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Long held misconceptions

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  • QinguQingu Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Terminator_Robot.jpg

    That an AI of our own creation will necessarily turn on us and destroy humanity.

    A%20vehicle%20from%20Jurassic%20Park%20being%20attacked%20by%20a%20dinosaur.jpg

    That genetic engineering is bad because "nature" can't be controlled.

    More recently:

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    That living in a virtual "matrix" or Plato's Cave is necessarily worse, less authentic, or more dehumanizing than so-called "real life."

    Qingu on
  • SarcastroSarcastro Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Archgarth wrote: »
    TeeMan wrote: »
    Hell, even I have no idea what Australian culture, or what our national identity, is. Not anything that isn't shared by a myriad of other nations, at least.

    To this day, almost my entire perception of Australia is based off of Crocodile Dundee.

    I don't know, at PAX last year my roomie was a doctor from Australia and he was awesome. But the one pearl that sticks out from everything else is when he came into the room, excited, hands clutched tightly around something in his hand.

    "Look at this!" he tells me and shoves his treasure into my hand.

    I look at the small packet and it says "Bacon Salt: Make's everything taste like bacon."

    He says "Bacon Salt. That's amazing! They even have low sodium Bacon Salt!"

    My roomie was easily amused.

    In original, spicy, and hickory smoked flavors. Everything is better with bacon.

    Even bacon!

    Sarcastro on
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2009
    Leitner wrote: »
    When I was a little kid I thought that anal (as in you're being anal) and anal as commonly used had to be different words. So for the former I'd pronounce it an-al in a french kind of way. In fact I think that there were a hell of a lot of words I was unsure of the pronounciation of. I used to read a lot as a kid, and got tripped up trying to use fancy words all the time.

    Also the gunpoint thing, uh snopes.

    For several years around puberty, for some reason, my ability to pronounce "clothes" departed from me. Something about the L and the TH so close together just confounded my brain, so I went out of my way to avoid using the word in sentences for years.

    Bionic Monkey on
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  • SarcastroSarcastro Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Oh and FYI, poking kitchen utensils into an electrical outlet will not show you your own bones. Or your brother's bones.

    Sarcastro on
  • EvigilantEvigilant VARegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    As a kid digging in the dirt, I used to think the black charcoal like substance was coal or oil. I was amazed that no one was claiming this shit, and believing I struck it rich I went to my parents to show off of my find and I started cataloging everything I wanted to buy.

    As a kid, I used to believe eating cantaloupe would grant me camouflage which would lead to eventual invisibility the more and more I ate it. So I used to eat truck loads of cantaloupe then run around the house doing mischievous deeds believing no one could see me.

    One of my friends told me that putangina mo(tagalog for Fuck you) meant thank you. Years went by, and in passing conversation with my mother, I mentioned that phrase thinking she'd be impressed with knowledge of the language. She was not amused.

    Evigilant on
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  • fshavlakfshavlak Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Qingu wrote: »
    Terminator_Robot.jpg

    That an AI of our own creation will necessarily turn on us and destroy humanity.
    "

    Re: This. I'll be working towards a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (focusing on robots!) starting next fall at Cornell.

    The secret? The robots we build will necessarily turn on us and destroy humanity. The higher I get in this field the more and more inevitable it seems.

    But you've probably got 20-50 good years before that happens.

    When the robots take over and kill everyone it'll probably be my fault. I am OK with that.

    fshavlak on
  • QinguQingu Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    fshavlak wrote: »
    Re: This. I'll be working towards a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (focusing on robots!) starting next fall at Cornell.

    The secret? The robots we build will necessarily turn on us and destroy humanity. The higher I get in this field the more and more inevitable it seems.

    But you've probably got 20-50 good years before that happens.

    When the robots take over and kill everyone it'll probably be my fault. I am OK with that.
    I really believe this mindset is going to hold us back. Everyone takes it for granted, even though it's almost entirely derived from an illogically assumed premise in a popular science fiction movie.

    The "traitor AI" is a new mythology that will chain our culture to tradition. Ignore it and keep on working to bring about the robot revolution.

    Qingu on
  • DiscoGobboDiscoGobbo Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    For a good while (well into High School) I thought that a Rimshot and a Rimjob were the same thing.



    Fortunately it never came up in conversation.

    DiscoGobbo on
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  • WMain00WMain00 Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Re: This. I'll be working towards a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (focusing on robots!) starting next fall at Cornell.

    The secret? The robots we build will necessarily turn on us and destroy humanity. The higher I get in this field the more and more inevitable it seems.

    But you've probably got 20-50 good years before that happens.

    When the robots take over and kill everyone it'll probably be my fault. I am OK with that.

    When building your AI, surely it would be bright to install some sort of "Off" switch?

    You know. One that isn't networked to anything, can't be touched by the AI, and can be performed at the simple push of a button somewhere safe in a bunker?

    Please!?

    WMain00 on
  • armageddonboundarmageddonbound Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I thought up until about 9 that woman only had two holes "down there" and that they pee'd out the va-jay-jay. I wont name names, but I knew a 20 year old woman that thought the same thing.

    armageddonbound on
  • saint2esaint2e Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    A teacher of mine once thought that a "Queef" was the same as "Fart".

    This became apparent when one day I encountered him outside of school with his wife and upon him smelling a fart-like smell turned to his wife and asked her, "Did you queef?"

    She was absolutely mortified at the question, and when I had to explain to him what the word meant.

    saint2e on
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  • Ethan SmithEthan Smith Origin name: Beart4to Arlington, VARegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Organichu wrote: »
    It took me like a whole day to find the clitoris.

    Seriously I do NOT understand not being able to do that.

    Maybe because the first girl I went out with was pierced.

    edit-here's some actual advice. Pornography gives you a lot of misconceptions, but most of them are obvious--anal isn't as amazing as suggested, women don't orgasm a million times.

    But interestingly enough a lot of women don't like having their nipples sucked. I thought that for a long time.

    Ethan Smith on
  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Organichu wrote: »
    It took me like a whole day to find the clitoris.

    Seriously I do NOT understand not being able to do that.

    Maybe because the first girl I went out with was pierced.

    I went from my first 'holding hands with a girl' to my first 'touching a vagina' in the same hour and the girl was really supportive and nice. In retrospect she was faking a lot so I didn't know what was feeling good and what wasn't... it was like the maze from the Shining.

    Organichu on
  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Organichu wrote: »
    Organichu wrote: »
    It took me like a whole day to find the clitoris.

    Seriously I do NOT understand not being able to do that.

    Maybe because the first girl I went out with was pierced.

    I went from my first 'holding hands with a girl' to my first 'touching a vagina' in the same hour and the girl was really supportive and nice. In retrospect she was faking a lot so I didn't know what was feeling good and what wasn't... it was like the maze from the Shining.
    I first held hands with a girl in second grade, so that would've been extremely awkward.

    matt has a problem on
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  • darthmixdarthmix Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    When I was really young I thought the bank was just the place you went when you needed money. They gave you money, and you used that to buy things. Such was my understanding of economics when I was four.

    darthmix on
  • WMain00WMain00 Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Organichu wrote: »
    Organichu wrote: »
    It took me like a whole day to find the clitoris.

    Seriously I do NOT understand not being able to do that.

    Maybe because the first girl I went out with was pierced.

    I went from my first 'holding hands with a girl' to my first 'touching a vagina' in the same hour and the girl was really supportive and nice. In retrospect she was faking a lot so I didn't know what was feeling good and what wasn't... it was like the maze from the Shining.
    I first held hands with a girl in second grade, so that would've been extremely awkward.

    My ex was so bloody frigid we never got that far. We had sex....but she didn't seem to want me feeling her up.

    Bitch.

    >_>

    WMain00 on
  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    darthmix wrote: »
    When I was really young I thought the bank was just the place you went when you needed money. They gave you money, and you used that to buy things. Such was my understanding of economics when I was four.

    Like the magic ATM machine.

    DoctorArch on
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  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    WMain00 wrote: »
    Organichu wrote: »
    Organichu wrote: »
    It took me like a whole day to find the clitoris.

    Seriously I do NOT understand not being able to do that.

    Maybe because the first girl I went out with was pierced.

    I went from my first 'holding hands with a girl' to my first 'touching a vagina' in the same hour and the girl was really supportive and nice. In retrospect she was faking a lot so I didn't know what was feeling good and what wasn't... it was like the maze from the Shining.
    I first held hands with a girl in second grade, so that would've been extremely awkward.

    My ex was so bloody frigid we never got that far. We had sex....but she didn't seem to want me feeling her up.

    Bitch.

    >_>

    Was she in second grade? Girls can be shy at that age.

    Organichu on
  • WMain00WMain00 Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Nope she was one year younger than me (18 at time) in her last year at high school. She was just very very shy. Overly shy really considering she didn't really have any reason to be. I mean I was shy, but i'm quite happy to walk around naked if anyone wants me too.



    Any takers?



    Anyone?

    WMain00 on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I wasn't up on swearwords (Catholic household), and for the longest time i thought "ass" meant "penis." I think I heard the term "a good ass-kicking" and decided it meant crotch-kicking.

    KalTorak on
  • SarcastroSarcastro Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Somebody told me that you could catch Teh Gay, or even accidently turn yourself gay by doing any number of 'gay' things, like playing house, roller-skating, crossing your legs as you sat, etc. There was also this sort of sub-rumor that liking girls a lot also meant you are gay (latent tendancy explainations gone awry).

    I was worried for some time, because

    1. I always wanted to hang with the girls. House, dressup, doctor, soap-opera, hopscotch, whatever. If there were girls there, I was in on that.
    2. I liked art. And unicorns. Paintings of unicorns, esp with kittens, were the most awesomest things ever. I had dozens.
    3. I could roller-skate and dance quite well; for this I blame Xanadu, and the idea that there could be an orgy of beautiful muses behind every mural if only you could get through it, perhaps by possesion of mad skillz.
    4. I could not stop thinking about girls. My favourite friends were girls. My imaginary friends were girls.
    5. I did not like sports, mostly because there were no girls there. They were doing other things. That's where I was instead.

    Oh NOES! I must be Gay!

    Turns out, really, really liking girls can also mean you're not gay. Who knew!

    Sarcastro on
  • OptimusZedOptimusZed Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Sarcastro wrote: »
    I [watched] Xanadu,
    This is probably the most worrisome.

    OptimusZed on
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  • TaximesTaximes Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Two things that reading through this thread have reminded me of:

    Until a couple months ago during a binge Wikipedia session, I did not know that Australia was a part of the "New World", having been discovered by the Europeans after North America. I knew about the aboriginal tribes and the penal colony history and everything, but I'd always just assumed that it had to have been found by the Europeans or Southeast Asians way before the 1600s. I mean, what the fuck were they doing over there? It's so close to Indonesia.

    And number two: When I was younger, I didn't know what people were referring to when they said babies were colicky. Since the words sounded similar, I thought they were referring to babies who had a lot of cowlicks, which was for some reason upsetting to the child. In my defense, 'colicky' really doesn't have an actual explanation. :P

    Taximes on
  • PantsBPantsB Fake Thomas Jefferson Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Sarcastro wrote: »
    Somebody told me that you could catch Teh Gay, or even accidently turn yourself gay by doing any number of 'gay' things, like playing house, roller-skating, crossing your legs as you sat, etc. There was also this sort of sub-rumor that liking girls a lot also meant you are gay (latent tendancy explainations gone awry).

    I was worried for some time, because

    1. I always wanted to hang with the girls. House, dressup, doctor, soap-opera, hopscotch, whatever. If there were girls there, I was in on that.
    2. I liked art. And unicorns. Paintings of unicorns, esp with kittens, were the most awesomest things ever. I had dozens.
    3. I could roller-skate and dance quite well; for this I blame Xanadu, and the idea that there could be an orgy of beautiful muses behind every mural if only you could get through it, perhaps by possesion of mad skillz.
    4. I could not stop thinking about girls. My favourite friends were girls. My imaginary friends were girls.
    5. I did not like sports, mostly because there were no girls there. They were doing other things. That's where I was instead.

    Oh NOES! I must be Gay!

    Turns out, really, really liking girls can also mean you're not gay. Who knew!

    Why, does your husband know some guys like that?

    ZING! /hilarious and totally mature

    PantsB on
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  • saint2esaint2e Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Sarcastro wrote: »
    Somebody told me that you could catch Teh Gay, or even accidently turn yourself gay by doing any number of 'gay' things, like playing house, roller-skating, crossing your legs as you sat, etc. There was also this sort of sub-rumor that liking girls a lot also meant you are gay (latent tendancy explainations gone awry).

    I was worried for some time, because

    1. I always wanted to hang with the girls. House, dressup, doctor, soap-opera, hopscotch, whatever. If there were girls there, I was in on that.
    2. I liked art. And unicorns. Paintings of unicorns, esp with kittens, were the most awesomest things ever. I had dozens.
    3. I could roller-skate and dance quite well; for this I blame Xanadu, and the idea that there could be an orgy of beautiful muses behind every mural if only you could get through it, perhaps by possesion of mad skillz.
    4. I could not stop thinking about girls. My favourite friends were girls. My imaginary friends were girls.
    5. I did not like sports, mostly because there were no girls there. They were doing other things. That's where I was instead.

    Oh NOES! I must be Gay!

    Turns out, really, really liking girls can also mean you're not gay. Who knew!

    When I was in grade 3, we would often rip on this guy because he hung out with girls all the time and did jump rope with them, etc. on the playground.

    I switched schools after Grade 4, and didn't see him again until I went for Driver's Education classes, and saw him and another ex-classmate (a girl). Based on his loud conversations during class breaks, overt lisp (that wasn't there in grade 3), and mannerisms, school yard kids were right in that example.

    saint2e on
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  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Taximes wrote: »
    And number two: When I was younger, I didn't know what people were referring to when they said babies were colicky. Since the words sounded similar, I thought they were referring to babies who had a lot of cowlicks, which was for some reason upsetting to the child. In my defense, 'colicky' really doesn't have an actual explanation. :P

    I'm 21 and found this educational. I always thought it meant the same thing, and that the out of place hair growth caused pain or something and that's what the screaming was for.

    Organichu on
  • TaximesTaximes Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    It seems like people mix up the pronunciations around my area, too, so that doesn't help. I'm pretty sure I've heard people refer to a lock of unruly hair as a "colic", but maybe that was just my ears hearing things.

    Taximes on
  • PongePonge Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    One of my best friends at university is American (from Boston), and she came over to the UK to study. She spent an entire year thinking that 'wanking' meant 'to take the piss'.


    Several times she said (in broad Boston accent) "Oh my god you guys are so wanking me right now" and everyone would be like... 0_0

    Ponge on
  • NerissaNerissa Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Archgarth wrote: »
    darthmix wrote: »
    When I was really young I thought the bank was just the place you went when you needed money. They gave you money, and you used that to buy things. Such was my understanding of economics when I was four.

    Like the magic ATM machine.

    I told the munchkin (age 4) the other day I couldn't buy her something because I didn't have any money and she suggested I go to the "money station" (ATM, I guess) and buy some.

    I can kinda see the confusion, though... I use the same debit card to buy things as I do to get cash from the ATM, so I must be "buying" the money, right?

    Nerissa on
  • TeaSpoonTeaSpoon Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Holy fuck, that Narwhal wiki page blew my mind.

    I thought they were a sort of fantasy creature. Maybe a pokemon. I didn't think they were real. They look so very improbable.

    TeaSpoon on
  • saint2esaint2e Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I remember as a lad paying for some candy with the exact amount and then holding out my hand for the change. I just assumed that was a normal part of a transaction. You give alot of money and you get a little back.

    My dad had to explain that I don't get change EVERY TIME, only when I give more money than what I purchased..

    Major lightbulb moment there.

    saint2e on
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  • Richard_DastardlyRichard_Dastardly Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I still believe a thin layer of toilet paper will protect my ass from all the nasties festering on a public toilet seat.

    Richard_Dastardly on
  • AsiinaAsiina ... WaterlooRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I still believe a thin layer of toilet paper will protect my ass from all the nasties festering on a public toilet seat.

    You also apparently still believe there ARE nasties festering on a public toilet seat.

    Asiina on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I still believe that most of the public toilets I've seen have not been life-threateningly toxic.

    KalTorak on
  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    The toilet paper is just so you can see where the wet spots are.

    matt has a problem on
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  • DocDoc Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2009
    Asiina wrote: »
    I still believe a thin layer of toilet paper will protect my ass from all the nasties festering on a public toilet seat.

    You also apparently still believe there ARE nasties festering on a public toilet seat.

    I've always thought it to be amusing that people think that the toilet seat has more germs on it than their ass.

    Cutting boards are worse, and good god your kitchen sink is worse than anything else. Ever eaten with a fork after it touched the sink?

    Doc on
  • LineNoizLineNoiz Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    When I was five, I heard someone say "he picked himself up" in reference to something or other. I heard that, thought it was a great idea, tried it, and broke my tailbone. Stupid gravity.

    LineNoiz on
  • Richard_DastardlyRichard_Dastardly Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Asiina wrote: »
    I still believe a thin layer of toilet paper will protect my ass from all the nasties festering on a public toilet seat.

    You also apparently still believe there ARE nasties festering on a public toilet seat.

    If it was just some ass on seat action going on, then I wouldn't be so concerned.

    But I don't know what people do on those seats...

    Richard_Dastardly on
  • AsiinaAsiina ... WaterlooRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    They poop.

    ALL OVER THEM

    Asiina on
  • WickerBasketWickerBasket Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Asiina wrote: »
    They poop.

    ALL OVER THEM
    And it's still more hygienic than your kitchen sink.

    WickerBasket on
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