1775: Things You Learn - Revision history

Natg19: /* Transcript */ add categories

2025-08-08T22:05:59Z

‎Transcript: add categories

A certain cueball: /* Explanation */ add note to conform with the rest

2024-07-31T02:16:38Z

‎Explanation: add note to conform with the rest

172.71.242.176: /* Explanation */ On a bicycle, you tend to get used to sharing the road (or other) space with the more 'usual' users. The problem's often that other usual users either don't consider it possible to encounter a bicycle or actively wish they weren't there.

2024-06-18T19:44:29Z

‎Explanation: On a bicycle, you tend to get used to sharing the road (or other) space with the more 'usual' users. The problem's often that other usual users either don't consider it possible to encounter a bicycle or actively wish they weren't there.

Maplestrip: /* Explanation */ Editing all of them.

2024-06-18T13:13:28Z

‎Explanation: Editing all of them.

172.69.135.119: /* Explanation */

2023-11-05T03:57:34Z

‎Explanation

172.69.135.120: /* Explanation */

2023-11-05T03:55:03Z

‎Explanation

172.71.242.172: /* Explanation */ Having 8-10 places of Pi (in decimal, or equivalent in binary) in a device hardwired/hardcoded is more likely (and usually more than sufficient) than recalculating it upon every instance it is required... Plus minor re(re)writes.

2023-04-13T23:38:14Z

‎Explanation: Having 8-10 places of Pi (in decimal, or equivalent in binary) in a device hardwired/hardcoded is more likely (and usually more than sufficient) than recalculating it upon every instance it is required... Plus minor re(re)writes.

Tromag at 19:32, 13 April 2023

2023-04-13T19:32:07Z

172.71.166.40: /* Explanation */

2023-02-17T00:36:43Z

‎Explanation

108.162.221.128: /* Explanation */ badness sounds bad but idk

2022-12-15T02:28:02Z

‎Explanation: badness sounds bad but idk

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:05, 8 August 2025
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	[[Category:Charts]]		[[Category:Charts]]
	[[Category:Scatter plots]]		[[Category:Scatter plots]]
		+	[[Category:Math]]
		+	[[Category:Songs]]
		+	[[Category:Cats]]
		+	[[Category:Taxes]]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ! Badness of ignorance !! difficulty of ignorance !! Information !! Comments
 |-
-| not bad || (very, very) easy || 100 digits of {{w|pi}} || Most people know pi to only a few digits (3.14 or 3.1415), if they know it at all. Most people never need to directly calculate anything involving pi, and those who do generally have access to tools (such as calculators and computers) that regurgitate/use more places of pi automatically. Digits of pi beyond 3.1415 are never relevant in human-scale art or construction. Memorizing many digits of pi is a hobby.
+| not bad (at all) || (very, very) easy || 100 digits of {{w|pi}} || Most people know pi to only a few digits (3.14 or 3.1415), if they know it at all. Most people never need to directly calculate anything involving pi, and those who do generally have access to tools (such as calculators and computers) that regurgitate/use more places of pi automatically. Digits of pi beyond 3.1415 are never relevant in human-scale art or construction. Memorizing many digits of pi is a hobby.
 |-
 | not bad || (very) easy || Lyrics to "{{w|We Didn't Start the Fire}}" || "We Didn't Start the Fire" is a 1989 hit song by Billy Joel. Its lyrics include brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between 1949, the year of Joel's birth, and 1989. While the chorus is memorable, the verses of the song are just a list of people, events, and random things from popular culture. The average person is somewhat more likely to know the lyrics to Billy Joel's 1989 hit song than 100 digits of pi, but not knowing them doesn't really have any serious consequences. The lyrics can be used within the context of learning history, and may therefore be considered slightly more valuable to learn than the lyrics of other popular songs. This song was the pun in the title text of [[1794: Fire]], which was a follow up to comic #4 in [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]].

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 | bad || easy || Cough into your elbow, not your hand || Covering a cough with the inside of your elbow helps prevent spreading airborne germs and is generally recommended by medical organizations. Coughing into your hand deposits them onto your hand, where they are much more likely to be spread to another person (via handshake, food preparation, shared objects, etc). The consensus around coughing into your elbow is relatively recent, so it's easy to have grown up without hearing of it. However, people living post-COVID know this fact extremely well.
 |-
-| not (too) bad || hard || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States[http://www.peopleforbikes.org/statistics/category/participation-statistics#youth], learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, most people live in places where riding bicycles for transportation are actively discouraged in favor of motorized transportation. In the US, using bicycles as a principle form of transport can be difficult, as they typically share road-space with cars. In a few counties, bicycles are a primary form of transportation, and not knowing how to ride one would make life significantly more difficult.
+| not (too) bad || hard || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States[http://www.peopleforbikes.org/statistics/category/participation-statistics#youth], learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, most people live in places where riding bicycles for transportation are actively discouraged in favor of motorized transportation. In the US, using bicycles as a principle form of transport can be difficult, as cars don't always appreciate/anticipate sharing road-space with them. In a few counties, bicycles are a primary form of transportation, and not knowing how to ride one would make life significantly more difficult.
 |-
 | not bad (at all) || hard || How to escape movie {{w|quicksand}} || Quicksand in movies is a common trope, and while its physics often differ from real quicksand, escaping from it is commonly done using similar methods (e.g., not struggling, which increases the quicksand's viscosity). Knowing how to escape from quicksand is important if you sink into it, which is a situation most people will never encounter in real life. It is much more likely for characters in movies and TV shows, especially in the 1960s, to encounter and become mired in quicksand than for a real individual to do so, as real quicksand is a rare occurrence in most climates on Earth.

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ! Badness of ignorance !! difficulty of ignorance !! Information !! Comments
 |-
-| not bad || (very, very) easy || 100 digits of {{w|pi}} || Most people know pi to only a few digits (3.14 or 3.1415), if they know it at all. However, most people may never need to directly calculate anything involving pi. Those who do generally have access to tools (such as calculators and computers) that regurgitate/use more places of pi automatically. And, even in rare cases where someone needs to know it, memorizing a few digits is sufficient for most practical purposes. However, there are some nerds that do bother memorizing this.
+| not bad || (very, very) easy || 100 digits of {{w|pi}} || Most people know pi to only a few digits (3.14 or 3.1415), if they know it at all. Most people never need to directly calculate anything involving pi, and those who do generally have access to tools (such as calculators and computers) that regurgitate/use more places of pi automatically. Digits of pi beyond 3.1415 are never relevant in human-scale art or construction. Memorizing many digits of pi is a hobby.
 |-
-| not bad || (very) easy || Lyrics to "{{w|We Didn't Start the Fire}}" || "We Didn't Start the Fire" is a 1989 hit song by Billy Joel. Its lyrics include brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between 1949, the year of Joel's birth, and 1989. While the chorus is memorable, the verses of the song are just a list of people, events and random things from popular culture. The average person is somewhat more likely to know the lyrics to Billy Joel's 1989 hit song than 100 digits of pi, but not knowing them doesn't really have any serious consequences. This song was again the pun in the title text of [[1794: Fire]], which was a follow up to comic #4 in [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]].
+| not bad || (very) easy || Lyrics to "{{w|We Didn't Start the Fire}}" || "We Didn't Start the Fire" is a 1989 hit song by Billy Joel. Its lyrics include brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between 1949, the year of Joel's birth, and 1989. While the chorus is memorable, the verses of the song are just a list of people, events, and random things from popular culture. The average person is somewhat more likely to know the lyrics to Billy Joel's 1989 hit song than 100 digits of pi, but not knowing them doesn't really have any serious consequences. The lyrics can be used within the context of learning history, and may therefore be considered slightly more valuable to learn than the lyrics of other popular songs. This song was the pun in the title text of [[1794: Fire]], which was a follow up to comic #4 in [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]].
 |-
-| (very) bad || (very) easy || That cat bites are really serious and if bitten you need to wash the bite and call a doctor immediately || Most people assume that a cat bite is just a minor injury. In fact, it carries a fairly high risk of infection, which can be dangerous if not treated (by cleaning the bite to reduce the risk, and having a doctor examine the bite victim and apply additional treatments such as antibiotics if needed). At the same time, cat bites are quite rare, as cats default to their claws rather than their teeth when they need to attack something (not that cat claws are bacteria-free zones either, quite the opposite), so most people simply don't have to deal with many cat bites.
+| (very) bad || (very) easy || That cat bites are really serious and if bitten you need to wash the bite and call a doctor immediately || Most people assume that a cat bite is just a minor injury. However, cat bites carry a fairly high risk of infection, which can be dangerous if not treated (by cleaning the bite to reduce the risk, and having a doctor examine the bite victim and apply additional treatments such as antibiotics if needed). At the same time, cat bites are quite rare, as cats default to their claws rather than their teeth when they need to attack something (not that cat claws are bacteria-free zones either, quite the opposite), so most people simply don't have to deal with many cat bites.{{actual citation needed}}
 |-
-| (very, very) bad || (very) easy || The red flags for an abusive relationship || It is fairly easy for someone to fall into a pattern of accepting abuse without realizing it (particularly if the abuser is skilled at emotional manipulation). Failing to recognize signs of abuse, particularly in the early stages of a relationship, tend to make people more vulnerable to long-term abuse, with devastating consequences. In many cultures, patterns of abuse are not openly discussed or taught about, making it quite common for people to grow up without the ability to quickly identify abusive behavior.
+| (very, very) bad || (very) easy || The red flags for an abusive relationship || It is fairly easy for someone to fall into a pattern of accepting abuse without realizing it, particularly if the abuser is skilled at emotional manipulation. Failing to recognize signs of abuse in the early stages of a relationship, tend to make people more vulnerable to long-term abuse, with devastating consequences. In many cultures, patterns of abuse are not openly discussed or taught about, making it quite common for people to grow up without the ability to quickly identify abusive behavior.
 |-
-| (very, very) bad || easy || The {{w|Stroke#Signs_and_symptoms|signs of a stroke}} || The symptoms of a {{w|stroke}} are somewhat variable, including facial drooping, arm weakness and slurred speech, depending on what areas of the brain are affected, and can be mistaken for other conditions, or brushed off as being minor and unimportant. Like most medical diagnoses, people who are not medical professionals aren't generally taught how to identify the symptoms.  This can be a problem, because identifying a stroke quickly and seeking treatment can make the difference between life and death, or between full recovery and permanent impairment.
+| (very, very) bad || easy || The {{w|Stroke#Signs_and_symptoms|signs of a stroke}} || The symptoms of a {{w|stroke}} are somewhat variable, including facial drooping, arm weakness, and slurred speech, depending on what areas of the brain are affected. Such symptoms can be mistaken for other conditions, or brushed off as being minor and unimportant. Like most medical diagnoses, people who are not medical professionals aren't generally taught how to identify the symptoms.  This can be a problem, because identifying a stroke quickly and seeking treatment can make the difference between life and death, or between full recovery and permanent impairment.
 |-
 | bad || easy || Cough into your elbow, not your hand || Covering a cough with the inside of your elbow helps prevent spreading airborne germs and is generally recommended by medical organizations. Coughing into your hand deposits them onto your hand, where they are much more likely to be spread to another person (via handshake, food preparation, shared objects, etc). The consensus around coughing into your elbow is relatively recent, so it's easy to have grown up without hearing of it. However, people living post-COVID know this fact extremely well.
 |-
-| not (too) bad || hard || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States[http://www.peopleforbikes.org/statistics/category/participation-statistics#youth], learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, most people live in places where other forms of transportation are available, and can functional well enough without ever riding a bike. In much of the US, using bicycles as a principle form of transport can be difficult, so their use is primarily for recreation.
+| not (too) bad || hard || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States[http://www.peopleforbikes.org/statistics/category/participation-statistics#youth], learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, most people live in places where riding bicycles for transportation are actively discouraged in favor of motorized transportation. In the US, using bicycles as a principle form of transport can be difficult, as they typically share road-space with cars. In a few counties, bicycles are a primary form of transportation, and not knowing how to ride one would make life significantly more difficult.
 |-
-| not bad (at all) || hard || How to escape movie {{w|quicksand}} || Quicksand in movies is a common trope, and while its physics often differ from real quicksand, escaping from it is commonly done using similar methods (e.g., not struggling, which increases the quicksand's viscosity). Knowing how to escape from quicksand is important if you sink into it, which is a situation most people are very unlikely to encounter in real life. It is much more likely for characters in movies and TV shows, especially in the 1960s, to encounter and become mired in quicksand than for a real individual to do so as real quicksand is a rare occurrence in most climates on Earth.
+| not bad (at all) || hard || How to escape movie {{w|quicksand}} || Quicksand in movies is a common trope, and while its physics often differ from real quicksand, escaping from it is commonly done using similar methods (e.g., not struggling, which increases the quicksand's viscosity). Knowing how to escape from quicksand is important if you sink into it, which is a situation most people will never encounter in real life. It is much more likely for characters in movies and TV shows, especially in the 1960s, to encounter and become mired in quicksand than for a real individual to do so, as real quicksand is a rare occurrence in most climates on Earth.
 |-
-| not bad (at all) || (very) hard || Lyrics to "{{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|12 Days of Christmas}}" || The aforementioned song is a traditional holiday standard in the United States, meaning that most Americans grew up hearing it repeatedly played or sung every December, causing the lyrics to be picked up without conscious effort. However, the consequences of not learning them are minimal: at most, your friends might be [[1769|a bit surprised and dismayed]]. It should be noted that, while the early lyrics to the song (up through the fifth to seventh days) are very well known, the later ones aren't remembered as much (even varying between versions), so failing to know ''all'' the lyrics isn't uncommon.
+| not bad (at all) || (very) hard || Lyrics to "{{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|12 Days of Christmas}}" || The aforementioned song is a traditional holiday standard in the United States, meaning that most Americans grew up hearing it repeatedly played or sung every December, causing the lyrics to be picked up without conscious effort. However, the consequences of not learning them are minimal: at most, your friends might be [[1769|a bit surprised and dismayed]]. The lyrics come across as arbitrary and have little significance to its singers. It should be noted that, while the early lyrics to the song are very well known, the later ones aren't remembered as much and may vary between version. Failing to know ''all'' the lyrics is common.
 |-
-| not bad (at all) || (very, very) hard || {{w|Theme music|TV theme songs}} || Most children in developed countries grow up watching at least some television. Traditionally, most TV shows (particularly those designed for children) opened with a catchy theme song, often with lyrics. If you regularly watched a given show, you'd hear the theme song repeatedly, and would likely remember it without conscious effort.
+| not bad (at all) || (very, very) hard || {{w|Theme music|TV theme songs}} || Most children in developed countries grow up watching at least some television. Traditionally, most TV shows (particularly those designed for children) opened with a catchy theme song, often with lyrics. If you regularly watched a given show, you'd hear the theme song repeatedly, and would likely remember it without conscious effort. Every generation and community grows up with different theme songs.
 |-
 | bad || hard || That you have to empty the dryer lint trap || A {{w|clothes dryer}} uses a stream of heated air to rapidly dry laundry after it's been washed. Dryers are typically equipped with a "{{w|lint (material)|lint}} trap", which is a removable screen designed to prevent loose fibers from entering (and clogging) the exhaust line. Removing the fibers from this screen is a basic part of operating a dryer, most people learn from example, or from reading the dryer manual, making it mildly hard not to know about. Failing to do so will progressively restrict airflow through the dryer, making the drying process less effective and efficient. In theory, this could eventually start a fire, but such is rare enough that it's considered only mildly 'bad'.
 |-
-| (very) bad || (very) hard || {{w|Stop, drop and roll}} || This is a technique to extinguish a fire on one's own clothing, and is frequently taught to children at an early age, and reinforced enough that most people know it. Not knowing it (or forgetting it in a panic when the situation arises) can result in severe burns that could have been avoided by following the recommendation.
+| (very) bad || (very) hard || {{w|Stop, drop and roll}} || This is a technique to extinguish a fire on one's own clothing, and is frequently taught to children at an early age, and reinforced enough that most people know it. Not knowing it (or forgetting it in a panic when the situation arises) allows painful and dangerous burns to progress further.
 |-
-| (very) bad || (very, very) hard || That you have to pay taxes || Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay taxes to their government. Penalties for not doing so often include large fines, and possibly prison sentences. While the process for filing taxes can be quite complex, the basic knowledge that taxes are required is commonplace and frequently referenced, making it difficult not to know about. In the US, employers are generally required to deduct taxes from paychecks before employees receive them, so most people will encounter the reality as soon as they start making money. In [[1971: Personal Data]], [[White Hat]] somehow didn't know about taxes.
+| (very) bad || (very, very) hard || That you have to pay taxes || Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay taxes to their government. Penalties for not doing so often include large fines, and possibly prison sentences. While the process for filing taxes can be quite complex (depending on the country), the basic knowledge that taxes are required is commonplace and frequently referenced, making it difficult not to know about. In the US, employers are generally required to deduct taxes from paychecks before employees receive them, so most people will encounter the reality as soon as they start making money. In [[1971: Personal Data]], [[White Hat]] somehow didn't know about taxes.
 |-
 |}

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 | (very, very) bad || easy || The {{w|Stroke#Signs_and_symptoms|signs of a stroke}} || The symptoms of a {{w|stroke}} are somewhat variable, including facial drooping, arm weakness and slurred speech, depending on what areas of the brain are affected, and can be mistaken for other conditions, or brushed off as being minor and unimportant. Like most medical diagnoses, people who are not medical professionals aren't generally taught how to identify the symptoms.  This can be a problem, because identifying a stroke quickly and seeking treatment can make the difference between life and death, or between full recovery and permanent impairment.
 |-
-| bad || easy || Cough into your elbow, not your hand || Covering a cough with the inside of your elbow helps prevent spreading airborne germs and is generally recommended by medical organizations. Coughing into your hand deposits them onto your hand, where they are much more likely to be spread to another person (via handshake, food preparation, shared objects, etc). The consensus around coughing into your elbow is relatively recent, so it's easy to have grown up without hearing of it.
+| bad || easy || Cough into your elbow, not your hand || Covering a cough with the inside of your elbow helps prevent spreading airborne germs and is generally recommended by medical organizations. Coughing into your hand deposits them onto your hand, where they are much more likely to be spread to another person (via handshake, food preparation, shared objects, etc). The consensus around coughing into your elbow is relatively recent, so it's easy to have grown up without hearing of it. However, people living post-COVID know this fact extremely well.
 |-
 | not (too) bad || hard || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States[http://www.peopleforbikes.org/statistics/category/participation-statistics#youth], learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, most people live in places where other forms of transportation are available, and can functional well enough without ever riding a bike. In much of the US, using bicycles as a principle form of transport can be difficult, so their use is primarily for recreation.

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 | (very) bad || (very) hard || {{w|Stop, drop and roll}} || This is a technique to extinguish a fire on one's own clothing, and is frequently taught to children for safety. Not knowing it (or forgetting it in a panic when the situation arises) can result in severe burns that could have been avoided by following the recommendation.
 |-
-| (very) bad || (very) hard || That you have to pay taxes || Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay taxes to their government. Penalties for not doing so often include large fines, and possibly prison sentences. Fortunately, it is something that children hear about quite a bit so it is very difficult to grow up without learning that it must be done. In [[1971: Personal Data]], [[White Hat]] somehow didn't know about taxes.
+| (very) bad || (very, very) hard || That you have to pay taxes || Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay taxes to their government. Penalties for not doing so often include large fines, and possibly prison sentences. Fortunately, it is something that children hear about quite a bit so it is very difficult to grow up without learning that it must be done. In [[1971: Personal Data]], [[White Hat]] somehow didn't know about taxes.
 |-
 |}

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 {| class="wikitable sortable"
-! Ignorance is Bad !! Ignorance is Easy !! Information !! Comments
+! Badness of ignorance !! difficulty of ignorance !! Information !! Comments
 |-
 | not bad || (very, very) easy || 100 digits of {{w|pi}} || Most people know pi to only a few digits (3.14 or 3.1415). The latter is accurate to almost one part in half a million, which is close enough for almost any practical purpose.