things you thought were true but aren't

[cwjalex]

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1.) bats are blind

2.) napoleon was short

3.) eating celery burns more calories than consumes

4.) vikings wore horned helmets

5.) great wall of china is visible from space

6.) if you cut a worm in half it will regenerate into two new worms

7.) a penny dropped from the empire state building could kill someone

8.) witches in the salem witch trials were burned at the stake

9.) seasons are caused by the earth's distance to the sun

10.) humans and dinosaurs never co-existed

10.) poinsettas are toxic
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[j_menz]

10.) humans and dinosaurs never co-existed

Fred Flintstone doesn't count. 

[cwjalex]

does jurassic park count? 

in all honesty that one i'm not positive about...i remember skimming through some articles that claimed evidence for this but i haven't done extensive reading on it.  it may be a technical thing like birds since birds are dinosaurs.

[Bob]

Those color examples are a bit off putting.  The ones where the color is exactly the same but the background it appears in determines whether you see it as light or dark. 

[j_menz]

it may be a technical thing like birds since birds are dinosaurs.

Nope, it's a creationist argument with some wildly spurious assertions.

[Bob]

Or someone's discovered time travel...

[indianajo]

I thought the Brazilian stock market would go up because of all the beer consumed and hotels rented during the World Cup.  Wrong!

[Bob]

The interest rate will go up next year.  So don't lock anything in this year.... because it's got to up next year of course....

[lostinidlewonder]

This statement is true, but later on i found out it to be false

[senanserat]

1. Every old music is classic music.
2. Eating spinach makes you stronger (Popeye style)
3. The world was ending in 2012.
4. Adults are responsible.
5. University gives you actual capacitance for the career you're studying.
6. Avocado is a vegetable
8. Every random symptom means you are dying.
9. Ebola is never going to outbreak.
10. This forum is full of elitist pansies.

[Bob]

Age brings wisdom.


I think it's earned or developed.

[stringoverstrung]

Age brings wisdom.


I think it's earned or developed.

Thank you for your wisdom Bob. Like this it isn't hard work for me.

Most amazing truth that isn't are the numerous Chess books with analysis from before the computer age. It turns out that they are full of mistakes even books from Kasparov and others.

There is even quite some possibility (don't shoot me down I'm not a conspiracist) that Neil Armstrong never set foot on the moon. Upon careful examination of the evidence there is at least a serious amount of doubt. Only to make my point that much more things are not as true as they seem.

However in great music I find nothing but the truth and in the face of a sleeping baby I see the cosmic inner peace bestowed upon us by nature so it can't be all fake.

[Bob]

That thought crossed my mind this week -- When we do have some AI functioning, imagine how many things it's going to find that we could have improved.  Things we didn't of, combination we never put together but might be obvious afterward, variations we never tried because no one was patient enough to keep trying that many....

[stringoverstrung]

That thought crossed my mind this week -- When we do have some AI functioning, imagine how many things it's going to find that we could have improved.  Things we didn't of, combination we never put together but might be obvious afterward, variations we never tried because no one was patient enough to keep trying that many....

I don't know if you play chess, but if not I can tell you that this amount of missed opportunities even by the world champion is awesome. Basically every few moves there are combinations that are impossible for humans to find. And even the best chess computer is far from perfect they still beat each other all the time. And this is only a game... With strict rules... We cannot begin to imagine what is truth out there if you start thinking about it.

[cwjalex]

human error is still a humongous factor even among super GMs like carlsen and anand.  i was watching game 6 live and i was shocked that both carlsen and anand missed 26.NxE5! i am by no means a strong chess player and i quickly saw this tactic.  at the time i just assumed i was missing something until after the game people were talking about the big double blunder. 

[stringoverstrung]

human error is still a humongous factor even among super GMs like carlsen and anand.  i was watching game 6 live and i was shocked that both carlsen and anand missed 26.NxE5! i am by no means a strong chess player and i quickly saw this tactic.  at the time i just assumed i was missing something until after the game people were talking about the big double blunder. 

I'm not even talking about human error but about the human brain limit which is very near indeed.

By the way the 26. N*E5 was not broadcast live on the commentary feed and by the time they showed it they had announced that it was a blunder so your explanation is kind of inaccurate to put it politely (I saw it ... After the game people were talking about it). No offense intended.

[cwjalex]

I'm not even talking about human error but about the human brain limit which is very near indeed.

By the way the 26. N*E5 was not broadcast live on the commentary feed and by the time they showed it they had announced that it was a blunder so your explanation is kind of inaccurate to put it politely (I saw it ... After the game people were talking about it). No offense intended.

you do realize there are many different places where you could watch the game right?  i was watching the game through the youtube channel chessnetwork which doesn't have any official grandmaster commentary.

also it was hard to figure out what you were talking about.  of course chess players can never figure out everything because of all the different combinations, it's simple math.  you say the human brain is near its limit but on what basis can you even make such a claim?  i just noticed in a previous post you mentioned that there is a good chance the moonlanding was faked so your intellectual integrity is very questionable.  No offense intended.

[stringoverstrung]

(don't shoot me down I'm not a conspiracist)...

 Only to make my point that much more things are not as true as they seem.

I didn't exactly say they didn't go to the moon. I said even with evidence to both sides it is hard to find out what the truth is even for things that seem to be 100 % guaranteed. Anyway don't worry about it. Would only be a shame to tell not the whole truth in a thread called "Things you  thought were true but aren't."

[cwjalex]

I didn't exactly say they didn't go to the moon. I said even with evidence to both sides it is hard to find out what the truth is even for things that seem to be 100 % guaranteed. Anyway don't worry about it. Would only be a shame to tell not the whole truth in a thread called "Things you  thought were true but aren't."

even without addressing any of the "evidence" in the actual argument an appeal to common sense shows there is no possible way NASA could orchestrate a conspiracy that big for this long without it being leaked.  If there was any merit to the conspiracy there would be articles in scientific journals and reputable people speaking at universities on the topic. 

[stringoverstrung]

even without addressing any of the "evidence" in the actual argument an appeal to common sense shows there is no possible way NASA could orchestrate a conspiracy that big for this long without it being leaked.  If there was any merit to the conspiracy there would be articles in scientific journals and reputable people speaking at universities on the topic. 

Again you don't have to convince me so I propose we leave this to websites that exist for this purpose or before we know it we might - God forbid - end up talking about UFO's.

Disclaimer: I don't believe in UFO's.