One that comes to mind for me: “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is not always true. Maybe even only half the time! Are there any phrases you tend to hear and shake your head at?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” It’s like nails on a chalkboard every time I hear it. There is a very limited context where it may be applicable, but mostly it’s used to give up trying or mock someone for failing a task. Have you never gotten better at something over time? Learned an instrument? Played a hard video game? Learned to ride a bike? It stops problem solving dead and kills motivation making it less than useless. Oh and its misattributed to Einstein like every other shitty quote
“Well it can’t get any worse” And “Well, you gotta do something”
The first is almost always dead wrong. Trust me, you can make anything worse.
As for the second, it’s shockingly coming that in a given scenario, the best action is to not do anything different at all. It may seem like things are bad and something has to change, but changing your strategy at this point can still definitely make things worse. Sometimes inaction is the correct action.
The only democracy in the region
Hey, what happened when the wrong people started winning elections in Iraq when we set up democracy there?
“That’s TOTALLY DIFFERENT”
“Practice makes perfect.”
Let me tell you about my 7th grade all county band audition, where I showed up and skillfully played 40 measures of not what the sheet music said because I misread it and practiced what I misread.
“Practice” needs some kind of mechanism for feedback and correction, such as a coach or instructor.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.”
This is literally not the definition of insanity.
“Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
God I hate that quote. I can’t tell the difference between a spruce and a pine, but that doesn’t make them indistinguishable, just means I don’t know what the fuck I’m looking at. Magic and tech are definitively distinct. Our monkey brains might mistake one for the other, but like the spruce and pine, that does NOT make them indistinguishable.
Edit - Bruh what’s with the downvotes?? We’re here to express an unpopular opinion, cut me some slack!
I think you got a couple downvotes because you took the quote far too literally. The person who said it did not believe in magic and was not trying to compare a nonexistent supernatural force to hyper advanced technology. If you look up the quote I’m sure you’ll find some essays about what Arthur was getting at.
For a very simple example, suppose an alien showed up and had antigravity tech built into their clothing or even as a cybernetic implant, that let them hover around in the air with no discernible means of propulsion. The average modern human would probably look at that and think “fuckin magic…” because you literally can’t understand or recognize what is going on or how it works.
Or another example using ‘time travel’ instead of aliens. Imagine putting a medieval peasant in the back seat of a fighter jet taking off from an aircraft carrier, or in a VR helmet to experience a virtual trip around the galaxy, zooming around planets and stars. In both cases there are unfathomable things right in front of their eyes everywhere they look. They would have no fucking clue what was going on in either case. To you and me those are normal, understandable things. To the medieval peasant, it’s magic.
Well yeah, but that’s why I dislike the quote. It doesn’t say what it means. Every example of what it intends to convey kinda falls back to the spruce vs pine thing to the uneducated eye. It doesn’t matter if I understand how the alien antigravity socks work -if they’re tech, they’re tech. Hell, I don’t understand how the cell phone I’m posting from works. It could literally be filled with tiny wizards who are actively casting a spell to send my thoughts to Lemmy - I dunno, and I can’t verify. I’m reasonably confident that’s not the case: despite all the functions this device is capable of that do indeed feel magical, that doesn’t make it magical.
The quote doesn’t say it is magic though, actually. It just says, that from our perspective, it’s indistinguishable from magic.
It does not say from our perspective, it just says they’re indistinguishable. Which is incorrect.
from our perspective is implied in every sentence ever.
And no, you can’t expect phrases to “say what they mean”----that would just require them to include more phrases, etc…
It doesn’t matter if I understand how the alien antigravity socks work -if they’re tech, they’re tech.
- If you are a reasonable person (and not dreaming or insane), you can tell them apart quite easily: if it’s actually there, it’s tech.
- If you are a superstitious person (or dreaming or insane), you can tell them apart quite easily: if it’s actually there, it’s magic.
See? That’s what I like about the quote. It points to the fact that the difference is in the eye of the beholder.
“Sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.”
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“Cheer up, it may never happen”
I’m sorry but if I’m not in a good mood or I’m sad it’s because something has happened to make me feel like it.
It’s been a millenium since I’ve heard it, as I no longer qualify as young.
But
“You’ll understand when you’re older”
I’m older.
I’m thirty.
The only thing I “understand” is that all the rules are arbitrary as all fuck, society was made up by idiots with giant sticks up their arses, and everyone should go fuck themselves.
The only “progress” I made is that I stopped hating myself for “failing at society” and started hating society for failing so many people.
“Can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is one that’s very pertinent to my life right now.
So, I was a pretty dedicated musician in my younger years, but I’ve never quite gotten around to learning how to produce music digitally. Recently, I’ve been trying to learn. Thing is, since I’m in my early 30s, I’m only just now hitting that age where my neuroplasticity isn’t what it was when I was 20, and learning things is starting to become noticeably a little more difficult.
So, that’s where I think the expression comes from. You get older, you try to learn something new, you underestimate how much more difficult learning that new thing is at your current age (because, honestly, you have no way to gauge how hard it’ll be until you’re doing it), the challenge gets the better of you, and now you have to admit defeat.
“Can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is basically a different way of saying “No, no! I’m not owned!! I didn’t lose!!!” It’s a way of shielding oneself from the sting of defeat by framing it as “well, that’s just the way things are when you’re older.” It’s not that you couldn’t rise up to the challenge of learning. You just cannot teach old dogs new tricks, and that’s a fact. Don’t you hear people say that all the time? Why would people say it so much if it weren’t true? So, yeah. I didn’t lose. I’m not owned.
It’s an especially harsh process when you’re learning to do something related to something you already know really well, and struggling with it, like I am with music production. It makes you question how well you really knew that thing in the first place. But, like I said, I’m only in my early 30s. If I were 60 and struggling to learn a new way to do something I’ve been doing my whole life, I’m sure it’d be wayyy more demoralizing. I’m sure I’d want to guard my feelings from that.
So, I get why the expression exists. I just don’t think it holds any real weight. People treat it like it’s some fact of life, but it’s just an excuse. You’ve just gotta keep pushing, be prepared to accept failure when it rears its ugly head, and then muster the energy to get back up and get back on as many times as you can before you’re beat. Easier said than done, though.
ACAB
“Collectivist society” and “Individualist society”
“If you can’t take me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.”
“Idle hands make the devils workshop.”
“If you can’t take me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.”
I always take that as “l am a garbage person who will abuse you.” It is a MASSIVE red flag.
Or it’s something you tell the abuser, when thy dismiss your emotions.
The top one reminds me of “I can be your best friend, or your worst enemy.” So you’re a petty asshole, got it.
“It is what it is”
No it isn’t
When you forget what you were about to say:
“Must not have been important”
How in the ever-living fuck could anybody come to that conclusion?
Not important to them, very important to you.
Every single time that’s happened to me and I later remembered what it was, it wasn’t important.
I’d only ever say it while referring to myself, and when I do it’s not of a consolation to myself or maybe as a way to tell the other person to not feel sorry about distracting me and making me forget. Is that the same way you interpret it?
I appreciate this alternative interpretation. Many of the responses here are helping to show the many lenses that can be looked through at the same phrases!
I meean, if it was really important, it’s very unlikely you would forget it. We use that saying a ton here
god loves you/god bless
“God loves you” is fine for me. they are usually simply wishing us happiness in their own way (sure it can be passive-aggressively throw to people they call “sinners” too).
What I really despise is “god has a plan” as words of comfort.
A plan for fucking what? Noahs ark V2? cleverly getting around the “promise not to flood the earth” clause by having greedy assholes pollute the earth in his stead ?
“Ah little 4 year old Andrew would fuck up my plans, better give him cancer… Hm, let’s hit Jane with a truck just incase”
I don’t appreciate that you somehow think a magic man in the sky planning something so cruel would be of any comfort to me.
What I really despise is “god has a plan” as words of comfort.
I got that one a lot after my son killed himself.
How did you resist the urge to punch them?
I’m sorry to hear about your son, and I apologise if my comment brought up some difficult memories.
For me, it was my best friends funeral and his family had an insufferablely god-fearing priest speaking for part of it who knew him from his childhood. He was telling stories were “he found God”, “god has now welcomed him” and “he now knows God’s love”. I don’t recall exactly what he said word for word, I just remember quietly seething throughout his whole speech and also afterwards my other best friends were venting that the whole thing was disrespectful to his memory.
My friend wasn’t religious in the slightest. it felt like a complete stranger trying to convince a room of grieving people comforting lies that he is “in a better place”, when it was clear he didn’t know him at all.
I apologise if my comment brought up some difficult memories.
You are fine, I have to terms with his suicide. I miss him greatly, but I understand why he did it. I think about him all the time. He was my first born, but now technically my youngest of 4. His baby brother is now about 18 months older than he was at his death.
“God love you… no one else will”
I especially hate it here in the South, as it’s used as a sanctimonious “fuck you” while dishonestly claiming righteousness.
For example, the last time that was said to me was when some asshole crossed a double-yellow to pass me while I was doing 22 in a 25 mph school zone (which means he was doing at least 35 or 40). When I pulled up next to him at the red light and pointed that out, he bitched at me for taking the lane instead of riding in the bike lane (that didn’t exist! It was half a block of shoulder that ended!). He continued to argue that cyclists weren’t entitled to use the street, then as the light changed said “bless you” as if he fucking won and drove off.
It is the most condescending, assholish thing you can say to a person and it makes me want to punch you in your smarmy goddamn face every single time.
