# Why can't Siam Sam accept correction? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 15, 2012, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779 "2012-09-15T09:45:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/41 "2012-09-16T02:57:11Z")
so you’ve ignored him thrice? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/42 "2012-09-16T03:34:48Z")
**Siam Sam** and **septimus** are both fools to think they are greater experts on the Thai language and culture than I because, just a couple hours ago, I read the label on a package of pad thai noodles _in the original English._ ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/43 "2012-09-16T11:25:21Z")
I admit I have an inexplicable anti-social compulsion to correct errors. And I admit that incorrect claims that _I_ am mistaken infuriate me irrationally. Dopers don’t even know my true name, and it wouldn’t matter if they did … Why my irrational need to have my truths validated? I’ve often thought a BBQ Pit thread should be directed against me and my perversion. I don’t know how this perversion developed. Even at age 7 I was aware that I was more knowledgeable than some adults on some subjects, yet I remained an almost-autistic social misfit well into adulthood. Many Dopers are aware of this perverse obsession of mine. It also manifests in real life. But there is a Jekyll side to my Hyde: Some people have called me the most patient person they’ve met :smack: and our happy family here is the envy of our friends and neighbors. There are plenty of Dopers who infuriate me besides Siam Sam, but I will reiterate why I find him irritating. (BTW, the claim that the “fart” confusion might be a dialectal variation is absurd. Sam and I are both used to the Central Thai dialect. His conflation of ‘d’ with ‘t’, by the way, rather confirms his lack of Thai language knowledge.) Recently we had an argument about the requirement to open a bank account in Thailand. Despite that I personally know a dozen foreigners who have opened an account without a work permit, and he knows _one_ (himself) who was supposedly asked for a permit, he’s insisted on replying “work permits are generally required” about _five times_ now. Rationally this shouldn’t infuriate me, but it does. Here’s my final post on that topic from the other thread: > [@How Hard Is It To Open A Chekcing Account In Another Country?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-it-to-open-a-chekcing-account-in-another-country/634522/31): > > I apologize to Dopers tired of this question, but placing the truth on record is a fetish of mine. 😃 > > > [@How Hard Is It To Open A Chekcing Account In Another Country?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-it-to-open-a-chekcing-account-in-another-country/634522/20): > > > > Technically, you need to be employed or on a retirement visa to open an account … > > I’m glad you’ve put me on Ignore, Sam, so I can finally correct this without you re-posting this mistake yet again. > > All that a foreigner needs to open a bank account in Thailand is a non-I visa. I know about a dozen foreigners who’ve done so and only one (you) who’s been asked for a work permit. Why _you_ are asked for the work permit I don’t know. My best guess is a conversation like > Sam, opening an account: “Would you like to see my work permit?” > Bank officer: “Uhh, OK. Why not?” > > That your claim is absurd is logically clear as I explained earlier: Most people with retirement visas open bank accounts _at least two months before_ they apply for the retirement visa, to satisfy the “financial proof” requirement for the visa, and retirees are _not permitted to have work permits_. (I notice you’ve added “retirement” to your claim but the retiree is never asked to return to the bank to validate his account!) > > All that a foreigner needs to open a bank account in Thailand is a non-I visa. One foreigner (Sam) was, supposedly asked for his work permit. I wish he would say “I had to show my permit” rather than the false statement “permits are ‘technically’ or ‘generally’ required.” ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/44 "2012-09-16T12:17:08Z")
Dude, you’ve got…some issues. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/45 "2012-09-16T13:37:55Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I thought I was going to win with, “I think I have some frozen Thai food in my freezer,” but I think you took the crown. {Bows to **LHOD** } Having actually visited there, once, for five days in 1990, I was afraid that I was clearly out of the running. Fortunately, I still have youtube to vent on. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/46 "2012-09-16T13:46:05Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Even at age 7 I was aware that I was more knowledgeable than some adults on some subjects, yet I remained an almost-autistic social misfit well into adulthood. How terrible it must have been and must continue to be, trapped on this miserable lowly planet with your inferiors. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/47 "2012-09-16T14:07:37Z")
Maybe one of his beloved succumbed to Alzheimer’s and he can’t confront the malady in literature? ---
**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 16, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/48 "2012-09-16T18:18:01Z")
I have grown gesneriads native to Thailand like Seemania sylvatica. My knowledge is not to be farted at. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/49 "2012-09-16T20:21:30Z")
In Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side, do all the coloured girls go Doot Doot Doot or Toot Toot Toot? Need answer fast, I am currently embroiled in a heated messageboard debate with a junkie transsexual from Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/50 "2012-09-16T20:42:48Z")
Well, I once had a layover in the Taipei airport. Sure, it is in Taiwan, but it sounds a lot like Tailand… and they are both far away in that strange part of the world filled with yellow people. I’ll be happy to share my expertise whenever (not) asked. The correct pronunciation is Poot… so there. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/51 "2012-09-17T00:58:57Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > There are plenty of Dopers who infuriate me besides Siam Sam list! list! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/52 "2012-09-17T02:02:52Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > We used to have a Siamese cat when I was growing up. Trump _that_, beaches! I learned to Thai my shoes when I was 5 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/53 "2012-09-17T02:19:10Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > I learned to Thai my shoes when I was 5 years old. Aw Phuket, that pun was bad. (Yeah yeah I know it’s not pronounced that way.) ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/54 "2012-09-17T03:21:11Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > According to the law of sociolinguistic homeopathy, my week in Thailand in the mid-90’s trumps all of you. Now unless we get another poster who had a brief layover at the Bangkok airport or who recently tried Pad Thai for the first time… I kissed a thai girl on vacation in the US, that should make me the new expert. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/55 "2012-09-17T03:24:05Z")
It’s a ten-way Thai! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/56 "2012-09-17T03:34:13Z")
What I don’t understand is why Thais insist on using those squiggly letters rather than a proper American alphabet like the Vietnamese and Filipinos do. Are they trying to hide something? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/57 "2012-09-17T03:46:24Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Aw Phuket, that pun was bad. > > (Yeah yeah I know it’s not pronounced that way.) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/58 "2012-09-17T06:14:13Z")
I actually attempted to cook Pad Thai a couple of nights ago. It turned out so-so, not great. I may try again so I will be even more of a Thai expert. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/59 "2012-09-17T12:34:40Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > What I don’t understand is why Thais insist on using those squiggly letters rather than a proper American alphabet like the Vietnamese and Filipinos do. Are they trying to hide something? They just dropped some noodles in the printing press. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/60 "2012-09-17T12:57:24Z")
I kinda of have to disagree with your premise. I find the exact reverse to be true. You may not remember, but there was a time when Siam Sam posted often on the topic of ruthless Thai bar girls cravenly victimizing expats. Now, having spent time there, I know, such things _do_ happen, and such stories abound. But Sam seemed to really favour these stories. But he started taking heat for it, and facing questions, and he, somewhat graciously moved away from either his view of them, or posting about them. And, in a thread where I’d posted about Asians always washing their rice, he was graciously surprised such was true and he hadn’t noticed. So I’m really not seeing what you’re on about, to be honest. Siam Sam makes an interesting contribution to this board, in my humble opinion. But he’s just a guy with an opinion, in the end, like all of us. Sometimes he gets it wrong. Big Whoop. Let it go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779.md?page=4)