# Shibboleths and simple judgements - what are yours? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491 "2006-01-25T02:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/21 "2006-01-26T22:23:19Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > Sorry about the title Ok, but you know it’s like somebody calling your name over and over again but they really don’t want you. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/22 "2006-01-26T22:36:21Z")
Anyone who, after the debate between Creationism and the Theory of Evolution, dismisses Evolution as “just a theory.” GAH! Anyone who repeats noxious urban legends as the truth. I had a school secretary try to tell me that a FOAF had roaches hatch out of her tongue after she’d licked an envelope that had roach eggs in the glue. :rolleyes: Sure, tell me a grody story, but at least have the awareness that it’s _just_ a story. Anyone who uses a inflammatory, derrogatory word (i.e. faggot, nigger, bitch) casually or in an attempt to offend. Or pretty much at all. People who get waaaaay too anal about language without really understanding it. Don’t chide me about splitting infinitives or ending a sentence with a preposition, you ninny. Latin rules applied to English by anal-retentive grammarians three hundred years ago don’t interest me. Versalitility, grace, and power in language interest me. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/23 "2006-01-26T23:35:13Z")
The words “transformative”, “empowering/ment”, “paradigm” and “divisive” immediately get a :rolleyes: from me. And “creative” is starting to have that effect, too. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/24 "2006-01-27T02:52:15Z")
**Bazzers** , my current “signature” (actually a cunning device used to transmit my latest wisdom to my acolytes) has this take on “creativity” from 60 years ago: ‘The unbeliever is always apt to make a kind of religion of his aesthetic experiences; he feels ethically irresponsible, perhaps, but he braces his strength to receive responsibilities of another kind which seem to the Christian quite illusory. He has to be “creative”; he has to obey a mystical amoral law called his artistic conscience.’ (CS Lewis, Christianity and literature) Plus ca change… ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/25 "2006-01-27T03:29:10Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Anyone who, after the debate between Creationism and the Theory of Evolution, dismisses Evolution as “just a theory.” Part of the problem (leaving aside - what you are obviously referring to - human religio-philosophical commitment, which like the poor will always be with us) is the tendency not to separate evolution in the sense of change and biological evolution as a theory about how such change occurs in organisms. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/26 "2006-01-27T17:19:05Z")
This one is so obvious that probably everyone on this board agrees, but a belief in Astrology is a simple way to separate the sheep from the goats. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/27 "2006-01-28T02:38:57Z")
And here’s one that ain’t so obvious, but still one I hold, so here it goes: someone who is anti-Israel. (Not pro-Palestine, note, or pro-an equitable settlement to the problen; but anti-Israel.) ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/28 "2006-01-28T07:12:28Z")
Anyone that says cats are stupid because they don’t do anything will have a hard time looking credible to me. Outright lying is not that difficult to catch. When someone lies, his behavior changes a bit from the way he normally acts and it is quit noticeable if you look for it. Bullshit is near impossible to catch unless you know what the exact truth is. When people bullshit they believe in part of what they are saying, so there is no noticeable difference. I find that when a story seems too good to be true, it is usually bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/29 "2006-02-01T04:34:59Z")
More on “creativity” and “vision” from C.S. Lewis (from his essay “The poison of subjectivism”): ‘While we believe that good is something to be invented, we demand of our rulers such qualities as “vision”, “dynamism”, “creativity”, and the like. If we returned to the objective view we should demand qualities much rarer, and much more beneficial – virtue, knowledge, diligence and skill. “Vision” is for sale, or claims to be for sale, everywhere. But give me a man who will do a day’s work for a day’s pay, who will refuse bribes, who will not make up his facts, and who had learned his job.’ Preach it bro! ---
**Author:** ![piggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@piggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piggy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/30 "2006-02-01T04:38:58Z")
“Can I ask you a question?” ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/31 "2006-02-01T10:24:21Z")
> [@piggy](#): > > “Can I ask you a question?” Hi! How are you? (just fine, thanks) Great! Say, could I ask you a question? (you already did) I mean, another question? (one more beside the first question?) Yes… (you already did) _At this point, Alphonse gets smart_ Sir, may I ask you two questions? (no) May I ask _one_ question, then? (nope) May I ask you how I may ask you a question? (you may) How may I ask you a question, sir? (you must seek retroactive question-asking permission for the number of questions already asked, plus two - one for permission to ask the question, and one for the question itself) …Sir, may I ask nine questions? (go right ahead) …Courtesy of fortune on unix about twenty years ago. It’s gotta be a quotation from somewhere, but I don’t know where. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/32 "2006-02-01T10:29:16Z")
Heard on the radio in Dublin the other day: “The houses in this area are literally shooting up.” No, they aren’t. Houses don’t shoot up, they get built. Personally I don’t dislike double negation. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/33 "2006-02-01T11:36:41Z")
“My eyes were _literally_ pinned to the screen!” Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Mordib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mordib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mordib)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/34 "2006-02-01T11:44:39Z")
a recent one for me is when people start off every response with ‘to be honest’ or ‘to tell you the truth’ as if they are admitting theyve been lying up to that point (although of course in most cases people seem to use this phrase before telling a lie in an attempt to cover it up). It inevitably makes me unable to trust anything they have or will say… ---
**Author:** ![M.Meursault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@M.Meursault](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Meursault)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/35 "2006-02-01T14:38:47Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > “My eyes were _literally_ pinned to the screen!” David Cross did a nice little bit on this on one of his CDs. The gist was: “Dude, I literally shit my pants!” “You shit your pants?” “No, you’re not listening; I _literally_ shit my pants.” After too many punches from my friends, I had to stop correcting people when they said “me and my mom” (or whatever). Upon hearing this, I would say “my mom and I.” Usually, a debate would follow, where I would chastise their lack of politeness (I don’t think this is an actual grammar rule; it’s just somewhat rude). One thing that bugs the crap out of me and makes me lose all respect for someone is when they use a catch-phrase from a commercial. A year or so ago, I had jury duty. The judge’s microphone stopped working. Once it got it fixed, he asked “can you hear me now?” The courtroom chuckled. I died on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/36 "2006-02-01T19:27:37Z")
> [@M. Meursault](#): > > After too many punches from my friends, I had to stop correcting people when they said “me and my mom” (or whatever). Upon hearing this, I would say “my mom and I.” Usually, a debate would follow, where I would chastise their lack of politeness (I don’t think this is an actual grammar rule; it’s just somewhat rude). Depending on the context, it’s a grammar rule as to whether to use “me” or “I”, deference to putting the other person first aside. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/37 "2006-02-01T19:28:46Z")
Oh, and my snap judgments are against people in the military, and abortionists. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/38 "2006-02-01T19:50:45Z")
Sort of similar to what the OP was saying…I notice that some people say things like, “I miss not having you around” when they clearly mean “I miss having you around”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/39 "2006-02-01T20:26:19Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > This one is so obvious that probably everyone on this board agrees, but a belief in Astrology is a simple way to separate the sheep from the goats. The word “Homeopathic” on a “medicine”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491/40 "2006-02-01T23:31:48Z")
People (politicians in particular) who want to be kept “appraised” of the situation. Yes, Alexander Downer, I’m talking about you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shibboleths-and-simple-judgements-what-are-yours/341491.md?page=3)