Friday OT #1 - Mr. Know-It-All

[Alswelk]

My personal one is any time a news article/report talks about nuclear power. For lack of a better way to explain it, frequently the authors are using the words but are not speaking the language, if that makes sense.

Or technology prognosticators in general who don't understand the second law of thermodynamics.

 

[dmclone]

There are certain subjects where I probably know more than 99.99% of the population. Then I'll meet someone in the same field and feel like I know nothing.
For the 3-4 things I think I know a lot about, it's painful to hear the news when they talk about one of these subjects. It tends to make me think that the news in general is pretty much garbage.

 

[KnappShack]

I like to tell my podiatrist cousin that he's "kinda" a doctor and that I get my info from Dr. Google.

I even diagnosed a foot issue correctly!

Used to flip him a lot of **** until I saw him save a guy's life. Now he gets a little more respect

 

[cyfanatic13]

I have been betting on sports through other avenues much longer than it’s been legal in Iowa (whoops) and always get a chuckle at people that get started with it and have no idea what they’re taking about. I have a coworker that complains every day about something like “this ten leg parlay only lost by three legs and they were so close”

 

[KnappShack]

I have been betting on sports through other avenues much longer than it’s been legal in Iowa (whoops) and always get a chuckle at people that get started with it and have no idea what they’re taking about. I have a coworker that complains every day about something like “this ten leg parlay only lost by three legs and they were so close”

I gave a guy 8 picks for a Vegas trip (back in the day)

7 of 8 were winners. I figured he would be pretty happy after a streak of luck like that.

Dude comes back angry because he missed the 8 team parlay....ummm. Ok.

 

[TexCyted]

Never the most popular thing to bring up here most days, but here we go. The average person's lack of knowledge the court system and the criminal justice system is so far off base it makes me laugh. I'm not talking about bad cops, just how the system works. I blame Hollywoods misrepresentation for most of it. A few of my favorites are Robbery vs Burglary, Jurisdiction, The Miranda Warning and Search and Seizure Law. Differentiating between local, state and federal law ranks right up there too.

 

[BoxsterCy]

It's more what I don't know that people think I will know. Specifically flowers and home landscaping. I graduated with a degree in landscape architecture but mostly worked in design offices on park planning and design and site planning. I've never done a home landscape design in my life. Ended up spending most of my career with the Army Corps of Engineers and over half of that was as a project manager. I could probably still design someone a nice deck but you'd have to hire a garden center guy to do the landscaping. Exception, I do know shade gardening a little since my own adobe is deep shade city.

 

[cychhosis]

After reading the first paragraph, my mind immediately went to concrete vs cement. If someone talks about a cement floor or cement road I always make a comment about how expensive it must be.

I formerly drove a concrete truck, but no one calls it that.

 

[mywayorcyway]

I'm an expert at finding experts. It's literally my job.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

I've worked in government at every level but federal and get very annoyed with the Government & bureaucracy is bad mentality out there. The overwhelming majority of people working for the Government are passionate about what they do and just want to make things better in the ways they can.

That's just been exacerbated in the past 5 years or so. My biggest pet peeves are people that complain about why the City is building something, when in reality its a private business making a decision to invest and build, not the City. Example being complaints about a Casey's being built when the City already had one Casey's. You know who has a really good business model and knows the best places to build convenience stores?? CASEYS! But no, its the City's fault for allowing a private business to conduct a private land acquisition transaction with a private land owner and build a site out per pre-defined regulations.

The other one is the morons that scream about the First Amendment when a private business makes the private business decision to do something that is perceived as restricting someone's speech. When the reality of freedom of speech is that its narrowly defined to the government restricting it.

 

[MJ29]

I've worked in government at every level but federal and get very annoyed with the Government & bureaucracy is bad mentality out there. The overwhelming majority of people working for the Government are passionate about what they do and just want to make things better in the ways they can.

That's just been exacerbated in the past 5 years or so. My biggest pet peeves are people that complain about why the City is building something, when in reality its a private business making a decision to invest and build, not the City. Example being complaints about a Casey's being built when the City already had one Casey's. You know who has a really good business model and knows the best places to build convenience stores?? CASEYS! But no, its the City's fault for allowing a private business to conduct a private land acquisition transaction with a private land owner and build a site out per pre-defined regulations.

The other one is the morons that scream about the First Amendment when a private business makes the private business decision to do something that is perceived as restricting someone's speech. When the reality of freedom of speech is that its narrowly defined to the government restricting it.

I see a lot of people complaining about city government who never actually attend any city council meetings. If you're that mad, go tell the council/mayor. Otherwise, how are they supposed to hear your thoughts?

 

[cyclones500]

My biggest pet peeves are people that complain about why the City is building something, when in reality its a private business making a decision to invest and build, not the City. Example being complaints about a Casey's being built when the City already had one Casey's. You know who has a really good business model and knows the best places to build convenience stores?? CASEY'S!

I encounter so much of that, but indirectly and from separate perspective, as member of media on local/community level (speaking of area of expertise oft-misrepresented, but will save for separate post if time permits). “Why is the city building another doctor’s office at that plaza — we need Aldi there!” “Why is the city building a splash-pad park? We need more industry & jobs!” “The bowling alley closed, but they’re replacing it with a bank? We need somewhere for kids to go to say out of trouble!” And so on. I’m sure you're familiar with the refrain.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

I encounter so much of that, but indirectly and from separate perspective, as member of media on local/community level (speaking of area of expertise oft-misrepresented, but will save for separate post if time permits). “Why is the city building another doctor’s office at that plaza — we need Aldi there!” “Why is the city building a splash-pad park? We need more industry & jobs!” “The bowling alley closed, but they’re replacing it with a bank? We need somewhere for kids to go to say out of trouble!” And so on. I’m sure you're familiar with the refrain.

Right...people need to realize that City's are primarily built by private companies making private investments. Occasionally the City gets involved building some infrastructure, City-owned buildings, or giving incentives, but that is the exception not the rule when you look at everything built in a City.

I always like to explain it that the City is a referee. The government sets rules for development and ensures that the players (private developers and private landowners) follow the rules. Now you can complain about the rules and ask that they be changed, but you can't blame the City for the actions of the players if they are following the rules.

 

[Gonzo]

 

[matclone]

I know a lot about the Beatles, and popular music of a certain era, but most of that is of little interest to others. I try not to be a know-it-all about anything but probably have tendencies in that direction so just try to keep my mouth shut (usually). I guess one general complaint is when people are careless with details.

 

[cyclones500]

Right...people need to realize that City's are primarily built by private companies making private investments. Occasionally the City gets involved building some infrastructure, City-owned buildings, or giving incentives, but that is the exception not the rule when you look at everything built in a City.

I always like to explain it that the City is a referee. The government sets rules for development and ensures that the players (private developers and private landowners) follow the rules. Now you can complain about the rules and ask that they be changed, but you can't blame the City for the actions of the players if they are following the rules.

I like the "referee" comparison. I'll have to remember that one

 

[cyclones500]

One of my top 10 "Seinfeld" exchanges. Maybe even top 5.

"Write it off what?!"

 

[keepngoal]

Roberts Rules of Order.

I have been part of small and large orgs that had no clue, and now do. Knowing this and keeping the org on track isn't a way to make friends. Bullies and those that 'know best' hate working together as a group who all agreed to set of rules.

I have the previous two and current versions in my office.

 

[keepngoal]

After reading the first paragraph, my mind immediately went to concrete vs cement. If someone talks about a cement floor or cement road I always make a comment about how expensive it must be.

My dad, a CE from ISU, had this drilled into our heads starting at the age of 5. The comparison to cake vs flour made it clear for me at age 5.

 

[Gonzo]

One of my top 10 "Seinfeld" exchanges. Maybe even top 5.

"Write it off what?!"

Agree. At the end when Kramer pivots from what a write-off is to who's doing it... "But they do, and they're the ones writing it off"... is literally the stuff of genius.