# Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 5, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657 "2024-01-05T16:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 352
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7021 "2026-04-28T02:28:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > the ones who’d highlighted substantially the entire textbook and _didn’t_ realize that defeated the purpose of highlighting. It _might_ be the physical act of highlighting helped them remember, kind of like taking notes at a lecture help you remember the lecture even if you never consult the notes. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7022 "2026-04-28T03:33:47Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > taking notes at a lecture help you remember the lecture even if you never consult the notes. This is 100% true. I went through SharePoint training last month and it didn’t stick, but I had a chance to attend it again and I took notes. It all stuck that time, and I doubt I’ll ever go back to those notes but they already did their job. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7023 "2026-04-28T12:46:51Z")
If I read something, highlight, then hear it and take notes, then discuss it with someone (which includes making fun of the presenter)… I’ll never forget it. The theory is that different delivery systems use different parts of your brain. Cite: a “Prepare For College” class my parents signed me up for in the early '70s. Put on by the YMCA, of all places. I was so ADD that I credit that class for enabling me to survive academia. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7024 "2026-04-29T22:36:26Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@DesertDog](#): > > > > taking notes at a lecture help you remember the lecture even if you never consult the notes. > > This is 100% true. It unfortunately doesn’t work for me. I can’t write and listen at the same time. It’s one or the other. If the speaker is slow enough, I can timeshare between writing and listening, but that still reduces my comprehension because I can’t think about what they’re saying. My best learning mode is to read everything beforehand and then listen to someone explain it. I also can’t read aloud and comprehend the words I’m saying. My brain is not normal. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7025 "2026-04-29T23:46:30Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > My best learning mode is to read everything beforehand and then listen to someone explain it. I had a professor who made notes for his lectures available at a nearby copy shop, “so that people could concentrate on listening.” You could buy the notes before the class and read along. And you’d know that if it wasn’t in the notes, it wouldn’t be on a test. I approved. I bought the notes. Numerical methods. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7026 "2026-04-30T02:44:36Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > If the speaker is slow enough, I can timeshare between writing and listening, but that still reduces my comprehension because I can’t think about what they’re saying. It’s the opposite for me. My brain moves weirdly fast and any live teacher is too slow for me. I need something else to fill in that time gap or my brain will wander. Notes give me something to do and since it’s related to what I’m hearing, it helps it stick. Of course, just give me something to read and I’ll learn it easier than anything else. That, or doing it hands-on. A combination of those two things is absolutely the best thing for me, that’s how I learned 99% of my IT skills. Hardly any of it is from instruction because instruction doesn’t work on me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7027 "2026-04-30T11:09:04Z")
I’m like you. Even grad school was excruciating because of the slow pace of info delivery by a live instructor. Which is why the modern trend to video is worse than useless to me. I can read a chapter in the time a youtuber can say hello and tell you the topic of their vid. And that’s _before_ we get into YouTube’s monetization process driving folks to cram 30 seconds-worth of info into a 7-1/2 minute video. Gaah! Spare me! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7028 "2026-04-30T11:43:30Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It unfortunately doesn’t work for me. I can’t write and listen at the same time. It’s one or the other. If the speaker is slow enough, I can timeshare between writing and listening, but that still reduces my comprehension because I can’t think about what they’re saying. I had a college teacher that handed out the lecture notes at the start of each class. He was aware that each time he’d put up a new sheet (on the overhead projector) no one was paying attention to him as they were scrambling to copy everything (important or otherwise), just so they could memorize it well enough to regurgitate it on the next test. He’d rather give us the notes so we can sit back and listen to him talk and engage in more of a back and forth with him. > [@Atamasama](#): > > My brain moves weirdly fast and any live teacher is too slow for me. I need something else to fill in that time gap or my brain will wander In that same (psych) class, while he was doing his lecture, I’d be doing my Calculus homework. Partially because I hadn’t done it yet, but also because, like you, I needed something to keep me focused. For my ADHD brain, my math homework being due in an hour is what did it for me. He asked me about it once but seemed satisfied when I explained to him that I participate quite a bit and I’m clearly following along with the lecture as shown by the fact that I could always answer whatever question he had when he called on me. I also mentioned that if he ever sees me ‘paying attention’, my eyes following him as he paces around the room, I’m almost certainly not paying attention to him and just lost in a day dream. As much as I really did like the format of getting the notes ahead of time, my brain still needs _something_ to keep it focused. The trick is always finding a balance between being oblivious to what’s going on in the classroom because my brain is wandering and oblivious to what’s going on in the classroom because I’m overly engaged homework for a different class. Turns out the balance was Adderall. My life, at least WRT school, probably would’ve taken a different path if I went on ADD meds a decade earlier. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7029 "2026-05-01T12:00:07Z")
Essay in New York magazine: > [@](#): > > “Lately, I’ve been thinking about smoking. All the time,” writes author Xochitl Gonzalez. “With each passing day of this absolutely deranged year, my desire to contemplate how to make sense of it all while puffing on a cigarette grows.” > > Part of this smoking thing is a yearning for the past, admits Gonzalez. Not in an effort to recapture her youth, but to recapture an approach to time and life. > > “I can’t personally slow down technology or fix media or the demands of capitalism or any of the other existential things that have crept into our lives,” she writes. “But maybe what I can do is stop what I’m doing, ask somebody to come outside, and take five minutes to slow down with me while I engage in the very dangerous act of holding a flaming stick to my face. This could be my rebellion.” > ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7030 "2026-05-01T13:24:57Z")
No, ma’am. It’s not about putting a flaming stick in front of your face. It’s about removing the networked pocket computer screen from in front of your face. THAT will reduce your anxieties. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7031 "2026-05-01T13:43:22Z")
“_I mean, why shouldn’t we all smoke cigarettes again?_” > [@](#): > > Doctors have known for years that smoking causes most lung cancers. It’s still true today, when nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancers deaths are caused by smoking cigarettes or secondhand smoke exposure.5 In fact, people who smoke have a greater risk for lung cancer today than they did in 1964, even though they smoke fewer cigarettes. One reason may be changes in how cigarettes are made and what chemicals they contain.5 > > Treatments are getting better, but lung cancer still kills more men and women than any other type of cancer. In the United States, more than 7,300 nonsmokers die each year from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.6 Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by someone smoking.6 > **[Smoking and Cancer](https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/cancer.html)** > > The Tips From Former Smokers campaign features real people suffering as a result of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. [![](https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTZjMDliOTUycGIzcGRmdWNwc3ZwYTR1cjc2OTFjandnOHF5ZTQ2N29rbHFkbmRjbyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/3og0IMJcSI8p6hYQXS/200w.gif) ](https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTZjMDliOTUycGIzcGRmdWNwc3ZwYTR1cjc2OTFjandnOHF5ZTQ2N29rbHFkbmRjbyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/3og0IMJcSI8p6hYQXS/200w.gif) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7032 "2026-05-01T14:11:58Z")
Ok, I must know: How is “Xochitl” pronounced? (And don’t tell me her-my-knee.) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7033 "2026-05-01T14:17:04Z")
So-cheel ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7034 "2026-05-01T14:19:16Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Ok, I must know: How is “Xochitl” pronounced? Haven’t encountered that name in particular but it seems entirely consistent with the way Nahuatl place names and words are spelled, like Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) or Axolotl. Googling reveals that Xochitl is indeed a Nahuatl name meaning “flower”, and also a brand name for chips sold in Mexico. Xo is pronounced So and Chitl is like Cheel. Apparently it’s a decently common name in Mexico. Most Mexican-Americans I know have Spanish derived names rather than Nahuatl ones, but I gather it’s not that uncommon in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7035 "2026-05-01T14:19:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > So-cheel Gesundheit! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7036 "2026-05-01T14:21:00Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Joey\_P](#): > > > > So-cheel > > Gesundheit! Merci ---
**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:** [May 1, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7037 "2026-05-01T14:49:55Z")
That woman’s just one dope, but why does New York Magazine platform her and encourage self-destructive behavior? Aside from trying to drum up interest in their rag through rage-baiting, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7038 "2026-05-01T14:51:44Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Aside from trying to drum up interest in their rag through rage-baiting, of course. Considering the responses here alone, do they really need any more reason than that? ---
**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:** [May 1, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7039 "2026-05-01T14:53:09Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Ok, I must know: How is “Xochitl” pronounced? - > > (And don’t tell me her-my-knee.) “Throatwarbler Mangrove” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/7040 "2026-05-01T14:56:58Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > That woman’s just one dope, but why does New York Magazine platform her and encourage self-destructive behavior? Maybe they saw all the buzz that the New York Times got for its opinion piece/podcast encouraging shoplifting and got jealous. In other words: > [@Jackmannii](#): > > trying to drum up interest in their rag through rage-baiting, of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=351) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=353)