# Stupidity you have heard **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 4, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761 "2014-08-04T05:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/181 "2014-08-07T21:27:20Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Not stupid. If someone says they don’t eat dairy, then one strong possibility is they abstain on moral grounds - they object to exploitation of animals. Asking if they also abstain from eggs is perfectly logical. Right - a person who doesn’t eat dairy products COULD just be lactose-intolerant, but he/she could also be a vegan. It wouldn’t be silly for a waitress or a gracious hostess to ask the question, just to make sure you aren’t served something you can’t or won’t eat. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/182 "2014-08-07T21:38:41Z")
I would assume someone who says they _can’t_ eat dairy products is lactose intolerant. Otherwise, they need to go back to English class. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/183 "2014-08-07T21:39:17Z")
Here’s two: A journalism/drama teacher teaching a sophomore high school English class quoted from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”: “U-tay Bru-tay.” No amount of arguing, even from members of the Latin class, could dissuade her. She was sure that the Bard of Avon intended it to rhyme. Since, ya know, he was a poet. The second one would be from the late 70’s, long before chip-equipped automotive keys became common-place. When her boyfriend’s car would turn over, but not catch and start, a young woman asked her BF, “Are you sure you have the right key?” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/184 "2014-08-07T22:02:01Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > I would assume someone who says they _can’t_ eat dairy products is lactose intolerant. Otherwise, they need to go back to English class. Sounds like someone does at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/185 "2014-08-07T22:04:41Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Sounds like someone does at any rate. I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/186 "2014-08-07T22:15:41Z")
Meaning the insistence on can as being suitable only for statements of pure capability is at best a stylistic issue but is not an actual feature of english. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/187 "2014-08-07T22:30:55Z")
Well, cool. We’re in agreement. A lactose intolerant person is quite obviously physically capable of consuming dairy products. However, it’s normal to say one “cannot” do something when what is really meant is that something is not allowed or, as another example, medical problems will arise as a result. It’s not normal to use “can’t” to mean that one has chosen not to do something for purely personal reasons. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/188 "2014-08-07T22:32:19Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > The husband taking on his wife’s pregnancy sickness. Never heard of sympathy pains? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/189 "2014-08-07T23:48:25Z")
I also love the, “I know that can not be done.” folks & the, “I bet I can.” folks in the other aisle… ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/190 "2014-08-08T00:07:40Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > It’s not normal to use “can’t” to mean that one has chosen not to do something for purely personal reasons. Sure it is. I can’t afford a lot of things that I actually could afford if I wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/191 "2014-08-08T01:18:34Z")
I had a student teacher in the fifth grade who insisted, even in the face of Latin, that A.D., as in “the year AD 2014,” stood for “after death.” Trying to explain that this meant that year 1 would be the year we currently refer to as “AD 33” didn’t help either. And she would not let me go to the library to look it up. I’m still mad about that. I also think it’s a little ridiculous that the Jewish kid in class was the one who knew this. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/192 "2014-08-08T01:32:01Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Sure it is. I can’t afford a lot of things that I actually could afford if I wanted to. “Afford” doesn’t just mean that you’re capable of paying for something. It can also mean that doing what you “can’t afford” to do would be to your disadvantage. I’ll be more specific. It’s not normal to say one can’t consume something when it’s actually purely a personal choice. In fact, I would consider it a little dishonest and self-important to act as if such personal choices are actually necessities. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/193 "2014-08-08T12:15:14Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > I’ll be more specific. It’s not normal to say one can’t consume something when it’s actually purely a personal choice. In fact, I would consider it a little dishonest and self-important to act as if such personal choices are actually necessities. My Jewish friend after asking about the ingredients in a soup: “Oh, I can’t have that one; let’s go with the veggie noodle.” Similarly, lots of people on temporary, optional (often ill-advised IMO) diets “can’t have” lots of foods. My autistic, overly literal cousin also objects to this very normal use, so at least you’re not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/194 "2014-08-08T13:12:42Z")
A polite request: for any further discussion of the meaning and usage of _can’t_, please start a new thread in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Lonnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lonnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lonnie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/195 "2014-08-08T14:03:07Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Right - a person who doesn’t eat dairy products COULD just be lactose-intolerant, but he/she could also be a vegan. > > It wouldn’t be silly for a waitress or a gracious hostess to ask the question, just to make sure you aren’t served something you can’t or won’t eat. Or the other possibility is food allergy. Quite often people who are allergic to the casein in milk have other food allergies. Chicken eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, nuts, peanut etc are on the top of the list. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/196 "2014-08-08T15:35:58Z")
> [@Lonnie](#): > > Or the other possibility is food allergy. Quite often people who are allergic to the casein in milk have other food allergies. Chicken eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, nuts, peanut etc are on the top of the list. Exactly my point. When I say I can’t have dairy no one ever says “It has shellfish and nuts in it, is that ok?”. And I don’t think waitresses are assuming I am a vegan when I order food. I still am convinced it is because the eggs are next to the cheese in the refrigerated case at the store that people think they are both dairy products. But by that logic Pillsbury biscuits and orange juice are also dairy products. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/197 "2014-08-08T16:34:01Z")
Damn those topics that hijack threads but are a little too pointless for a whole thread. Does anyone else want a new thread on this tangent? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/198 "2014-08-08T16:49:44Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > A polite request: for any further discussion of the meaning and usage of _can’t_, please start a new thread in GQ. I’d start a new topic, but frankly, I could care less. [d&r] ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/199 "2014-08-08T17:36:35Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > I’d start a new topic, but frankly, I could care less. That seems to be the problem many of us have. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761/200 "2014-08-08T20:14:55Z")
My wife and I were having dinner with a couple we had just met through an activity group. They were about our age, had children of about the age of ours and seemed agreeable enough. During dinner the subject of space exploration came up. The wife let us know that she was absolutely opposed to building an outpost on the moon because the extra of the base would throw the moon out of orbit and send it hurtling towards the earth causing death and destruction. She was perfectly serious. I had know idea what to talk about during the rest of the meal. When someone view of reality is that messed up what is a safe subject? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidity-you-have-heard/694761.md?page=11)