I got nothing recent, but here are a few from the past.
I was once reading a magazine and tried to pinch-zoom a photo. I tried multiple times before I understood the depths of my stupidity.
I once took my new car into the dealer about a month after I got it for warranty work because the washer fluid wasn’t working anymore. This was after I looked it over and couldn’t find the cause, so I assumed it was a body control module or maybe the stalk was bad. I was pushing the stalk forward instead of pulling it backwards. The tech, service writer, and myself had a good laugh about how I had forgotten how to use the damn thing. There is a freaking icon with “pull” on the stalk. I had been using it just fine and then caught the stupid one day.
I once remarked that they should invent vizine, but for your mouth while I had cottonmouth. Before anyone steals my idea, water was invented over 12 billion years ago.
I tried to take photos of hallucinations to show others. Yes, photos, plural.
Before you worry, I am dedicated child-free.
I wouldn’t consider the photos as an “Am I stupid?” moment as much as an “Am I high?” one.
lmao similar to the pinch-zoom thing, I do a lot of digital art normally, but whenever I draw on paper, I reach for ctrl-Z first instead of flipping the pencil over. Probably doesnt help that If I do draw on paper, its in the same spot where I normally put my tablet
I often use an electronic drawing tablet, with a button on the electronic pen configured as “undo.” The frequency with which I reflexively press on that bit of a real pen to undo a physical ink-based mistake does not reflect well on me.
Looking at my phone, I verbally asked myself, “Where’s my phone??”
Whenever I use my phone for navigation, I always notice my pockets are empty and stress about losing my phone. Also while looking at my phone.
This really shouldn’t happen as often as it does.
When I was a child, I once tore apart my room looking for my game boy colour, which was in my hand the whole time.
Yeah, I had undiagnosed ADHD.
I got lost and almost stuck out on a hiking trail in the desert after dark. It was raining, I was soaked through, and so was my dog. It wasn’t supposed to rain, and I’d taken this hike before. Granted, never by myself, but still.
Luckily I found my way back to the trail head just as it was getting pitch black, but I was seriously scared there for a bit. I kept apologizing to my dog for being so fucking stupid to go on a two hour hike in the late afternoon with no emergency gear and no “just in case” rain protection.
…this happened 5 hour ago, btw, I can’t sleep, I think I’m still in shock a bit at how close I came to possibly dying. And for bringing my dog down with me.
And this is why I carry a ton of crap with me whenever I go in the woods or on the water. Pretty sure my friends poke fun at me.
While trying to mount a speaker:
Where’s my drill bit?
Where’s the mount?
Where’s my pencil?
Where’s my level?
Where’s the mount?
WHERE ARE THE SCISSORS?
I JUST HAD MY FUCKING DRILL BIT!
GOD DAMNIT, JUST LET ME MOUNT THIS THING, WHERE IS MY PENCIL?
Every time I try to do anything. I’m probably undiagnosed ADHD, tbh.
Asked my dad’s permission to go see the eclipse next month
I’m almost 30
Spent weeks without pepper because I thought the grinder thing wasn’t working. Turns out I hadn’t screwed off the cap and removed the foil. I was just about to give up and buy a new pepper grinder.
I have pepper again.
I tried taking a new route through a familiar building. Automatic actions took over and led me back to the entrance I came from.
Every day I wake up and go to work and realize just how stupid of an idea that was.
Woke up.
Fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head.
Went downstairs and had a cup
And looking up, I noticed I was late
[heavy breathing]
I’m a programmer, so this is pretty much a constant thing haha. Sometimes you write the smartest shit imaginable, and sometimes you waste 4 hours on something extremely simple.
My job involves opening boxes, getting serial numbers from the contents, and resealing the boxes. I have repeatedly done the last two steps in the opposite order.
I believe that is called ADHD.
I find it hard to tell if it’s adhd with this amount of information.
Added an extra shelf to my shoe rack today. After measuring, cutting, drilling, even made little notches below the shelf, barely putting the shelf in because of hinges in the way, vacuuming the mess, halfway packing up my tools and call it a successful day and… doors won’t close because of the hinges on the doors hitting the shelf. Moved it 5mm lower after drilling another set of holes.
Starting to do tasks that other employees wouldn’t touch with a 10’ pole due to complexity and now having to deal with the consequences including being assigned more complex tasks… I’m making myself essential I guess, but in a union job it’s not as if I can negotiate for a better salary…
You can always negotiate for a higher group ahead of time, or boni, additional benefits, etc.
Not in my job, negotiation happens on hire only and I started with zero knowledge like most of us, my brain is just wired for the kind of tasks we do so I more do stuff people with more experience wouldn’t be able to do and until I get a promotion it just means I end up working harder for the same wage as my colleagues when I could be doing the same tasks as them which I have an easier time with 🤷
I haven’t worked a union job, so I know nothing about this. But a family friend always rails on unions and how they do more harm than good, citing these kinds of situations. I generally like the idea of unions because I’ve seen how companies abuse employees without them. So I’m torn.
Can you explain to me how the union prevents you from getting promoted/a raise? I’m specifically curious about how the mechanics of it work
Broadly speaking (in my personal experience) especially in very large organisations with a union presence employees you usually see salary grades or employee classifications which assign a pay grade. Those jobs in turn come with minimum expectations that you have to meet to fulfil your obligations to collect your base wage.
You can go above and beyond, take on the harder jobs and put your hand up for unpaid positions (union rep, health and safety officer, first aid, fire warden, etc) those roles dont carry a financial benefit and most of the time dont impose a significant time penalty (many workplaces have to accommodate your time away from regular duties) but they are also voluntary.
The thing is, try climbing the ladder internally without taking on any of those roles. They expose you to the inner workings of the business, the metrics, management speak and a measure of exposure to higher management so when an actual position up the ladder does come up anyone else has to compete with the guy who is already on a first name basis with the area manager because of that thing 3 months ago. Someone who has demonstrated that they want it not someone who just applied because there was a vacancy.
People who are non union and free to negotiate their own salary (again, this is just my experience) are often in jobs where the big boss can walk in say "Jim, unfortunately we have to let you go. Heres a glowing letter of recommendation, 6 months salary in leiu of notice and this lovely man from security will be escorting you out in 30 minutes, please pack up your desk.
This is probably a stupid question, but what’s the difference between being dumb and being stupid? Is stupid just a ranking of dumb, or is dumb a quantifiable measurement and stupid is not?
Please advise.
the way I do it is dumb is stupid without harm.
Stupid is dumb with harm.
An example…
Dumb is dropping your drill bit 3 times in a row, having to climb back down the ladder each time to get it.
Stupid is dropping the entire drill on your friends unprotected head.
I like this definition and will steal it as well as claim it as my idea for perpetuity, until someone checks me - because I am stupid.
Or, instead, I’ll just misremember it when quoting it in conversation - because am dumb.
Ladies and gentlemen, the real good vs evil metric. We’ve finally found it. It wasn’t good vs evil, but dumb vs stupid.
