# What Unconventional (but still good) Advice Do You Have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691 "2018-02-12T16:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/21 "2018-02-13T17:32:54Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > On driving: don’t be polite, be consistent. I love that ! Also, this one (paraphrased from another Doper who’s name escapes me); “There’s no one in those cars.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/22 "2018-02-13T18:13:34Z")
If you don’t know what choice to make, wait. Of course, this doesn’t work in emergency situations. But a lot of times, I’ve found that simply removing the sense of urgency from a situation can make it a lot easier to make a decision. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/23 "2018-02-13T18:26:11Z")
Soaking dried beans is a waste of time. You may ultimately save 25-40% on the cooking time, but you’ve diminished the taste and texture by at least that much. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/24 "2018-02-13T19:56:04Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > If you don’t know what choice to make, wait. My dad used to say, _“Do something, even if it’s wrong”._ My advice: Don’t mess with people who have nothing to lose. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/25 "2018-02-13T20:16:41Z")
Most organized education is a waste of time and money. Instead of organizing your life around getting as much education as possible, organize your life around getting as little formal education as you can get away with. If you do decide that you must have an education, get it from the cheapest possible source. You do this for everything else you buy, so why not education? If Yale offers you a B.A. for $200,000 and WVU offers you a B.A. for $20,000, WVU is giving you a much better option. And if you must have an education, pay as little attention in class as possible while still getting passing grades. You will never use most of what the professors are teaching in most classes. I’m a computer programmer, and I have never used 95% of what I learned while pursuing a computer science degree. Class time is an excellent time for sleeping, posting on Facebook, or doing Sudoku. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/26 "2018-02-13T20:33:18Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > And if you must have an education, pay as little attention in class as possible while still getting passing grades. You will never use most of what the professors are teaching in most classes. I knew a guy who got his law degree from Penn. He also made a small fortune buying/selling real estate while getting his degree. I guess he is a genius, but he would sit in class doing paperwork for his real estate thing and pick up enough of what the professors were saying to finish in the top 25% of his class. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/27 "2018-02-13T21:15:08Z")
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/28 "2018-02-13T21:28:17Z")
I use these at work quite often, but they are also good in life: There is a difference between what’s right and what’s useful. So many times people present too much dense, accurate information that the audience is lost, or spend time correcting tiny details such that the discussion is derailed. The triple constraint: Good, Fast, and Cheap. You only get to pick two - the one you don’t pick is the one the thing will not be. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/29 "2018-02-13T22:02:47Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > On driving: don’t be polite, be consistent. And avoid the politely intended, but lethal, “[wave of death](https://www.callkleinlawyers.com/full-disclosure/wave-death-polite-can-get-killed/)”. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/30 "2018-02-13T22:20:29Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > As my banker once told me, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be". Unless you are a librarian or a library patron. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/31 "2018-02-13T22:24:59Z")
I dunno about unconventional, but I don’t see it much: “If you’re absolutely certain that you’re right, but large numbers of people are telling you you’re wrong, perhaps you ought to consider the possibility that you are, in fact, wrong.” That comes to mind a _lot_, reading these forums. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/32 "2018-02-13T22:30:13Z")
OK, I know that this thread is probably intended for general advice, but here’s my two cents’ worth anyway. When you get married, forget the 2-week honeymoon. Go away as far as you can for as long as you can. We moved overseas for work two months after the wedding. We lived there 6 years. It was $0.99 per minute to call home. When we fought, we had no one to talk about it with but each other. We learned to get over hurt feelings and work out our problems quickly. 22 years later, we still can. Even of you can’t go away, don’t call your mom or your best friend to complain about your spouse. Bringing someone else into the situation opens the door to division and finger-pointing. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/33 "2018-02-13T22:37:27Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > My dad told me this too. If you can see the cop he’s already seen you and buzzed you, might as well just keep going because there ain’t nothing you can do about it anyway I always though this as well until I got pulled over and the cop went off on me “Know whey I stopped you? You saw me sitting there and you barley even slowed down! Here’s your ticket. Next time slow down!” So now days I actually do hit the brakes. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/34 "2018-02-13T22:44:19Z")
Don’t try to reason with a 2 year old. Stand for something or you will fall for anything. When you are in a hurry to clean house because you have company coming, concentrate on the large flat surfaces, the floor, the table tops, the counter/island, beds. You can’t borrow yourself rich. After retirement, keep moving or you will soon not be able to move. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/35 "2018-02-13T23:08:00Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > Even of you can’t go away, don’t call your mom or your best friend to complain about your spouse. Bringing someone else into the situation opens the door to division and finger-pointing. This reminds me of something my mother told me years ago. In their first year of marriage, my mom and dad got into a big fight and she called her mother, bawling, “I want to come home!” Her mother calmly told her, “Honey, you ARE home.” ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/36 "2018-02-13T23:42:32Z")
Here is one I learned from an ex-boss: “If you want something done in a hurry, give it to a busy person” ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/37 "2018-02-14T00:23:42Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Here is one I learned from an ex-boss: > “If you want something done in a hurry, give it to a busy person” And likewise regarding quality of work: “We need this in a hurry, so don’t rush.” Meaning, doing it right the first time will end-up saving time. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/38 "2018-02-14T03:01:21Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > And likewise regarding quality of work: “We need this in a hurry, so don’t rush.” Meaning, doing it right the first time will end-up saving time. I knew a mechanic who had a sign thing on the wall that said “_If you don’t have time to do it right, how will you find time to do it over?_” ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/39 "2018-02-14T05:56:24Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Someone asked me a long time ago, when I was being overly insistent, if I would rather be right or be happy. I’ve tried to keep that in mind over the years. > [@Elwood P. Dowd](#): > > Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, “In this world, Elwood, you must be” - she always called me Elwood - “In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me. … ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691/40 "2018-02-14T06:30:26Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Soaking dried beans is a waste of time. You may ultimately save 25-40% on the cooking time, but you’ve diminished the taste and texture by at least that much. Do you mean never cooked beans, in a bag rather than a jar or can? They aren’t dried, they’re the way they come out of the shell. Dry as in “not made wet”, not dried as in “they used to be wet”. One of my defects as a worker is that I’m bad at stretching work. One of my favorite managers, who was as quick as I am, told me “just don’t hand it in too quickly, you don’t want to make the internals look bad”, but she was happy to know I actually did it in less than the allotted time. Just didn’t hand it in officially; if she had time to start reviewing it early she could ask me for it and I’d have it. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > After retirement, keep moving or you will soon not be able to move. Today I read an article about an 80yo who’s about to go on his Erasmus exchange. A retired notary public (in Spain that requires a law degree and is considered the hardest job to get), he’s now finishing his degree in History. That’s some serious movement 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unconventional-but-still-good-advice-do-you-have/808691.md?page=3)