Common misconceptions universally accepted

oeb · 15-09-2009 2:38pm

Pace2008 wrote: »

I'm aware of that; I just don't think many people consider evolution as an explanation for life's origins, so I wouldn't deem it a 'common misconception' as such. I could be wrong, maybe they do.

I think I would have to disagree with you there. I can't back it up, but I have a feeling that if you asked some random, non-science/skeptic people where life came from, then they would probably answer with either - "The big bang", "Evolution" or "God". I have personally heard quite a few people claim the latter two.

trustno1 · 15-09-2009 2:42pm

Bogart never said 'Play it again Sam' what he actually said was 'if she can stand it, I can. Play it'

Marie Antoinette actually said 'let them eat bread' not cake

and 'you dirty rat' was never said by James Cagney in any of his films.

indough · 15-09-2009 2:42pm

more due to not understanding the question than anything else

i dont think anyone believes life began with evolution, just that its how the changes are accounted for

orestes · 15-09-2009 2:42pm

Wazdakka wrote: »

orestes??
:eek:

HA!

:pac:

Quiet you or you'll get the hose again!

ronbyrne2005 · 15-09-2009 2:43pm

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Quote from the second study:
"We would certainly not encourage people to start taking vitamin C supplements based on the findings of this research."
They say it's a small study.
And the first one only gives a relative risk, it doesn't say many people's gout improved.

Have you got the original references?

Most research does indeed show that Vitamin C doesn't give any appreciable benefit

Im no scientist but watch a lot of documentaries on science nutrition etc and know you cant say vitamin c supplements do nothing as other poster said. It can do some good and some bad depending on who uses it and what it's used for.I dont have any access to online journals to get papers and just browsed wikipedia article there on vitamin c.

Aidric · 15-09-2009 2:48pm

That Marty Morrissey was the inspiration for Tim Burton's Planet of The Apes.
That Twink puts out on the first date.

KungPao · 15-09-2009 2:51pm

...That Irish people say "top o' the morning".

I never heard anyone use that expression. I think it was invented in American movies to depict the Irish as simple folk.

I could be wrong though??

ScumLord · 15-09-2009 2:52pm

My mother swears by vitamin C when your sick with a cold or flu. It's all I ever take when I get either. I don't use supplements other than cod liver oil outside of being sick though.

deman · 15-09-2009 2:54pm

ostriches don't bury their head in the sand when frightened.

IvyTheTerrible · 15-09-2009 3:04pm

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

Im no scientist but watch a lot of documentaries on science nutrition etc and know you cant say vitamin c supplements do nothing as other poster said. It can do some good and some bad depending on who uses it and what it's used for.I dont have any access to online journals to get papers and just browsed wikipedia article there on vitamin c.

I didn't say vitamin C does nothing. I just don't believe that it has a significant effect on health.

Vitamin C and Immune Function. Alexander Strohle, Andreas Hahn

Source:
Med Monatsschr Pharm Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Pages: 49-54; quiz 55-6 Published: 2009 Feb

Abstract:

"The immune system is strongly influenced by the intake of nutrients. For a long time there has been a controversy whether vitamin C can contribute to the prevention and therapy of the common cold. Several cells of the immune system can indeed accumulate vitamin C and need the vitamin to perform their task, especially phagocytes and t-cells. Thus a vitamin C deficiency results in a reduced resistance against certain pathogens whilst a higher supply enhances several immune system parameters. With regard to the common cold different studies including meta-analyses underline that the prophylactic intake of vitamin C may slightly reduce the duration of the illness in healthy persons but does not affect its incidence and severity. Supplementation of vitamin C is most effective in cases of physical strain or insufficient intake of the vitamin. With regard to the therapy of the common cold the application of vitamin C alone is without clinical effects."

It's also worth looking at the Cochrane database, they are an independent group that look at all the research on a subject and make informed conclusions. They say that Vitamin C may have a benefit to people under stress but in general there is no big clinical benefit.

nc6000 · 15-09-2009 3:34pm

Michael Caine has never said on film "My name is Michael Caine....Not a lot of people know that"

GreeBo · 15-09-2009 4:11pm

asdasd wrote: »

Maybe, but it doesnt matter to the logic of the sentence, does it. Its a small step for him, and a giant step ( or was it leap?) for ManKind. He said that as he stepped off the last rung onto the moon.

Erm it totally changes the logic of the sentence.
"One small step for man" is the same as saying "One small step for mankind"
"man" is often used to refer to all of mankind and thus means something totally different to "a man" which is one singular person.

The point of the speech was that something as trivial as A man taking a single step was about to herald a huge leap for mankind.

Capt'n Midnight · 15-09-2009 4:12pm

milod wrote: »

Apparently a swan can't break your arm...

If it were true lots of foreidners would have broken arms. Instead we've a shortage of swans

Capt'n Midnight · 15-09-2009 4:14pm

faceman wrote: »

Bats are blind - not true either. They have average eyesight but cant see in bright light. They rely on the super radar powers more so than their normal vision.

The Great Wall of China can be seen from space. -No it cant, no matter what the weather conditions are.

Bats don't have radar

It's a misquote, the wall of china is so big that the only place you could see it from end to end would be from space, just bring some binouculars or such like.

asdasd · 15-09-2009 4:15pm

"One small step for man" is the same as saying "One small step for mankind"
"man" is often used to refer to all of mankind and thus means something totally different to "a man" which is one singular person.

Except English isnt really as formal as all that. If he had said "One small step for man" rather than "a man", or "this man"; it would have been obvious that he meant himself, not ManKind, because clearly we werent all on the fcuking moon walking off a ladder. Nor did it mean that ManKind was taking a small step and a giant leap. because that is senseless.

I have always heard it as "small step for man", and always know the man was not ManKind, but Neil Armstrong.

NedTermo · 15-09-2009 4:19pm

asdasd wrote: »

Except English isnt really as formal as all that. If he had said "One small step for man" rather than "a man", or "this man"; it would have been obvious that he meant himself, not ManKind, because clearly we werent all on the fcuking moon walking off a ladder. Nor did it mean that ManKind was taking a small step and a giant leap. because that is senseless.

I have always heard it as "small step for man", and always know the man was not ManKind, but Neil Armstrong.

I always thought of "man" as mankind in this sentence? Am i alone?
Obviously it makes sense to talk about mankind when you are not on earth.

trustno1 · 15-09-2009 4:21pm

Its a common misconception that man walked on the moon.... (:D:D...)

indough · 15-09-2009 4:21pm

he differentiated between man and mankind by using both the words man and mankind

Wazdakka · 15-09-2009 4:25pm

trustno1 wrote: »

Its a common misconception that man walked on the moon.

Well I guarantee you it wasn't a bloody woman..
There are far too many chores to be done on a space ship to have them off gallivanting around walking on things.

me_right_one · 15-09-2009 4:31pm

asdasd wrote: »

Except English isnt really as formal as all that. If he had said "One small step for man" rather than "a man", or "this man"; it would have been obvious that he meant himself, not ManKind, because clearly we werent all on the fcuking moon walking off a ladder. Nor did it mean that ManKind was taking a small step and a giant leap. because that is senseless.

I have always heard it as "small step for man", and always know the man was not ManKind, but Neil Armstrong.

Yea but it still ruined the whole thing.

10 years of test missions, the cold war, the nuclear arms race, passing out the Russians in the space race, the sane, civilised, western world about to put things right by announcing that humans stepping onto another planet is victory for all human beings, not just America, and that we should all strive to work together and live in peace and end all this "my country's better than yours so much so that I'll nuke the planet to prove it" crap, and then he fcuks up the punchline:rolleyes::(:(:(

fizzynicenice · 15-09-2009 4:37pm

Dogs can't look up.

admiralofthefleet · 15-09-2009 4:39pm

'the southside of dublin is posher than the northside'

the southside has more working class areas that the northside, the real divide is east/west

Turd Ferguson · 15-09-2009 4:41pm

That_Guy wrote: »

The lads back in time did until Copernicus showed up and kicked ass and disproved those mutha's!!!

Copernicus FTW!!!

--Kaiser-- · 15-09-2009 4:45pm

" A Ducks Quack doesn't echo"

Load o Sh*t

grenache · 15-09-2009 4:47pm

That Limerick City has/had the highest rating of stabbings in the country, hence the monicker 'Stab City'.

GreeBo · 15-09-2009 4:53pm

asdasd wrote: »

Except English isnt really as formal as all that. If he had said "One small step for man" rather than "a man", or "this man"; it would have been obvious that he meant himself, not ManKind, because clearly we werent all on the fcuking moon walking off a ladder. Nor did it mean that ManKind was taking a small step and a giant leap.

I have always heard it as "small step for man", and always know the man was not ManKind, but Neil Armstrong.

So he refers to himself in the third person as "man" rather than I man?
Would you say "I am man" or "I am a man"?
"because that is senseless. "
Exactly, he made a mistake.

""It doesn't sound like there was time for the word to be there," Armstrong said in the book. "On the other hand, I didn't intentionally make an inane statement, and ... certainly the 'a' was intended, because that's the only way the statement makes any sense."

But hey, maybe you know more than the man himself...:rolleyes:

"Me Tarzan, you Jane"?

Euro_Kraut · 15-09-2009 4:53pm

'Columbus discovered America'

Nope. There natives who 'discovered' long before him. As regards the first European to see it, it was probably a Viking or maybe even St Brendan.

Plus he didn't discover the 'US' but the small part of the contient.

Capt'n Midnight · 15-09-2009 4:54pm

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Limes are better apparantly, which is why a lot of people ate them before, during and after the long transatlantic voyage from the UK to the US.

British people eat limes, therefore Brits = Limies.

The trinidadian term "Liming" originates the same way.

limes were cheaper not better

scurvey was a problem in the Royal Navy even after this

apparantly scurvey was still a problem in WWI

mmmmwah · 15-09-2009 4:55pm

hate how commonly 'disabled person' is used, as if that's who the person is, it should be person with a disability!!grrr!:mad:

Fratton Fred · 15-09-2009 4:57pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

limes were cheaper not better

same thing if you're skint

serendip · 15-09-2009 4:58pm

Slightly off topic, but ...

"The exception proves the rule".

This is almost universally misunderstood.

In fact, the original meaning is that an explicitly-stated exception (e.g. a "no right turn on red" sign at a US traffic light) implies the opposite general rule (e.g. if there's no such sign then it must in fact be ok to turn right on red). It's a very elegant idea and comes up frequently.

Here's an example from Wikipedia:

"Special leave is given for men to be out of barracks tonight till 11.00 p.m."; "The exception proves the rule" means that this special leave implies a rule requiring men, except when an exception is made, to be in earlier. The value of this in interpreting statutes is plain.

Wazdakka · 15-09-2009 5:04pm

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

the southside has more working class areas that the northside, the real divide is east/west

Respect to my possie "The East Side Massive",
We be kickin it "fo real" all up on the ghetto hood of Dun Laoghaire.

You betta checkty check before you Break yourself Fool

Aaaaaaaaaiiiiii??

javaboy · 15-09-2009 5:15pm

The other really well known space sentence is almost always misquoted too. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader.

15-09-2009 5:19pm

In space, no-one can hear you smeg?

Wazdakka · 15-09-2009 5:21pm

In space no-one can hear you say..

davyjose · 15-09-2009 5:21pm

That we really give a fcuk about VitaminC/Neil Armstrong/Evolution

asdasd · 15-09-2009 5:21pm

Would you say "I am man" or "I am a man"?

Ack This is totally trivial. He may have dropped the 'a', or not, but he wasnt mis-understood in what he meant. he may have had Eastern Europen ancestory, too, did you ever think of that before you opened your gob? No, I thought not.

Time to move on, indefinite-article-fetishists. time to move on.

banshee_bones · 15-09-2009 5:35pm

Naos wrote: »

You eat 8 spiders per year in your sleep.

The amount of times I hear this one is astounding.

I think its supposed to be on average you eat 8 spiders in your lifetime in your sleep, not a year!

milod wrote: »

Apparently a swan can't break your arm...

ah you stole mine.... yeah i have never met anyone who has had their arm broken by a close encounter with a swan!

asdasd · 15-09-2009 5:36pm

Anyway, to move on. There seems to be a common modern belief that Algebra was invented by the Arabs, because the name is arabic. The name is arabic, but so is the name for Alcohol, also not invented by Arabs.

Babylonians, first. And then, and mainly, Greeks.

asdasd · 15-09-2009 5:39pm

I think its supposed to be on average you eat 8 spiders in your lifetime in your sleep, not a year!

Where do they all come from. Thats still about 2000 a year.

Nonsense, although as it remains a good arguing point against vegetarians, I may continue to "believe" it.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH SPIDER PROTEIN YOU EAT, YOU HYPOCRITE!!!! DONT TALK TO ME ABOUT CHICKENS"

Joycey · 15-09-2009 5:42pm

faceman wrote: »

The Great Wall of China can be seen from space. -No it cant, no matter what the weather conditions are.

Actually it can,depending on where in "space" you are. It cant be seen from the moon, say, but if you go just outside the atmosphere of the earth it can

serendip wrote: »

Slightly off topic, but ...

"The exception proves the rule".

This is almost universally misunderstood.

Always wondered at that expression. Didnt make any sense at all to me

Nolanger · 15-09-2009 5:52pm

Here's one I've heard: when Andy Warhol said 'in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes' he didn't mean all of us will be famous just that fame for those who get it will only last a short time.

15-09-2009 5:52pm

there's a misconception that nobody understands tracker mortgages.. in reality, we all understand them, just pretend not to for the lulz.

marcsignal · 15-09-2009 6:02pm

"Premature ejaculation is a mans problem"

seriously lads, after shooting your load, have you EVER said to yourself:

"Shit!! I wish I didn't come just then"

Trust me, It's a womans problem, not a mans.

eman66 · 15-09-2009 6:28pm

Civil servants are servants.

blinding · 15-09-2009 6:50pm

marcsignal wrote: »

"Premature ejaculation is a mans problem"

seriously lads, after shooting your load, have you EVER said to yourself:

"Shit!! I wish I didn't come just then"

Trust me, It's a womans problem, not a mans.

Do you ever get to sleep with the same woman more than once.

Diego Smartly · 15-09-2009 6:51pm

Everything these days is a misconception. People read an awful amount of sh*te in the papers and on poxy MTV news and than before you know it... Bish Bash Bosh its the absolute unarugable truth! Gosh dam!

PhysiologyRocks · 15-09-2009 6:55pm

Contrary to popular belief, snail racing IS a real sport.

Gran Hermano · 15-09-2009 7:10pm

eman66 wrote: »

Civil servants are servants.

Civil servants are civil.

delricyo · 15-09-2009 7:50pm

One of the freebie papers did an article on housewives tales and how a lot of them have been disproved

Like
Coca Cola makes kids hyper
Sitting close to the tv harms your eyesight

etc etc

Common misconceptions universally accepted

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