, and god forbid someone talks to me as I count.
On the other hand I can spell almost anything if I hear it, and can generally pronounce unfamiliar words (medical/technical/obscure). If someone asks me “How do you spell _____?” as I’m doing something else I can rattle off whatever it is without an effort. I’m also pretty good at figuring out mechanical stuff. I envy those who can look at a long list of figures and say, “That’s about 7500” or whatever, and be within spitting distance of the actual total.
What boggles my mind are people who think that animals reason the way we do. I overheard someone in grocery store telling someone else about their dog getting hit by a car, and she was amazed that he walked right out into the road when he could see the cars!! Why would he do that??
I’m also amazed by the seemingly intelligent people I know who succumb to scams, mostly of the late night TV ad variety, but sometimes of the Nigerian businessman sort.
I agree with this. I am a person who knows absolutely nothing about electricity, electronics. or the production of sound, but I get it right every time because, duh, it’s all labeled.
Ah, the difference between pilotage and ded reckoning.
“Pilotage” is the landmark thing: go down the road until you get to the big maple tree, turn towards the red barn, drive until you see the Wal-Mart.
“Ded reckoning” is by cardinal directions and distances: go 20 miles east, turn south, drive 5 miles and make a right into the parking lot of Wal-Mart
As a VERY broad generalization - women tend to favor pilotage. Men tend to favor ded reckoning. There are all sorts of theories why that may be, but your wife is an example of that generalization.
Personally, I’m glad I learned both - not only does it mean I can accept directions from more people and understand them, I can also “translate” as appropriate for the listener. Actually, a lot of the time I use both, so maybe I’d say: go down the road 20 miles east, at which point you’ll see a big maple tree. Turn south, towards the red barn, and drive 5 miles until you see the Wal-Mart, then turn right into the parking lot. Most people will be able to get something usable out of that.
But very much being fluent in both styles of navigation is a learned skill.
Normally I’m good at that, but when I last moved I had to disassemble the ginormous “entertainment center” assembled by my late spouse. Said spouse was a former robotics engineer, and used to design and build electronic musical instruments, including designing and burning his own circuit boards. HE took hours to put that thing together.
I very carefully labeled everything as I took it apart. It took two hours.
Once in the new location it took my two and half hours to put it all back together. But hey, it worked the first time.
I have since integrated an Amazon FireStick into the monster. That worked the first time too. But I’d love to give either of you the challenge of assembling that thing on you own to see how you’d do.
And, also - if you aren’t good at this sort of thing DEFINITELY label stuff if you have to take apart a working set up.
(If you’re wondering: 70 inch Sharp Aquos TV, DVD/Blu-ray, CD/VHS, vinyl turntable, stereo AM/FM receiver, eight speakers (honestly, I don’t have the physical room to really set up the surround sound properly), optional lines for midi-capable musical instruments, computer (so you can use the TV as a computer monitor), cable to home network modem, HD broadcast antenna, and a “spare” HDMI port now occupied by the FireStick. Really, it’s a lot more than I need but since I already own it…)
I will never forget the story I read about a woman who wanted two dogs to mate and have a litter of puppies. She… lit candles and played romantic music in her living room for them, and was baffled that it seemed to have no effect.
Swim - I’ve lived in Hawaii almost all my life and people are amazed I’ve never learned to swim. “What would you do if the islands sank?” “Drown just like you unless you can swim over 2000 miles to the next land mass!”
RTFM - I know…I’ll ask a question that requires someone else to RTFM and spoonfeed the answer to me!
Search - Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo. There are 100’s of millions, if not billions of people on the internet at any given time and it’s estimated there is ~1.2 million terabytes of generally accessible data available now (Ha! I Googled it!: https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/how-much-data-is-on-the-internet/) The likelihood of someone not having thought of your question, thought of your idea is getting increasingly small. Oops! I didn’t search this thread to see if this has been posted before! :-p