Basic concepts that seem to escape the grasp of most people

[dave_the_nerd]

That's not how marginal taxes work. Any increase in pay is a net increase. You had something else going on.

It's entirely possible there was a tax hike larger than the COLA increase.

 

[xeemzor]

Tax brackets how do they work?!??!

At first I thought it was impossible for people to NOT understand taxes and rates. The concepts are so simple.

And then I became a CPA

 

[xSauronx]

my dad swore that the pizza stone i had in the oven was "absorbing all the heat" and causing the oven to malfunction.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Well, I know of someone who never had an accident and was dropped because he 'was due'

That's bullshit. Either that person lied to you or you misunderstood the situation.

Insurance companies don't drop people because they're 'due' for an accident.

It just doesn't happen. That goes against financial common sense in their business model. They want to keep the people who don't have accidents. not vice versa.

 

[IronWing]

my dad swore that the pizza stone i had in the oven was "absorbing all the heat" and causing the oven to malfunction.

Microwave?

 

[xSauronx]

Microwave?

if you mean his brain was probably damaged by an early edition microwave that may not have been safe, i would agree.

i tried to explain that the point of putting anything in an oven was so it would absorb heat, but....oy

 

[dainthomas]

If we are too use your reasoning, perhaps we can put all the heat vents in one room at the corner of our house because after all: "none of the heat is being wasted"...

Why even have heat vents? Just have the air blasting against the bottom of the floor.

 

[darkewaffle]

I remember as a kid my mom always wanted to buy non-perishable goods in small, cheap (but more expensive per unit) volumes because it feels less expensive or something to her. Like one time at some "Value City" type store they had a big 24 pack of toilet paper or paper towels or something that was a really good deal and I bring it to check out and her eyes get all wide like "oh my god I can't believe I'm spending $20 just on toilet paper!" as though she would never spend that much on it buying the small packs. The value just completely escapes her.

 

[Gunbuster]

The renewal sticker for your licence plate goes in only ONE place and you cover or remove the old one.

 

[Blanky]

Um, no... While it is true that the total amount of heat liberated from the oven does not change as it goes from a high energy state to a low energy state, the useful heat energy does change with the door closed.

If we are too use your reasoning, perhaps we can put all the heat vents in one room at the corner of our house because after all: "none of the heat is being wasted"...

Opening the oven door in the winter IS a smart idea.

You are still wrong.

The presumption is her home is heated, so whether the stove dumps its heat in 10 minutes or 60 is immaterial, as it is merely supplementing home heat anyway; either aggressively for 10 minutes, or subtly for 60.

Your vent example is also poor; a better one is: What's more effective 1 vent per room or a hundred super weak vents? And the answer is there is no difference, similar to radiant floor heating.

Leaving the oven open is only beneficial if she specifically wants that space to be super-heated for a while, which I doubt, and the OP didn't say, nor should it be assumed.

The rest of the OP's examples were great. I often see people ignorant of graduated taxes. And I know the majority of the population do not understand very basic statistics. I know this based on things I constantly hear people say and write.

 

[IronWing]

On the oven: it depends on whether or not the oven is vented to the outside (gas oven). If the oven is vented, then opening the door would allow more heat into the house and less to escape outdoors. Otherwise, no difference other than time and heatflow rate.

 

[Blanky]

That's bullshit. Either that person lied to you or you misunderstood the situation.

Insurance companies don't drop people because they're 'due' for an accident.

It just doesn't happen. That goes against financial common sense in their business model. They want to keep the people who don't have accidents. not vice versa.

Of course it is bullshit. Insurance companies know how probabilities work and to even say such a thing proves a person doesn't inderstand the very most basic of probability examples , which the op illustrated with the coins. Honestly sometimes I don't know how people even function in society.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Of course it is bullshit. Insurance companies know how probabilities work and to even say such a thing proves a person doesn't inderstand the very most basic of probability examples , which the op illustrated with the coins. Honestly sometimes I don't know how people even function in society.

Speaking of which.....

Just seen a Liberty mutual commercial, they said they won't raise your rates if you get into accident or get a ticket (or some BS).

Meanwhile, here I am, Liberty mutual costumer and they raised my rates last year. No accidents OR tickets..

In our society, it's safe to assume the opposite of what "they are telling you" to the the reality.

 

[Ruptga]

This thread is why I can't take seriously anyone that still believes in "common sense". There's nothing common about it.

 

[Brovane]

No gravity in space.

Of course there's gravity in space. If there wasn't the ISS wouldn't circle the Earth, the Earth wouldn't circle the sun, etc.

What people mistakenly call 'no gravity ' is actually free-fall.

I tried to explain this one to a group of adults and I got a lot of blank stares.

Let alone explaining that in Earth Orbit, if you want to rendezvous with a object and you are trying to catch up to it. You need to slow down which will drop you in a lower orbit and then you will close the distance and then you can increase your velocity when close to match back up your velocity with what you are rendezvous with.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Speaking of which.....

Just seen a Liberty mutual commercial, they said they won't raise your rates if you get into accident or get a ticket (or some BS).

Meanwhile, here I am, Liberty mutual costumer and they raised my rates last year. No accidents OR tickets..

In our society, it's safe to assume the opposite of what "they are telling you" to the the reality.

Well they didn't say anything about people with NO accidents or tickets though did they? What they probably do is raise everyone's rates BUT the people who have accidents or tickets. They just leave that part out and let your imagination do the rest. They're counting on you assuming that if they won't raise rates even for irresponsible drivers, then surely responsible drivers like you are even safer from rate hikes. They said one thing, and the other thing happened nowhere but in your head, which is exactly the situation they are shooting for.

Actually I don't know anything about it, but you have to admit that would be pretty devious.

 

[ioni]

Speaking of which.....

Just seen a Liberty mutual commercial, they said they won't raise your rates if you get into accident or get a ticket (or some BS).

Meanwhile, here I am, Liberty mutual costumer and they raised my rates last year. No accidents OR tickets..

In our society, it's safe to assume the opposite of what "they are telling you" to the the reality.

It's a load of bull. They don't raise your rates because you have to sign up for a policy that costs more in order for your rates not to get raised. So basically, you raise your rates yourself now in order to prevent them from raising your rates later. No thanks.

 

[inachu]

Simple example: I walked into the kitchen at my parents' house the other day and the oven door was open, even though the oven was off. My mom leaves the oven door open so as not to waste the residual heat after the baking is finished (during the winter).

Few years back I was talking to my dad about insurance and how the premiums go up every year even if you never make a claim. He said "Well, the insurance company knows that if you go for a while without an accident, you're due." I argued no, that's not the case, and pointed out that if you flip a quarter and it comes up tails 9 times, it's still 50/50 odds on the tenth flip. He told me 'no', heads is more likely on the 10th flip.

I'm always amused by these seemingly straightforward scientific and mathematic concepts that seem to elude people for whatever reason.

Another one that I've heard of but never personally run into is people that don't understand how graduated income tax rates work. i.e. they believe there are certain breakpoints where earning another dollar of income will result in reduced earnings because the taxes on their entire gross income will increase.

Anyone else have examples?

I am prime example! I got $2,000 raise. LAst year my ta return both federal and state combined was a lil over $1,700 This year because of the raise I just got back $400 from federal and 200 from state.

 

[SlitheryDee]

On the oven: it depends on whether or not the oven is vented to the outside (gas oven). If the oven is vented, then opening the door would allow more heat into the house and less to escape outdoors. Otherwise, no difference other than time and heatflow rate.

My oven is not vented, but it's built into a cabinet. I'm assuming some of the heat is lost through the ceiling of the oven, through the cabinet above it, through the ceiling above that, and then into the attic space before it gets into the air of the house. Keeping the door closed gives that heat more time to work it's way up through the cabinet to the attic. Not that this is a significant amount or is something that ever bothered me, but it's still probably true. *shrug*

 

[stlc8tr]

I am prime example! I got $2,000 raise. LAst year my ta return both federal and state combined was a lil over $1,700 This year because of the raise I just got back $400 from federal and 200 from state.

Show your work.

(In other words, that has to be something else going on.)

 

[Aikouka]

Few years back I was talking to my dad about insurance and how the premiums go up every year even if you never make a claim. He said "Well, the insurance company knows that if you go for a while without an accident, you're due."

That reminds me of a conversation that I had with my mom yesterday. Someone backed into my sister's car (and drove off, of course), and she needs a rental car while her car is being repaired (can't close the door properly). My mom kept going on and on about getting the rental insurance, and I kept telling her that the insurance is just their big money maker. It doesn't help that people that just had an accident tend to be more worried about shit.

I told her that when someone rear-ended me last year, I didn't get insurance on my rental car, and I even drove from Alabama to Kentucky to get my new car. The thing is... she knows that the insurance covers it, but she's all worried about the possibility of an accident. :\

I argued no, that's not the case, and pointed out that if you flip a quarter and it comes up tails 9 times, it's still 50/50 odds on the tenth flip. He told me 'no', heads is more likely on the 10th flip.

I think people tend to mix up permutations there. I mean, the chance of getting 10 tails (or heads) in a row is .09766% (.5 ^ 10).

Decelerating without braking. I see people every day needlessly hit their brakes because they are overtaking the person in front of them. All they need to do is let off the gas and voila, no need to hit the brakes.

I do this all the time, but I try to be cognizant of people around me, because I can't just be slowing down people unnecessarily. That doesn't really apply to something like slowing down from 55 to 45, but if I'm going to be turning soon, and no one is behind me, I'll just let my car coast earlier. There are some times when I can be on a 55 MPH road and never touch the brake prior to taking a sharp turn simply because I bled off enough speed.

It's also one of the few ways I get decent gas mileage out of my car.

4-way stops. It's also not your turn because you have been waiting longer than me.

Wait ...what? Am I understanding you correctly? If someone has been at a 4-way stop for longer that means they got there first. 4-way stops are no different than normal stops as in the first person that gets there goes. If multiple vehicles arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the right goes. If all four vehicles arrive at the same time, well... they work it out. Just to make sure that I'm not being dumb and remembering something incorrectly, I looked it up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-way_stop

After a full-stop has been made, vehicles usually have the right-of-way to proceed through the intersection in the order that they arrived at the intersection. In the United States, if vehicles arrive at approximately the same time, each driver must yield to the drivers on their right

This sounds like the kind of crap that irritates me. I'll visibly get to a stop after someone, and they sit there and wait for me to go. What the fuck? You're there first! GO! I've gotten to the point where if I see any hesitation from people at a stop sign, I just go instead of them. I don't have time to waste on them trying to "be nice".

 

[Ns1]

I am prime example! I got $2,000 raise. LAst year my ta return both federal and state combined was a lil over $1,700 This year because of the raise I just got back $400 from federal and 200 from state.

taxes

 

[IronWing]

An adage I learned on this forum ought to be stencilled on the front of every computer, tablet, and smart phone: "If you aren't a paying customer then you are the product."

 

[IronWing]

This sounds like the kind of crap that irritates me. I'll visibly get to a stop after someone, and they sit there and wait for me to go. What the fuck? You're there first! GO! I've gotten to the point where if I see any hesitation from people at a stop sign, I just go instead of them. I don't have time to waste on them trying to "be nice".

If there is any indicision on the part of other drivers, I wave them through. It is much better to be behind accelerating morons than in front of them.

 

[FDF12389]

Warranties.

"Oh I got different rims so I cant warranty anything."

"My radio broke and I have to get an aftermarket one because the dealership said my lift voids the warranty."