The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[ichabod]

Apropos of nothing ....

There is a reason for the saying, "Don't wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it."

There have been times in the past when I have gotten into extended arguments with people, mostly because they are 1000% wrong. Not the, "This is a matter of opinion," wrong, but "That is a fact, that is readily ascertained, and that I have not only given to you, but provided the source so that you can check yourself," wrong.

Anyway, I always find that when I look back at the argument after some time of cooling off, I realize that it was all unnecessary. That person was never going to budge. And I just come off looking petty and unhinged over time (I mean ... MORE petty and unhinged). Whether or not the person was wrong doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and once I made the (indubitably!) correct point, I would have been better off moving on to more fruitful pastures. As is said about banging your head against a wall, the only reason to do it is because it feels good when you stop.

That said, despite repeatedly learning the lesson, I find myself having to re-learn it on occasion. So there's that. I guess I'm like a goldfish in that way.

Look, a castle!
Ten seconds later ...
Looks, a castle!

I try to avoid these things as well, but there are two things that bring me back. First, the people making these arguments are often also saying that if you don't agree with them, you are a bad person. Usually in a vague general way that avoids insulting you specifically and attracting moderator attention. But certainly in a way that it logically follows that you are a bad person. That really gets my hackles up.

Second, I generally am not in the argument in order to change their mind. You are right that these people are never going to budge. But there are other people reading the thread, and they may be misled into error by false arguments. I am generally trying to present a solid argument to convince other people who may not understand the issues. This is one thing I dislike about Facebook and Reddit: contrary opinions can easily get lost in the formats they use to present posts.

 

[Ryujin]

Apropos of nothing ....

There is a reason for the saying, "Don't wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it."

There have been times in the past when I have gotten into extended arguments with people, mostly because they are 1000% wrong. Not the, "This is a matter of opinion," wrong, but "That is a fact, that is readily ascertained, and that I have not only given to you, but provided the source so that you can check yourself," wrong.

Anyway, I always find that when I look back at the argument after some time of cooling off, I realize that it was all unnecessary. That person was never going to budge. And I just come off looking petty and unhinged over time (I mean ... MORE petty and unhinged). Whether or not the person was wrong doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and once I made the (indubitably!) correct point, I would have been better off moving on to more fruitful pastures. As is said about banging your head against a wall, the only reason to do it is because it feels good when you stop.

That said, despite repeatedly learning the lesson, I find myself having to re-learn it on occasion. So there's that. I guess I'm like a goldfish in that way.

Look, a castle!
Ten seconds later ...
Looks, a castle!

The trigger, here, may well be how such people take your silence as victory and go on to crow, rather loudly, about how it proves they were right.

 

[CleverNickName]

CleverMom: I went to the doctor yesterday, she said that I should (generic medical advice). What do you think?
Me: I think you should do what she says.
CleverMom: But I looked it up on Google and (dubious advice).
Me: Mom. If you're not going to take your doctor's advice, why are you paying her to advise you?
CleverMom: I know, I know. I just wanted a second opinion.
Me: From Google? Yikes.
CleverMom: No, from you.
Me: I'm not a doctor either, mom. You can ask Dr. Clever to give you a referral, and get a useful second opinion.
CleverMom: (long pause) But they'll just say the same thing that my doctor said.
Me: (pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration) So you don't want a second opinion, you want a different opinion instead.
CleverMom: Well I sound foolish when you say it like that.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

@CleverNickName, at least CleverMom goes to the doctor first. Father Mane says he doesn't feel well and self-diagnoses on Google in search of household remedies. The man buys a lot of turmeric.

 

[trappedslider]

every time I use google for a second opinion it says I'm gonna die then it recommends funeral homes I think there's a conspiracy or something

 

[overgeeked]

@CleverNickName, at least CleverMom goes to the doctor first. Father Mane says he doesn't feel well and self-diagnoses on Google in search of household remedies. The man buys a lot of turmeric.

But is it activated turmeric?

 

[Mad_Jack]

It's time for the annual performance self-reviews at work.

I tried to have an AI write me a positive review, but its response was, "Um, yeah... I got nothing."


I freakin' hate reviews. An honest self-review of my performance would sound like raving narcissism - I work at a base-level monkey job, and quite frankly I didn't so much climb down out of the tree and start walking upright as I showed up on the first day driving a Beamer and drinking a latte and parked under the tree.
Because it's literally what I've spent a decent chunk of the past thirty years doing for a living on and off. Aside from sitting in one of the offices, I've pretty much worked in nearly every aspect of production work, warehousing and shipping, and now I'm working in a basic packing job again. It's making medical equipment in a clean-room environment, so it pays well, but it's basically the same set of job skills I've spent several decades already honing.

How the hell do you say, "Let's face it, it's objectively obvious that I'm the best damn packer in the building by an order of magnitude, my personal standards are higher than the company's, and you're lucky I've been too poor and lazy to look for another job so far so just give me the damn 3% raise already.", in a way that sounds reasonable and not-nearly-as-arrogant?

 

[prabe]

@CleverNickName, at least CleverMom goes to the doctor first. Father Mane says he doesn't feel well and self-diagnoses on Google in search of household remedies. The man buys a lot of turmeric.

My wife and still refer to the Great Turmeric Incident, when she dropped an open bulk bag of the stuff in the kitchen. So. Much. Yellow.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

But is it activated turmeric?

I don't know, but it's activating me.

In his defense, it's not hard to get him to follow a doc's instructions, just to get him to go.

My wife and still refer to the Great Turmeric Incident, when she dropped an open bulk bag of the stuff in the kitchen. So. Much. Yellow.

And such a specific shade of yellow! Reminds me of some folks' kitchens when I was growing up.

 

[overgeeked]

I don't know, but it's activating me.

It’s a reference to a Marc Maron bit. I added the video to my post.