Clearing up some common misconceptions.

[Something Amyss]

Pretty much every wrestling fan above the age of ten knows it's fake. You don't sound smarter for telling us "it's not real;" you sound like the dude trying to tell the audience that the alien that just burst from the guy's chest is fake.

If you do know an adult who enjoys pro wrestling and doesn't know it's fake, don't worry about telling them. You'll be too busy consoling them about that Nigerian prince that scammed them.

 

[chadachada123]

Very common misconception: Child molesters are pedophiles, and pedophiles are child molesters.

Child molestation, from a literal standpoint, can involve children anywhere from age 0 to age 17.

Pedophiles are sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children. That is, children that haven't started puberty yet. Being attracted to 14-year olds does not make you or anyone else a pedophile.

Pedophilia is not a choice, anymore than choosing to be attracted to blondes or skinny women/men or dark-skinned women/men is. Child molestation is a choice. Of course, few people would call an 18-year old that has sex with a 17-year old a "child-molester," but strictly-speaking that's the definition (whenever the sex is "illegal," so depends on the jurisdiction).

 

[dvd_72]

Close. Much like the "theory of gravity", the temperature of absolute zero on our Celsius scale is widely accepted to be the correct value of absolute zero.

Apologies if I have misunderstood your point, but I wasn't saying that -273°C wasn't the temperature for absolute zero. What I meant was that although there may be a place in the universe where the temperature is absolute zero, we do not actually know of a specific place or thing that is that cold.

(snip)


Electrons are not tiny little balls travelling in nice neat orbits around a nucleus. They are more like clouds of charge, and their orbits can be some really weird shapes.

Those are the only ones that spring to mind right now.

Oh no, you've understood what I said, but I misunderstood what you said. My apologies.

Oh, and if you think electron orbitals are odd, try to wrap your head around a shell structure for the nucleus, or that the strong force is repulsive at very small distances.... you know, listing the corrections to all the convenient simplifications in physics would be a book all to itself

 

[silexh]

Common misconceptions I encounter often:

A microwave door is hard to look trough to make it resist heat.

It's to keep the radiation inside.

You'll die when lighting strikes your sail boat/car. So get out of it during a storm.

You are perfectly safe in your car or (decent) sail boat when lighting strikes. Your car/boat might not like it that much though.

It's bad for children to play in sandpits, because they can become very ill/die when they put sand in their mouths. Same thing with mud.

Research has shown (I know, citation needed) that the immune system is trained very effectively by these kind of activities (also, animals, lots of animals). This also helps preventing nasty immune diseases.

It's bad to blow on your food to cool it down

What? Stuff comes out of your mouth and you put it back in, you won't get any diseases from that. Don't blow on food someone else is going to eat. Also, don't sneeze in someone's face, it's rude.

Expensive cables are better.

At normal distances any piece of wire (or metal) will be almost as good as those expensive Oxygen Free Copper cables. Also gold/copper plated contact points won't matter. This is especially the case with audio (you can use anything as speaker cables). When reaching the limit of the specification it might make a difference (HDMI/Ethernet), but that's mainly because of interference/insulation. If you are unsure, ask an engineer, not a salesman.

A placebo won't work when you know it's a placebo

Amazingly it does.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Oh, fucking hell that is annoying, yeah. Though, I'd personally say that the "vaccines cause autism" health scare was worse than the powerlines/cancer one.

Oh, add vaccines cause autism to the list. Honestly, some celebrity says it so it must be true? And fucking Oprah letting her make it into a big thing, there's blood on both of them.

For reference, when I say space is not cold, I mean in this way: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Analysis/SpaceIsCold

 

[ElPatron]

Now, if some of the atmosphere goes into the vacuum with you, wouldn't it absorb heat from its surroundings (yourself included) as it expands? Not necessarily instantly freezing you solid or whatever, but you'd still lose heat.

All I am saying is that even in a vaccum there are energy transfers. But human skin is not a very good emitter.

A pressure cooker has nothing to do with getting fusion to work with a Black Hole.

I used it as an analogy. A unfortunate one because pressure drops the boiling temperature.

But compression of mass helps reaching the temperature required for fusion. It happens naturally in stars. A black hole would make it very effective, but the issues are:

- Working with a black hole from a distance. We would have to send expensive equipment in a very long trip, eventually making the response time of the probes reach years. We basically don't know a lot about them anyway, so research is needed

- Getting the energy to be transferred to Earth. It would be like relying on the light reflecting on the moon to warm our planet.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Now, if some of the atmosphere goes into the vacuum with you, wouldn't it absorb heat from its surroundings (yourself included) as it expands? Not necessarily instantly freezing you solid or whatever, but you'd still lose heat.

All I am saying is that even in a vaccum there are energy transfers. But human skin is not a very good emitter.

A pressure cooker has nothing to do with getting fusion to work with a Black Hole.

I used it as an analogy. A unfortunate one because pressure drops the boiling temperature.

But compression of mass helps reaching the temperature required for fusion. It happens naturally in stars. A black hole would make it very effective, but the issues are:

- Working with a black hole from a distance. We would have to send expensive equipment in a very long trip, eventually making the response time of the probes reach years. We basically don't know a lot about them anyway, so research is needed

- Getting the energy to be transferred to Earth. It would be like relying on the light reflecting on the moon to warm our planet.

Uh, you mean LACK of pressure drops the boiling temperature, right? The boiling point of fluids is directly related to how much pressure is acting on it. That's why water boils instantly in a vacuum.

 

[Deathmageddon]

Because even though the wealthy are taxed at a higher rate they still have substantially more after necessities to save an for luxuries.

Obvious statement is obvious.

Because the wealthy have a higher tendency to save their money rather than entering it back into the economy.

They're still responsible for about a third of US domestic spending.

Because increasing the tax burden on those who are already scraping to get buy will run the risk of devastating out economy.

It wouldn't increase the amount of taxes they're paying, just the amount of their income is taxable. There would be a national sales tax, but the income tax reduction would more than make up for it.

Because there is no reason to believe that the 9-9-9 plan would close those tax loopholes that are currently exploited.

You're kidding, right? 9-9-9 is three numbers, the current tax code is a bloated monstrosity that's more convoluted than Obamacare. Also, 9-9-9 completely scraps all existing federal tax laws.

And finally since I'm a Democrat, because conservative economic policy has been shown to consistently fail for the past 3 decades and there's no reason Cain's plan wouldn't continue that trend.

So I guess the years of economic prosperity between 1980 and 2001 don't count. (Clinton had a mostly Republican Congress)

So, not necessarily 9-9-9, but a flat tax would be awesome.

 

[ElPatron]

Uh, you mean LACK of pressure drops the boiling temperature, right? The boiling point of fluids is directly related to how much pressure is acting on it. That's why water boils instantly in a vacuum.

I said "pressure". I did not say "higher pressure". Just that pressure has an effect on how low the boiling temperature is.

I should proof-read more often.

 

[Ledan]

Disclaimer: US politics

I was talking to a democrat I'd known for a few years about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, and he was totally against it, just because the idea came from a Republican's mouth. Now, the US tax code SUUUUCKS. It punishes individuals with higher annual income: at 100,000 a year, almost 50% is taxable, compared to 10-20% for someone who makes minimum wage. It has a bunch of loopholes for people who can afford a dozen lawyers and CPAs to file a return for them. not only that, but your state refund is taxable, and there's an alternative minimum tax for those who are eligible for too many deductions. Plus, simply compiling information for and filing your mandatory, yearly tax return costs about 30 cents for every dollar of your refund (mind you, the refund is YOUR money that the government wrongly took). Finally, most Americans don't even know what they're doing when they file a return.

So tell me, how is a 9% flat tax any worse than THAT?!

PS - the tax rates that manufacturers and retailers pay on their goods are sky high, around 50%.

If you explain the situation of the new plan a bit more to me I could give you actual reason why it could be wrong or at least a poor idea according to Economics(the subject in school).

A black hole is supercondensed matter. Like a sun or two compressed into a tiny size, Take the same amount of matter and use it for nuclear fusion..... thats enough energy to..... idk a gtood comparison -.-, but it would be a greater force. Gravity is weak because it requires soooo much mass to be powerful.

Aside from the logistical nightmare or rather impossibility of mining something as dense as black hole or keeping it somewhere that is not how fission or fusion works. Gravity is weak because it is weak as to compare it to video games dual wielding Klobbs still doesn't make them a decent gun.

Fusion works when the gravity in a star compresses Hydrogen to Helium and then the heat assists in this or we heat things really hot and then they can fuse more easily. That is a simplification though. Black Holes just suck everything into its super dense self so I don't see how this would aid in fusion.

I'm saying you should use a black hole in fusion -.- . But the same amount of matter would provide more energy/force if used in any other way. Gravity in a black hole is only strong because there is so fricking much of matter.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Disclaimer: US politics

I was talking to a democrat I'd known for a few years about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, and he was totally against it, just because the idea came from a Republican's mouth. Now, the US tax code SUUUUCKS. It punishes individuals with higher annual income: at 100,000 a year, almost 50% is taxable, compared to 10-20% for someone who makes minimum wage. It has a bunch of loopholes for people who can afford a dozen lawyers and CPAs to file a return for them. not only that, but your state refund is taxable, and there's an alternative minimum tax for those who are eligible for too many deductions. Plus, simply compiling information for and filing your mandatory, yearly tax return costs about 30 cents for every dollar of your refund (mind you, the refund is YOUR money that the government wrongly took). Finally, most Americans don't even know what they're doing when they file a return.

So tell me, how is a 9% flat tax any worse than THAT?!

PS - the tax rates that manufacturers and retailers pay on their goods are sky high, around 50%.

If you explain the situation of the new plan a bit more to me I could give you actual reason why it could be wrong or at least a poor idea according to Economics(the subject in school).

A black hole is supercondensed matter. Like a sun or two compressed into a tiny size, Take the same amount of matter and use it for nuclear fusion..... thats enough energy to..... idk a gtood comparison -.-, but it would be a greater force. Gravity is weak because it requires soooo much mass to be powerful.

Aside from the logistical nightmare or rather impossibility of mining something as dense as black hole or keeping it somewhere that is not how fission or fusion works. Gravity is weak because it is weak as to compare it to video games dual wielding Klobbs still doesn't make them a decent gun.

Fusion works when the gravity in a star compresses Hydrogen to Helium and then the heat assists in this or we heat things really hot and then they can fuse more easily. That is a simplification though. Black Holes just suck everything into its super dense self so I don't see how this would aid in fusion.

I'm saying you should use a black hole in fusion -.- . But the same amount of matter would provide more energy/force if used in any other way. Gravity in a black hole is only strong because there is so fricking much of matter.

Right that's fair enough.

 

[Nathan Crumpler]

Not all Metal bands write songs about the devil or about being evil in general. There are bands like slayer that talk about evil things in almost every song, but there are also bands like Iron Maiden who rarely write songs about satan or being evil. Iron Maiden is known for writing songs about history and and books.

 

[AngleWyrm]

My fellow Americans, you do NOT need to eat an entire fucking cow every day! Seriously, I'm amazed by how much people over-consume meat in this country. I have no moral stance against eating meat, but damn, most people I see eat WAY too much.

That is not a misconception, that is an opinion. There is a difference.

A misconception is a false interpretation or false understanding.

For instance, most people think that fat people could be normal sized people if they just ate less and exercised more. But clearly that is not the case, because we still have fat people.

 

[Doclector]

That a little insanity is a bad thing. Heck, a lot of mental "problems" form as a defence mechanism, preventing greater damage.

 

[9thRequiem]

For instance, most people think that fat people could be normal sized people if they just ate less and exercised more. But clearly that is not the case, because we still have fat people.

Your conclusion may be correct, but "because we still have fat people" isn't a valid justification - you've not proved that all fat people actually do eat less and exercise more.

OT : "Sushi" refers to the rice, not anything related to raw fish.

 

[Loner Jo Jo]

Hello fellow Escapists. As the title of this thread suggests, what are some common misconceptions that you would like to clear up?

My fellow Americans, you do NOT need to eat an entire fucking cow every day! Seriously, I'm amazed by how much people over-consume meat in this country. I have no moral stance against eating meat, but damn, most people I see eat WAY too much. This wouldn't be so bad, but the average American doesn't eat enough fruits or vegetables either. I don't know why, but people here in America always seem to be concerned about not getting enough protein. (And trust me, we're in no danger of it) Hell, most fruits and vegetables taste damn good too, so I' m surprised that people here don't eat more of them.

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Seriously, that's not a misconception. I don't think any THINKS they need that much meat in their diet. They just like the taste of meat so they eat of a lot of it. Furthermore, most people also realize that fruits and vegetables are better for them than meat. They either don't care, don't like them, or do not have the resources to eat them on a consistent basis because fresh produce is very expensive.

A misconception is something that everyone believes to be true, but is actually false. For instance, the idea that lemmings will commit mass suicide. Your example is more about antipathy than anything else.

 

[Tyrant55]

As an aspiring nutritionist, I will just preface this post by saying that the majority of things that the average person believes about proper nutrition are just plain wrong.

1. Fat does not make you fat any more than carbohydrates or protein do. A caloric excess from carbohydrates, fat, protein, or all three together will make you fat.
2. Eggs do not negatively affect blood cholesterol levels in healthy individuals. Don't throw away the goddamn egg yolk, it's where pretty much all of the nutrients are!
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/134/1/187.full
3. Over-consumption of carbohydrates can raise your cholesterol. Yes, that means the toast can in fact raise your cholesterol more so than the eggs in your breakfast. Chronically elevated insulin levels wreck your lipid profiles.
http://www.medhelp.org/tags/health_page/32718/complementary-medicine/Its-insulinnot-cholesterol-you-should-watch-like-a-hawk-?hp_id=694
4. Eating many small meals a day is no better than eating one or two larger meals. Your body will not go into starvation mode after six hours of not eating, we are far more resilient than that.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494
5. High protein diets ARE NOT bad for your kidneys if you don't already have kidney disease. Protein is generally the most satiating of the three macronutrients, and it has a higher thermic effect of food (TEF) which can lead to easier weight loss/maintenance. I'm not saying that it should be 80% of your diet or anything, but the fear mongering over high protein diets is BS promoted by militant vegetarians.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16174292

There are many more, but I'll leave it at that for now.

I just wanted to say I love you a lot from now on. Fat people always ask me how I lost weight, when I tell them they don't believe me because DURRRR FEWD PYRAMED!

I know that feel bro, I lost 80 pounds myself and ever since then people have been asking me how. Somehow, telling them that I reduced my food intake and started counting calories isn't exciting or exotic enough for them, they want me to tell them that I lost the weight because I started taking some magic pill or drinking the juice of some exotic fruit. People don't want to hear the truth when it comes to sustainable weight loss and health management.