# What things are either extremely good or really bad, with little or no middle ground? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152 "2022-09-24T17:30:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/21 "2022-09-25T13:59:27Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > Being a proofreader. Nobody notices you til you make a boo-boo. Kind of like being an umpire (or a bass player). I’ve done a lot of supplemental proofreading over the years, so I can relate. I’d hate be be a full-time proofreader. Yeah, proofreading is like breathing— nobody gives it any thought until something goes wrong. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > Jazz. It’s either fantastic or it’s noise. Or fantastic noise! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/22 "2022-09-25T14:06:38Z")
Calamari is best cooked for 2 minutes over high heat. Any more than that, it will have to be cooked 1/2 - 1 hour to re-tenderize it. There is a FB page here on local restaurants where you can write about your experience. There are a handful of ‘sacred cow’ restaurants that are continually raved over. If you dare say anything not 100% positive, woe unto you; you get bashed to kingdom come for not speaking to the manager/speaking to the manager/not understanding how haaaaard they work there/ or the old defensive ‘well, I go there once a week and I have ALWAYS had a splendid meal and excellent service.’ 😅 Since ‘I’ never get to go, I get a bit of schadenfreude reading a thumbs down review. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/23 "2022-09-25T14:31:24Z")
Blueberry pie. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/24 "2022-09-25T18:00:36Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Jazz. It’s either fantastic or it’s noise. There is no middle ground. The middle ground is a bunch of musicians taking turns noodling up and down scales. And then there’s the obligatory, soporific drum solo. But great jazz is some of the greatest music ever. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/25 "2022-09-25T21:36:12Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Blowfish sushi, or so I’ve heard. I’ve had it and it was meh. It was in an ordinary restaurant in Japan, meaning prepared with no poison, just raw fish with not much flavor. Same meal I had raw horsemeat. Tasted a lot like raw beef, which I do like. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/26 "2022-09-26T23:54:53Z")
I was never eager to try calamari, but after I heard on _This American Life_ that pork processing plants sell bung (hog rectums) to the Chinese, who sell it as calamari, I don’t think I’ll ever want to try it. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/27 "2022-09-27T00:13:59Z")
Lottery Tickets. Extremely good or worthless (yes, I know you can win $5 or $10, but that sucks too if the prize is $450,000,000) ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2022, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/28 "2022-09-28T09:30:48Z")
This. Also cleaners/janitors. If everything’s pristine clean but a spot with a cigarette butt, the management will complain about that spot. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/29 "2022-09-28T13:26:25Z")
General anesthesia (inspired in part by [this story](https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2022/09/watch-surveillance-footage-of-richardson-anesthesiologist-accused-of-poisoning-iv-bags/)). ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/30 "2022-09-28T13:47:17Z")
I’d also include narcotic analgesic abuse. Abusers crave the euphoria resulting from high dose narcotics (euphoria = good). But there is a low margin of error for the euphoric effect to escalate to respiratory depression and death (death = bad). ---
**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:** [October 1, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/31 "2022-10-01T02:56:02Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > General anesthesia I had a very bad, but not even approaching lethal, GA experience once, and I’ll agree with that. I’ll also say it’s another thing that you don’t notice until it’s not there. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/32 "2022-10-01T03:07:09Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Blueberry pie My supermarket bakery has consistently good blueberry pies. I buy them frequently, maybe four or five a year. I attribute it to the berries, which are labeled “wild Maine blueberries”. They are small blueberries, much smaller than those bland, grape-sized blueberries you see in the produce section. They are packed with blueberry flavor, which really puts these pies over the top. Look for “wild Maine blueberry” pies. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152/33 "2022-10-03T04:47:38Z")
I am not sure but this thread got me thinking back to when I was cooking calamari at 14-15 years and didn’t think too much of it. Didn’t remember any complaints, so I guess I did OK. Also, the thing about eggs: At first I was thinking that I will eat eggs pretty much however they end up (when I make them), but that’s definitely true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-either-extremely-good-or-really-bad-with-little-or-no-middle-ground/972152.md?page=1)