# Self-reported doper behavior that would baffle you to encounter in the wild **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580 "2014-05-03T13:28:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/61 "2014-05-09T00:05:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Really?! That’s not what I see at all. I thought it was practically a meme around here that if a “trouble in romance land” thread comes up, you can count on the vast majority of responses being “dump that loser” without consideration that we’re only getting one side of the story. I have never met a more unsentimental group of people as I have here. That’s not necessarily _bad_, but it’s very different from what I see “in the wild” as the thread asks. > > ETA: I’m talking about people _responding_ in such threads, not OPs who start such threads. Misunderstanding. I was talking about in real life, people hang in there too long. I agree around here, it’s “move on and suck it up” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/62 "2014-05-09T00:54:20Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Weeps silently. Offers tissue. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/63 "2014-05-09T01:32:17Z")
A stranger asking to share my umbrella. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/64 "2014-05-09T03:01:53Z")
I’ve never had a person steer every conversation toward their country of origin and how they do things there. Also haven’t been around anyone that popped their own bladder out of spite. Though I’ve had handicapped passengers on my bus accidentally pop their catheter bag. But no siblings were involved… ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/65 "2014-05-09T20:59:57Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > But I think **madmonk** ’s question–which I share–is why are you thinking so much about whether to signal in the first place? Isn’t it best just to reflexively signal whenever turning the wheel far enough? Avoiding cognitive load while driving in order to concentrate on… well, driving… seems wise to me. First, I’ll just note that if you’re not signaling until you turn the wheel then you’re signaling way too late.😉 Second, there isn’t any thinking about whether to signal or not because it doesn’t feel like a natural place to need to signal like a turn or changing lanes. Maybe if it was drilled into your head in driver’s ed, but I’d guess that for the majority of drivers in my area, roundabouts are a rather new traffic device and I know for sure that they weren’t covered when I learned to drive 20 years ago. So your idea that people who aren’t signaling are fighting some reflexive movement couldn’t be further from the truth. As I implied in my earlier post, once you are in a two-lane roundabout you **aren’t** turning the wheel nearly as far as you seem to assume since there is no actual right turn happening. As you proceed around the circle your steering wheel is turned left and as you approach your exit the steering action is more of a straightening out. > [@madmonk28](#): > > Correct, and that’s my self-reported behavior that I find baffling: people who decide on a case by case basis when to use a signal. What’s the downside of always using it when making a change in course? The problem with your question is that it’s not an accurate portrayal of my behavior or what I’ve posted in this thread. Until I read the OP it never occurred to me to use my signal when leaving a roundabout, so there is no case by case decision being made. In the two years that these roundabouts have been part of my commute I’ve never seen anyone use their signal, so it’s not like I’ve been ignoring some clue from other drivers. And as I’ve said, when I wait to enter the circle I’ve never had a problem judging an opening simply based on lane position and the way the oncoming cars are oriented. Take a look at [this photo](https://www.google.com/maps/@43.059933,-89.537217,3a,75y,355.94h,95.34t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sJfOmJkrz9mQmEjPCShJ0cQ!2e0?hl=en) and tell me if you think that white SUV is going to exit or proceed around the circle. How easy is it to see its right turn signal? ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/66 "2014-05-09T22:55:43Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Eating. Some dopers also have what I consider a bizarre childishness about refusing to eat food they dislike. I know people have their own comfort levels - I wouldn’t eat offal, for example, and I’d hate people thinking I’m weird for it. Dopers, on the other hand, refuse to eat all manner of food commonly consumed by almost everyone. Vegetables, chicken, fish, shell fish, beef, etc. I can see having one or two odd quirks, but I’ve never met anyone as precious as some dopers. I see a similar attitude about clothes. I’d be completely speechless if I met somebody at a funeral or wedding in sweatpants with the pugnacious attitude that their comfort is more important than social custom. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/67 "2014-05-09T23:48:06Z")
And that’s assuming they would bother going to a funeral! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/68 "2014-05-11T07:31:13Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Amen. If that ever happened here, I don’t know what I’d do? It’s a fire worthy offense, right? I’d hate to be stuck with a claim, but I don’t want any sobbing going on. Maybe I should preemptively send a no-tears memo. Perhaps you could include in your memo that if anyone wants to cry, you’ll give them something to cry about. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/69 "2014-05-11T14:56:08Z")
I have never in real life met a woman who was so offended by people (including those who don’t really know her, like her husband’s coworkers or kid’s teachers) incorrectly addressing \* cards and invitations that she would send the card back or refuse to attend the event. \*either by her husband’s last name when she doesn’t use it or addressing cards and invitations to "Mr & Mrs John Doe " rather than to Mr John Doe and Mrs Mary Doe when they both use the same last name. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/70 "2014-05-11T15:23:41Z")
I do not drive, so I may very well be wrong, but I was under the impression that when signalling at a roundabout, you treat it like any other intersection. If, relative to where you approach, you will ultimately be turning down the left road, signal left. If down the right road, signal right. If straight ahead, no signal. Then enter the roundabout as normal. This may depend on the scale of the roundabout, as if it’s a multiple-lane roundabout it starts to get more complicated. The instincts of drivers around here seem to be generally pretty good. Also, speaking as a dedicated pedestrian, people who do not signal their turns should be tarred and feathered. It’s important to do it even if no cars are behind you, because there may be someone like me making a judgement call on whether to cross or not based on visible blinker signals. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/71 "2014-05-11T22:06:31Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I have never in real life met a woman who was so offended by people (including those who don’t really know her, like her husband’s coworkers or kid’s teachers) incorrectly addressing \* cards and invitations that she would send the card back or refuse to attend the event. > > \*either by her husband’s last name when she doesn’t use it or addressing cards and invitations to "Mr & Mrs John Doe " rather than to Mr John Doe and Mrs Mary Doe when they both use the same last name. Can you provide a link? I find this one fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/72 "2014-05-11T22:40:49Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Can you provide a link? I find this one fascinating. Here’s one link- but it’s not nearly the only time I’ve seen it here. And I’ve never seen it in real life. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11014776&postcount=78](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11014776&postcount=78) ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/73 "2014-05-12T13:56:57Z")
Two year old toddlers who can read. Apparently, 90% of dopers were reading fluently at 2. In real life, I cannot imagine a two year old reading. I’ve never encountered one who was even remotely close to being able to read (I have a 3 and 6 year old, worked at a day care, and worked in K-12). Being able to read at 2 is so far off the charts that I think it would be quite shocking to meet a toddler who could do it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/74 "2014-05-12T14:55:43Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > Two year old toddlers who can read. Apparently, 90% of dopers were reading fluently at 2. > > In real life, I cannot imagine a two year old reading. I’ve never encountered one who was even remotely close to being able to read (I have a 3 and 6 year old, worked at a day care, and worked in K-12). Being able to read at 2 is so far off the charts that I think it would be quite shocking to meet a toddler who could do it. I started my master’s-degree thesis research while still in the womb. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/75 "2014-05-12T15:05:11Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > Two year old toddlers who can read. Apparently, 90% of dopers were reading fluently at 2. > > In real life, I cannot imagine a two year old reading. I’ve never encountered one who was even remotely close to being able to read (I have a 3 and 6 year old, worked at a day care, and worked in K-12). Being able to read at 2 is so far off the charts that I think it would be quite shocking to meet a toddler who could do it. Yeah, that one puzzles me too. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/76 "2014-05-12T15:20:32Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > Two year old toddlers who can read. Apparently, 90% of dopers were reading fluently at 2. > > In real life, I cannot imagine a two year old reading. I’ve never encountered one who was even remotely close to being able to read (I have a 3 and 6 year old, worked at a day care, and worked in K-12). Being able to read at 2 is so far off the charts that I think it would be quite shocking to meet a toddler who could do it. I did find that one very hard to believe, but one of my friends has a daughter who can already identify about 85% of the alphabet, plus numbers 1-10 correctly (as in, you can show her a pile of letters, and say “Find me an m” and she’ll hand you one). She’s not 18 months old yet. It would not surprise me if she was reading at least to a degree before she turned 3. ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/77 "2014-05-12T16:06:26Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I did find that one very hard to believe, but one of my friends has a daughter who can already identify about 85% of the alphabet, plus numbers 1-10 correctly (as in, you can show her a pile of letters, and say “Find me an m” and she’ll hand you one). She’s not 18 months old yet. It would not surprise me if she was reading at least to a degree before she turned 3. Well sure, many kids around that age start to memorize things be it letters or numbers or car makes, etc. My older son (at 24 months) could ID every US President. But reading is a huge leap from memorizing a few items. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/78 "2014-05-12T16:22:45Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > Two year old toddlers who can read. Apparently, 90% of dopers were reading fluently at 2. > > In real life, I cannot imagine a two year old reading. I’ve never encountered one who was even remotely close to being able to read (I have a 3 and 6 year old, worked at a day care, and worked in K-12). Being able to read at 2 is so far off the charts that I think it would be quite shocking to meet a toddler who could do it. My mother claims I was reading at 3. I can’t vouch for that, obviously, since I don’t remember that far back. I don’t remember not being able to read, either. Take that for what it’s worth. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/79 "2014-05-12T16:34:20Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > Two year old toddlers who can read. Apparently, 90% of dopers were reading fluently at 2. > > In real life, I cannot imagine a two year old reading. I’ve never encountered one who was even remotely close to being able to read (I have a 3 and 6 year old, worked at a day care, and worked in K-12). Being able to read at 2 is so far off the charts that I think it would be quite shocking to meet a toddler who could do it. THANK YOU. I hear this all the time here. You know what I don’t hear? The Dopers with dumb kids. Not autistic, not downs syndrome, not ADD, just slow. Because I can say in my experience working with kids in the past, some kids are slower than others. And it happens with egghead parents just as often. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580/80 "2014-05-12T16:58:41Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I started my master’s-degree thesis research while still in the womb. Hmph. Better late than never, I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-reported-doper-behavior-that-would-baffle-you-to-encounter-in-the-wild/687580.md?page=5)