Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#141

Post by Loughla » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:55 PM UTC

ralmidani wrote: post #125

Putting off an annual checkup with a PCP (I’m 42, and the last PCP I had was a pediatrician). I had long suspected my cholesterol and triglycerides were high due to family history and my excessive love for cheese, and last week that suspicion was confirmed. I’m now more resolute than ever on lifestyle changes (exercise, less red meat, getting most of my calcium from 2% milk). On the bright side, I also got reassuranc…

I learned from my father's generation that regular check-ups were vital. My oldest two uncles died from heart issues in their early 60's. The next two and my father have made it to their 70's and show no signs of stopping. There isn't really any difference in lifestyles between the dead and alive ones, other than going to the doctor regularly, and taking whatever medicine they are prescribed. I guess one uncle quit smoking. So that's probably good for him.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#142

Post by makach » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:55 PM UTC

It was when I was younger, I was independent and living alone that I realized that I had the power to change myself. In order to succeed there was only one person responsible for my happiness and good fortune, myself. I had to stop waiting for good things to happen, and make sure that I took faith in my own hands.

This has led me to change employment, often, but not that often. It has made me approach many challenges from multiple angles.

Maybe it didn't made me rich (so far) but I feel much wiser and I observe people on the other side, they are stuck in their beliefs and loyalty. So many clever people, smarter than me, but lost to ideas, opportunities and self- improvement.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#143

Post by bragr » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:55 PM UTC

abetusk wrote: post #20

jethkl wrote: post #8

I thought colorblindness tests were designed to be tricky and subtle, so I always passed them through very close inspection. I'm just colorblind.

Have you tried using those colorblind glasses? Maybe something like Enchroma [0] or dichroic filters? [0] https://enchroma.com/

I can't speak for OP's colorblindness, but for me those do basically nothing.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#144

Post by laura_g » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:55 PM UTC

xyzelement wrote: post #19

I used to assume the religious people were missing something and missing out on the latest and greatest. Now I am seeing that often it's us the non-religious that have lost something of value and are trying to replace it with things that don't work as well.

There are a lot of things religion provides that modern society is really dismal at providing: community, care, socialization across class/career lines, relationships with people who live near you, a support system for sick/hurting people, and other benefits

The thing is, none of those are innately tied to religion. We've abandoned churches for what I feel are largely good reasons, but we haven't found something else to fill that void in community and care. We're more insular, more online, less of us know our neighbours or really have a stake in our community welfare in the same way. I don't think the solution is going back to religion.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#145

Post by oarfish » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:55 PM UTC

Frost1x wrote: post #132

yamtaddle wrote: post #79

Not using an electric toothbrush. First time I used one it felt like I'd had a proper dental cleaning. An extremely half-assed effort with that kind of brush beats a thorough one with a manual brush. I thought they were a gimmick, but no, they're amazing.

On a similar dental hygiene note, I was told I should brush before having breakfast, coffee etc. It always stood to reason to me that it makes more sense to just eat my first meal and drink, then brush, to keep a cleaner state of my teeth for longer but supposedly according to a few dentists I spoke with, the protection you get from the first brush is more significant than removing those first food particles. Chances…

I think it's both the bacteria thing – getting rid of them before they can start metablizing your food into stuff to harm your enamel – and the idea that directly following food intake, your mouth pH level will be out of homeostasis and enamel may be easier to erode at "non-native" pHs and one shouldn't brush directly after. I'm not sure where I got that from though.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#146

Post by jerf » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:56 PM UTC

unzadunza wrote: post #64

For 30 years I sang "whoa-a, head waving" instead of "whoa-a, we're halfway there"

The term for this is mondegreen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen

The ones I still hear despite knowing the correct lyrics are the first itemized one in the bullet list in that article, "there's a bathroom on the right".

My personal favorite one though is "I want to rock and roll all night, and part of every day" (instead of "party every day"), mostly because unlike most mondegreens it sort of works, but changes this confident declaration of desire into a bizarrely flaccid one. (Listening directly to the audio in a pristine listening environment like I'm in now I don't hear this, but in a normal day-to-day environment with other life happening I can still hear this.)

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#147

Post by ericpauley » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:56 PM UTC

bryanlarsen wrote: post #60

mabbo wrote: post #35

My father said to me: "I like a shower better than a bath, but ugh, that first blast of cold water when you turn it on is always a bit shocking." Me: "Why don't you turn on the shower, wait for it to get warm, then get in?" Him, realizing he'd been using a shower wrong for over 6 decades: "... huh."

Related: you can buy "hot water recirculation systems" to keep the water hot in your shower. When the water in your hot water pipes gets cold, it dumps it into your cold water pipes. Therefore the water isn't wasted. This can save a lot of water if you're the type to let your shower run until it is warm. So some jurisdictions encourage their installation.

Sounds like false economy to me. You’re saving a minute amount of water but using far more energy to keep less-insulated water warm.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#148

Post by hacker_junky » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:56 PM UTC

ralmidani wrote: post #125

Putting off an annual checkup with a PCP (I’m 42, and the last PCP I had was a pediatrician). I had long suspected my cholesterol and triglycerides were high due to family history and my excessive love for cheese, and last week that suspicion was confirmed. I’m now more resolute than ever on lifestyle changes (exercise, less red meat, getting most of my calcium from 2% milk). On the bright side, I also got reassuranc…

That's great news that your cholesterol and triglycerides were high and that everything else looks normal! Are there any other tips that you would suggest for making lifestyle changes to help lower cholesterol and triglycerides?

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#149

Post by IgorPartola » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:56 PM UTC

hbn wrote: post #22

Not really "wrong" but at some point in the last couple years I was using my microwave, putting something in for a minute, and for that I've always input 1:00 but suddenly I realized how obvious it was that I can just be inputting 60. As long as you can easily modulo the time, this works for the range 1 minute (60) to 1 minute 39 seconds (99). Technically you could also do this for times like 2:65 instead of 3:05 but…

I do 55 or 66 seconds. Or the +30 button.

Related: hold down 2 on the microwave for a couple of seconds to silence all chirps.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#150

Post by hawk_ » Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 2:56 PM UTC

Frost1x wrote: post #132

yamtaddle wrote: post #79

Not using an electric toothbrush. First time I used one it felt like I'd had a proper dental cleaning. An extremely half-assed effort with that kind of brush beats a thorough one with a manual brush. I thought they were a gimmick, but no, they're amazing.

On a similar dental hygiene note, I was told I should brush before having breakfast, coffee etc. It always stood to reason to me that it makes more sense to just eat my first meal and drink, then brush, to keep a cleaner state of my teeth for longer but supposedly according to a few dentists I spoke with, the protection you get from the first brush is more significant than removing those first food particles. Chances…

This can go wrong in either direction. If you brush your teeth and have milk shortly after, the fluoride binds to the calcium in milk and goes to your belly instead of staying with your teeth protecting them. On the other hand if you have orange juice or similar (acidic) and then brush your teeth, say bye to your tooth enamel.