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

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

#501

Post by lucb1e »

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…

for anyone else confused, that's Primary Care Physician, which I take to mean GP/Hausartzt/huisarts.

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

#502

Post by beznet »

sockaddr wrote: post #435
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."

I think that blast of cold water might have done good things for his endorphin levels. Just curious about this anecdote, was he generally a happy person?

for me, I take showers at night close to bed time. The last thing I want to experience is a cold shock to my system at that time of day. I can see it being useful in the morning though

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

#503

Post by lucb1e »

Dowwie wrote: post #293

One of the worst thing I did for many decades was drink bottled water and/or tap water. For many years I bought bottled water for home consumption. I eventually learned about under-sink reverse-osmosis water filtration systems and invested in one. For the last ~15 years, I've used such systems, following scheduled filter replacements. The water tastes and feels better than bottled water. Last year, my county water ut…

Add country and region for regional advice please.

In the Netherlands and afaik all surrounding countries, this is definitely not necessary. Drink tap water all you want.

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

#505

Post by hoffspot »

michaelchisari wrote: post #396

My doctor had me work on increasing the amount of water I drink in a day until I hit the recommended amount, and journaling the result. Turns out, I had spent most of my life dehydrated. I feel so much better when I drink a ton of water.

This. I thought I had allergies that stuffed up my nose and sinuses my entire life. Then I started tracking my water intake, drinking the proper amount, and boom, my entire head cleared up. I'm so mad at myself for not realizing this decades ago.

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

#506

Post by cloudripper »

Walking.

Currently in my late 30s, I've long enjoyed pushing my limits in many forms of physical exertion - running, climbing, skiing, mountain biking, etc. However, as I've aged and my bones are no longer made of rubber, I have been forced to realize that pain is not often gain.

Dealing with the many persistent aches and pains, I was prompted by a friend to get a 'gait analysis' to assist with my running longer distances and in more diverse terrain. I quickly learned from my very skillful physical therapist/gait analyst, that my gait for running is not sustainable- and will lead to kinks and pains as I progress. Taking a step back, she identified that many of those gait quirks stem from my walking gait. And she quickly identified that my walking gait is out-of-wack due to an injury I sustained while playing basketball when I was 13.

25 years later, I am challenged to learn how to walk correctly.. so the question I have is if I haven't yet learned to walk, have I really ever been able to run? I doubt it, but I'm a pretty firm believer that I will be able to in the future.

Edit: I can't spelle

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

#507

Post by softfalcon »

throwanem wrote: post #97
prometheus76 wrote: post #43

Chef knives are designed to be held by pinching the blade between the forefinger and the thumb, and wrapping the rest of your fingers around the handle. I used to wrap all my fingers around the handle, until Jacques Pepin showed me how to do it properly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMA2SqaDgG8

An ex with commercial kitchen experience taught me this. My own experience is that, having held and used a knife the right way even once, the wrong way feels wrong forever after.

Tell that to my wife and in-laws. They’ve asked to be taught, been shown how to do it, shown why it’s safer and faster, have timed their speed and found it to be faster.

They still refuse to do the proper technique. They cut themselves regularly. Their stubbornness knows no bounds. Even when it involves literal blood at least once a week.

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

#508

Post by viggity »

lucb1e wrote: post #496
yamtaddle wrote: post #479

Oh! Another! Car side mirrors. I spent more than a decade of driving adjusting them wrong. You want them so you don't see cars behind you at all in your side mirrors until they're transitioning off the edge of your center rear-view mirror. This gives you far more coverage of your sides, and every car is still visible in at least one mirror at all times. For me, where I put my seat, this usually means setting them as…

That's not what I was taught. It sounds logical but before I take an internet stranger's word on changing one of the likeliest things in life to kill you or those around you, did you read somewhere that this is a good idea based on research xyz or is this something you came up with?

BMW has a performance driving class and they teach the same thing - set them far away from your own car. It is a little disorienting at first because you kind of don't have a point of reference like you would normally, but it is totally worth it.

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

#509

Post by thomastjeffery »

hypertele-Xii wrote: post #373

Breathing. I was sucking my gut in on inhale, and expanding it on exhale. Once I tried it the other way around, it locked and I've breathed this new way ever since. It's obvious to give your lungs more room, couldn't believe to have been doing something so basic wrong.

The first part of learning to play a wind instrument (clarinet, flute, trumpet, etc.) is learning how to breathe.

Muscles can only do two things: contract and relax. Lungs are controlled by two muscle groups: the diaphragm and the chest.

The muscles in the front of the chest are the most obvious, and the least important: they only squeeze the air out, which doesn't really take active effort most of the time.

The diaphragm is what pulls air in to the lungs. It does this by pulling the lungs straight down toward the stomach.

Practicing this intentionally, by pulling your diagram down and holding it, is great exercise. Deeper slower breaths are more effective at cycling oxygen and CO2 through the blood stream, help you speak louder and longer, and can even significantly reduce your stress level.

Breathing is something we do automatically well enough, but breathing intentionally is incredibly useful.

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

#510

Post by pancrufty »

aendruk wrote: post #498

I used to regularly feel bad but didn’t recognize the feeling as thirst. Turns out humans are supposed to drink water.

"Recognizing feelings" is something we can be really bad at.

Occasionally I would feel "really hungry" in the morning. Only in my thirties I realized that that "hungry feeling" was just stomach pain and a direct consequence of eating late at night.

Similarly, I couldn't understand why I had a headache at 5 AM. Hint: I hadn't gone to bed yet. Realized by my late twenties.

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