I was wrong!
So, I've been listening to a great podcast where one of the questions that they always ask the guest is:
What is something that you thought you knew, but were completely wrong about?
I think this is a great question, as there are many things that we assume or take for granted to be true. It is the mark a real thinker to question your assumptions and to admit that you were wrong about something when you learn that it isn't right!
This can range from the truly mundane, through to the serious. For me:
I thought that when I moved to Holland, that the Dutch didn't sell tissue paper in tissue boxes. Only because I hadn't seen them in one store and then stopped looking. In hindsight, that was a pretty stupid conclusion from no evidence!
In my Uni days, I had a brief flirtation with socialism (who doesn't...). I really thought it was a great idea, but then I learnt that it really needed more faith in the incorruptibility of people, which sadly is a false assumption. However, as I've grown up, I've learnt that a balance of things is the ideal, no one political philosophy is perfect. However, we all find that balance in different amounts....
So, for an entry in this week's giveaway, tell me two things that you thought you were sure about but was completely wrong. One trivial and one more serious!
Steem Basic Income
One of the first communities that I came in contact with at the beginning of my time at Steemit was @steembasicincome. As a beginning author, Steemit can be a daunting place. It feels like you are posting into an abyss with no ability to grow. Steem Basic Income gives you a guaranteed vote on one post a day, thus giving you a small but cumulative over time support to your account.
With this post, I want to help sponsor people who might not even have the spare 1 STEEM that is required for registration. So, when this post pays out, I will sponsor people depending on the payout of this post. Basically, I will round up the SBD payout from this post and then that will be the number of people I will sponsor. (So, if the payout is 2.3 SBD, I will sponsor 3 people).
Rules
- Upvote if you want, it increases the payout and then I can hopefully sponsor more people.
- Resteem is NOT neccessary, but the more people see this, the more the people will be likely to be sponsored. I'll let everyone know at payout!
- In the comments, tell me 2 things (one trivial and one serious) that you were certain you were right about, but later found out to be completely wrong.
- I will be sponsoring as many people as this post pays out in SBD. Also I will kick in at least the required amount to round up to the full number. Winner is at my discretion!
Last week's winners
Last post payout was 1.623 SBD. So 2 shares that I will be sponsoring.
First one will go to @apolymask, for setting up the @ifc. A truly amazing community of loyal and interesting players, with a wide range of quests (rounds) that are of interest to everyone! (As a bonus, I will kick in an extra share for the @ifc account).
The second one goes to @viking-ventures. It seems like we had a similar trajectory with arriving on Steemit! Congrats on your first Curie, hopefully one of many more to come!
Thanks to everyone who entered, sorry I can't sponsor everyone, but keep coming back, I will try to do my best!
Referral links
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Swift A project to bring a basic income via cryptocurrency.
Mannabase, Universal income in the blockchain, 50% bonus in the first year if you use this referral.
Minnowbooster Bonus for the new account maker as well!
Coinbase, the biggest fiat on and off ramp.
Binance, the biggest crypto exchange.
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Cryptopia, Lots of lesser known altcoins.
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This is actually quite a tough one.
Trivial - I thought that when I first joined steemit that people were all honest because of it being a blockchain and that they would not lie, especially high REP people....I was seriously mistaken on that note, and that no matter the Reputation of someone, their guarantee is not worth much at all if they do not care about their online reputation.
That we would have a Moon base by now. That I would have been able to retire on the moon. Not gonna happen before I die, and likely at 30 years away.
So let's see what I learned, never trust a liar, so how do you know if someone is a liar? I guess you don't, but terms like "the person that needs the emergency loan wants to remain anonymous."...walk away, they are lying to you. In the 60's you might have been able to trust the government, today, yesterday, and any day after president Nixon, nope, can't trust the government to tackle real life changing goals or projects anymore. If you want something really big done, you need "Real Men and Women" to do it.
I think that with respect to your first one, that people do care about their reputation, but some people make a calculation about how much they can get away with without material retribution. For instance, if a downvote from you would likely damage the rep score, then they might be more 'honourable', but if they reckon that they can walk in you without suffering too much in return, well then this is the system that we have...
Moon base, I'm still hoping for that...
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
I am certain we are not a simulation... now i think we are all just a simulation
Haha! I'm not sure if that was your trivial or serious one, but you need 2!
I swore the famous celebrity and singer was called Barbara Streisand.
Now she is called Barbra Streisand.
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
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I have some of those too :D
Dont know if any of them count as serious because i usually just remember those which i thought would be the dumbest :D
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
Wow! Thanks for the sponsorship!
Trivial one:
I learned to spell the word rhythm incorrectly - and spelled it rythmn for years and years before I realized it was wrong. I still have trouble spelling it though my spelling in general is extremely good - to the point I have regular arguments with the spellcheck on my word processor - and win.
Serious one:
I was taught by one church that the Catholics and Mormons were dangerous false belief systems. Now, I have been in both churches, and though I'm not in the Catholic Church now, it is a church I still truly love and I've found huge spiritual fruits in the Mormon (LDS) church where I am now.
If you don't want a religious serious one...
I used to belief the USDA food pyramid and in the low-fat, low-salt "ideal" diet. Now, I know it's actually extremely dangerous for the body and formed by lobbying groups, not by nutritionists or backed by science. USDA "nutrition" is killing us!
No problem!
I have regular arguments with my spellchecker too, although it is more to do with the fact that it is trying to impose American English on me...
I will pass on the religious one! Minefields ahead! Anyway, I will say that I had visited Salt Lake City once, and it was an interesting experience. It was during the Winter Olympics, so quite a while back!
Nutrition, yes, that is a great one. I always believed the food pyramid, but it does appear there is more nad more evidence coming out from research that it might not have been the best idea...
Yeah, American English vs British English can be a fun one - I'm fluent in both (well, most of the time, anyway!) after living in the UK for 16.5 years. What gets difficult at times is when there are things for which I first learned a word in the UK, then struggle with figuring out the American equivalent.
I suggested to my dad once that he get a waterbutt for his house downspouts. He's like "what?" I'm struggling because I have no idea what else to call it... "oh! You mean a rain barrel!" yeah... :-p
Then, some of my fiction, I first wrote when I was using British English all the time. So, I had to actively decide which English I was going to use most of the time... American makes the most sense for me, but I will regularly use some Britishisms too - such as "corridor" and "canteen" (instead of cafeteria).
Fine to pass on religion - definitely a minefield...
On nutrition, I remember noticing that the food guidelines were based on more and more carbs/grains and people were getting fatter and fatter... and not for lack of trying on the part of many! In fact, I sat down and counted up typical calories recommended in one of the food pyramids and found it exceeded what they wanted us to be eating - they might have changed that one though. :-p
Another health one...
I believed the doctor who told me I'd have an underactive thyroid for the rest of my life. WRONG! I've corrected it now and have kept it that way for the past 8 years!
Ah lol, waterbutt! What is the American equivalent of corridor? Is it hallway?
Calorie counts for food is also a idea that is being reinvestigated. It is currently a measure of the chemical energy released by combustion. Hoever, we don't really operate with a furnace in our stomach, so the actual energy absorbed is somewhat different, depending on the food and the combinations of food. Ahhhh, biology, such a messy and horribly inelegant field...
Yes, a corridor becomes a hallway - or simply a hall.
And yes, you are totally right. Calories in - calories out equals weight loss or weight gain - as a model it is grossly incorrect. I have met people larger than my obese body who cannot lose weight no matter how little they eat or how much of the USDA-type model they ate - and this was in the UK as well! The system is broken because the whole model is broken. We need to eat more like what our ancestors ate - and without all the pesticides sprayed all over the place.
I've heard of people who are gluten intolerant, then they go to South America and eat the bread there - they are FINE!!! I now understand that it is highly likely that even that wheat isn't very good for us - that there have been records of gluten intolerance in pre-bibilical times, but we, as a people/species managed to do "okay" for a very long time, then you got modern techniques in there, more or less changing the type of wheat we eat, sprayed with crap - and we're not even at GMO status with grains yet - and suddenly there is a very large problem! (both numbers and size.)
I used to joke when in the UK and people would ask me what it was like in the US... "bigger - everything is bigger, the cars, the roads, the people..." but it's definitely no joke that our modern diet is killing us!
< / soapbox >
lol
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
Here's my shot.
Trivial: when my friends taught me poker, they made up fake rules. After that, I tried explaining the game to other people, they just stared at me, stifling their laughter. Eventually I caught on to the joke!
Serious: way back when, I was eight or nine, one afternoon I was left alone with my beloved puppy. And I wanted to treat him, so I shared with him my chocolate bars. Alas poor Billy did not survive the night. Seeing how heartbroken I was, my parents had the vet lie, he told me the puppy had hurt himself with broken glass. Years later, I would learn I had poisoned him.
That's a terrible story--so sorry. Wise parents.
I remember playing that card trick with some friends of mine as well... Ahhhh good times!
So sorry about the serious one though. Although, it really was the right call by your parents. As a relatively new parent, I'm starting to see the wisdom of little white lies. But knowing when the truth is more important than the protective lie will be tricky...
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
Indeed a tough one.
Post pay out may already provide 3 sbi shares. So let me think a little.
Lol, always in analysis mode?
I'm basically always in the analysis mode. Just because my love for numbers. Some people suggested I should analyse a bit less, but for some reason I can't stop with it.
Cool! :) Thanks for this service!
This is a tough one cause I admit to knowing very little, something that comes to mind are the failed relationships where I thought others felt more about me than they did. And I mean my world view has changed a lot even in the last couple years, but I'm not sure how much I felt like I "knew" these things that changed. I guess one is that I used to think we needed government, now I'm very open minded to the idea we don't.
Another one is the consumption of animals, I similarly sort of thought we needed it for health and now I'm pretty certain we don't. But I guess the one that perhaps is most glaring was my thinking I knew enough about the world to not look deeper into the occult. My worldview has changed quite drastically since then and a lot of what I used to think I knew, I didn't/don't.
No problem!
Consumption of animals... I know that we don't need to, and I know that in a few decades it will probably be looked on as barbaric, but I just can't give it up. That said, I eat much less than I used to and only better quality. So, not a total convert but doing a little bit in the right direction!
As for government, as with many things, I think the key is in the balance. There are certain things that we need government to do, as it would be impossible for corporations and individuals to shoulder the risks of high risk, high reward situations. The thing I am alluding to is basic scientific research. This is often derided by populists as useless, but the benefits are way into the future. And it is impossible to know which will be the completely world changing technologies and which of the many more paths will be dead ends.
Glad to see you're cognizant of the first couple things you mentioned. I tend to agree. I sorta think it already is rather barbaric, but.. Just not for most people who haven't quite looked at it really close. Which is right now most people. I think vegans are like between 1-5% of the population maybe as much as 10% so.. 90% of the world isn't quite there yet and doesn't see a problem with it.
However, that's good to hear you're eating less and working on it! A lot of other people are too, and some people think slaughterhouses will be a thing of the past before too long. They are more optimistic than me, but.. I would love to see that if they are right.
I'm not exactly sure what you're saying government is necessary for here.. To direct science? They keep all the real science secret to themselves and give us the basics. The secret government is probably at least 20 years ahead of us, some people think a lot more than that.
I think if government was out of the way more of the science would benefit the people instead of be being used to create bombs to kill each other and stuff like that.. Government has a monopoly on giving us very subpar things.. I would really like to hope some day we can all somehow decide to work together rather than to look for other people to rule over us. Thanks for sharing your thoughts though! I appreciate your point of view.
I think government is required to fund basic research. The risk-reward dynamic and the time scale is completely at odds with what a private company or private individual is capable of doing.
The application of the basic research is really up to industry and the free market. But the long shot in the dark with many dead ends, that is up to governments (via the funding of universities).
I dunno I still feel like government wastes more money and makes us less productive.
Look at all the amazing inventions throughout history that didn't need any help from government. Flight is a good example, the poor brothers who were passionate succeeded while those with all the government money and research in the world floundered.
I would say that is engineering, application of basic research to solve a specific problem. The research I'm talking about is the blue sky research with no obvious application. Knowledge for the curious mind. This sort of research is often derided by politicians and popular media for being 'useless' and a waste of taxpayer money. However, it is the foundation upon which the engineering solutions are build upon, in many decades after the original useless research!
Edit: I agree there is a certain inefficiency with government funding, but in some sectors private groups can't or don't provide funding. In other sectors (hospitals and infrastructure), they shouldn't. My experience with government is from Australia and Netherlands. For example, In healthcare, in Australia we have a mix of public and private health insurance, but a baseline guaranteed universal medical healthcare. In the Netherlands, we have mandatory private health insurance (if you are working) at a basic level. But at lower income levels, the government pays for you. Health and medical services I would take the inefficient spending of the government over privatised healthcare, as it is a sector where the rules of the free market are not applicable (lack of choice and imbalance of power due to the fact you would be sick or dying...).
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
I think these might both be silly, but the first one I guess had a greater consequence. The second one just made me look ridiculous.
By the way, thanks for running the contest.
I was the same about riding bikes (in Netherlnads), I would always take public transport. However, now I'm always keen to bike (mostly, although as I've gotten older, I find it less fun to be drenched). I still love driving and taking public transport, but I'm terrible with locking my keys in the car... It happens about every 3 months or so, so I've learnt how to open the car with shoelaces...
LOL, I can't stop laughing at the second one! I can't even imagine the reactions of other people!
Shoelaces, I' trying to see it..... :))
Google a Youtube video... it's disturbingly easy...
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
is the podcast Make me Smart with Kai and Molly? Love that show!!!
And I have been wrong about so many things..... So, let me try to pick two....
thinking
I thought if I live healthily and eat organic, avoid white flour, sugar and such, I won't get sick.
Wrong!!! Got cancer in my forties... (was mad!!!)
I thought that I would always love to cook. Nope. Not anymore...
You will be in the castle in no time 🙃 visiting from the alliance 😉
Ooooh, a heavenly visitor from the fabled casle/mothership! Happy to have you here!
That is definitely the podcast, I listen to way too many podcasts, but this is one of my favourites!
Eating well will surely reduce your chances, but a lottery is still a lottery!
Cooking, I do still like cooking but only if it is for others (like family). If I'm only cooking for myself, then it is quite a chore. My wife does still love cooking and experimenting with new recipes, and we have recently got a slow-cooker which takes some of the chore out of it!
Have you heard of Soylent? It is the food for when you don't want to enjoy the cooking/eating. When you do want to eat well, then you have the real stuff and treat yourself!
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
1 I thought I would really become a millionaire via Steemit 😋😜
2 when I was younger I thought I would be able to be a big influencer. And then both for the world in general as well as for the companies I work for. I guess it doesn't take a scientist to predict how I think about this now (15 years later).....
Ha ha, there's still time for the first one! And also be for the second!
I have a colleague that always says:
Make it happen!
Perhaps I should listen more carefully to him 😀
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
When I first started farming we were told it's the new untapped gold mine in Nigeria, and we were given some head over phony calculation like if you plant cucumbers on just an acre you'll be a millionaire in 3 month, and we the youths rushed into it, and two years down the line so many are pulling out of it cos it's frustrating, the govt we all relied on for grants, loans and schemes never showed up, we later knew it was just a propaganda, but on a serious note, farming is truly an untapped gold mine for hose who can do it.
I was told by a friend that if I joined Steemit I will make it faster than I thought, that was Dec period when 1sbd was more around 10 dollars, we all rushed into it and here we are with a fluctuating dollar price per day, and also I was told that quality post is the norm, but that was not the case now anymore, a Steemit we put all our time into.
I now know better, I've learnt to hold on and be patient.
Well, for both that is the problem with get rich quick schemes! Often the best way is to just build surely and slowly, to have the patience that money is not the goal but the wellness and happiness of your personal self that is much more important!
I have no experience with growing cucumbers or farming, but I find Steemit to be a nice place where I can collect my thoughts and write something that is rewarded in crypto. Then, I can re-invest that into projects (other crypto) that I believe has great applications for the future (also like Steem.).
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
Trivial one:
I believed that musical instruments are sold only in the store, my children showed me that you can play anything, on a shoebox, on a felt-tip pen, on a desk, on my and my mother's nerves .....
Serious one:
I have a terrible musical ear, a bad voice, a bad trick of my fingers, I thought that I could never play a solo part of the Pirates of the Caribbean. Now I play it with my eyes closed.
LOL, on your nerves!
Yes, for the serious. Our greatest opponent is often the fear of failing, and thus we are led down the path of not trying. However, failing is the way we learn. Then we get better, until we are masters of the skill!
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
Great competition :)
Serious: I was doing a rotation in the neonatal intensive care unit (for premature babies) and one of the babies I was taking care of was a withdrawal baby. The mother was a chronic opioid abuser and was admittedly taking pain medications during pregnancy and was still abusing drugs. I thought for sure because of the fact that the pain medications could cross the breast milk it would be a bad idea to let the mom breastfeed. However, I was in fact wrong and research shows that letting mother breastfeed actually reduces withdrawal in these babies and increases mother-baby bonding. Something that seemed so counterintuitive at first but admittedly I was wrong.
Trivial/funny: When I was little, my parents told me I was going to be getting a "new addition to the family" in terms of a baby sister. At the time I was the only child and very small so I asked if they could just give the baby (my sister) back to the stork.. Later I apparently realized thats not really where babies come from and I was indeed going to be a big brother to a new baby sister.
Thanks!
Haha, at least you got that idea that the stork brings the babies cleared up before you went to medical school (doctor or nurse?).
I think that in the medical field, due to the complexity of biological forms and the possible "replication crisis" due to misunderstood statistical analysis (amongst other complicating factors), that the current "knowledge" is a rapidly moving target! I say this, not to cast doubt on the medical profession (my brother is a doctor and mum is a ER nurse), but just to say that a lot of the research that had been done in the past seems to need to require a revisit to re-confirm results. I had studied Theoretical Physics, and so there it is much easier to test theories. Apparently, these days it is unethical to make enough people sick with a particular ailment to randomly test treatments in a statistically significant way, meanwhile, no-one complains if we smash trillions upon trillions of particles at near light speed straight into each other!
Haha I'm a Clinical Pharmacist, just finished Pharmacy School and doing my residency now. Sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of the medical field coming from such a medically inclined family background.
There is a lot of misunderstanding in the medical field about statistical analysis. I had to take so many stat classes just because of this now and unfortunately a lot has to do with the pharmaceutical companies botching medical trials just to make their drugs "look" good or scientist getting paid to bias some "scientific article results." However, these issues are also impacted by other concerns such as ethics and not wanting to expose people to unjust risk if its not deemed "necessary."So I think at the end of the day, the problem is multifactorial in nature.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment back though :)
Thanks for entering my SBI giveaway. The winners and a new question "What are your reading?" are here:
https://steemit.com/steembasicincome/@bengy/steem-basic-income-giveaway-what-are-you-reading
@bengy Glad to see that you support other with steembasicincome.
Did I sponsor you back then the first share (lucky25) or were you already involved then? Just curious!
It's great to be a position to give back to others who are following a month or two behind! I remember how difficult it was back then, when you first start out.
Don't think I was one of your lucky 25. I only won my second share of SBI yesterday! The other was from a anti-phishing contest. The rest have been sponsorships from me to others.
But to be honest, it would be hard to remember, there is so much going on so quickly here!
Now I do remeber ! Indeed I did sponsor you 2 shares based on the phishing contest of @simplymike
And thanks again for that!