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Do you listen when you are told something isn't possible?

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DrPizza said:
Is the statement that it's impossible coming from an authority who is stating physical fact? Or is it the opinion of a peon?
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I do developmental work. I have learned to question "authorities" and "experts" especially when my intuition says otherwise. It's not always the case, but I find a lot of people who overreach their level of expertise. If someone tells me that it can't be done, I do put thought into what they are saying. Sometimes I accept it, and sometimes I don't.

If I'm already working on something, and someone tells me that it's "impossible" or can't be done, it does make it all the sweeter knowing that they're wrong. I have a lot of experience in the stuff that I do, so it's fun when someone tells me that I'm wrong and I'm able to tell them, "Ask me how I know." Folks have learned that that means I've already done it.
 
TastesLikeChicken said:
As a junior in high school back in the mid-70s I had, what I thought at the time, a brilliant idea. Why couldn't we use a small gasoline engine to power a bank of batteries, which would then power an electric motor for a car? I took this question to my girlfriend's father, a man who would eventually become my father-in-law (my first wife). He was an electro-mechanical engineer so I figured he would know if it was viable. Upon telling him of my plan he got this condescending look on his face, laughed, and told me that it would never be possible; the efficiencies could never be achieved.

He died of a massive heart attack quite a few years back, but not before hybrid vehicles came out. I should have driven a Prius up in his driveway before the bastard croaked.
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That massive boost in fuel efficiency of your Prius over 70's car is mostly due to improvements to the conventional engine and weight savings anyway.
 
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Sometimes things aren't possible.
And sometimes companies will realize you've wasted a lot of money for zero gain trying to accomplish the impossible and decide to let you go.
 
Soundmanred said:
Sometimes things aren't possible.
And sometimes companies will realize you've wasted a lot of money for zero gain trying to accomplish the impossible and decide to let you go.
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Because they expect the impossible from you and the impossibility of knowing everything about you just from a resume and 15 min interview, which is next to impossible to find anyone on both sides that didn't flat out lie, speak half-truths or use deceit.
 
I once had a Pastry Chef tell me it was impossible to BBQ a cake. I can tell you that it is not impossible to BBQ a cake.
 
dighn said:
yeah. people are too quick to use the word "impossible". but some things really are impossible, like god.
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Not for me. While you can't prove there isn't a God, I can't prove there is.

0/0

It's just a difference in faith. I'd rather believe and be wrong, than not believe and be proven wrong. I have nothing to lose, except to become worm food, like the unbeliever. If I am right for believing, I get something, whereas, the none believer is still worm food. 😉
 
compuwiz1 said:
Not for me. While you can't prove there isn't a God, I can't prove there is.

0/0

It's just a difference in faith. I'd rather believe and be wrong, than not believe and be proven wrong. I have nothing to lose, except to become worm food, like the unbeliever. If I am right for believing, I get something, whereas, the none believer is still worm food. 😉
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But it is possible to prove or disprove things associated with that entity. Just a god itself, you can't prove or disprove, well unless he were to appear or something. Kind of like a unicorn. But unfortunately for believers, there are many things associated with a god, like a bible for instance. Things in the bible can certainly be proven or disproven. Science has been disproving religon for hundreds of years. I mean people used to see lightning and think it was an act of god.

So I guess as long as you believe in a god that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, your safe.
 
I sometimes tell people stuff is impossible myself. But most of the time, it's an economical or practicality constraint or a lack of understanding of elementary physics (like you can't get energy out of nowhere), not a technological problem.
 
I dislike absolute statements. They're usually incorrect. Given enough time and money anything is possible as long as it doesn't violate universal laws.
 
rudeguy said:
I do not. If someone tells me something isn't possible, I judge them ignorant or uninformed. Especially electronic type things.

I will bust my tail just to prove someone wrong in this regard. I have plenty of stories but I'm hoping ATOT can tell me some of their success or failure stories from when someone told you something wasn't possible.
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Colbert & Homer Simpson have you covered:

http://imgur.com/b78rhdp
 
DrPizza said:
Is the statement that it's impossible coming from an authority who is stating physical fact? Or is it the opinion of a peon?
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somewhere in the middle

I was thinking along the lines of physical repairs and modifications but I left it open so people could input their own experiences. In hindsight, that was not a good way of doing things.

Lets say you are trying to do a repair and the manufacturer tells you its not possible (my current circumstance) or you are playing a video game and you are told its impossible to make a certain goal or you are told by your superior that there is no way to hit a certain objective (in your case, maybe get all of your students to pass with 100%) or take Paul98's statement that you can't go faster than the speed of light. I can't. But someone in that field might take that as a challenge to find a way to go faster.

I personally get mad when someone tells me what I am capable of and consider that a challenge. However I know a lot of people who will just sit back and say "that's not possible. This person told me so." and never try.
 
compuwiz1 said:
Those who say it can't be done should not interrupt those of us who are doing it. 😉

I forget where this came from but I like it.
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holy shi.....prwreck.

I need that on a plaque for my cube.

EDIT:
It was George Benard Shaw and my mission for today is to find a plaque with that on it. Seriously.
 
compuwiz1 said:
This thread almost wants me to recite the serenity prayer. 🙂
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God-

Grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference

Amen

I've said that prayer at least a thousand times in my life. Courage? Check. Wisdom? I'm working on it. Acceptance? I will be fighting that battle until the day I die.
 
rudeguy said:
somewhere in the middle

I was thinking along the lines of physical repairs and modifications but I left it open so people could input their own experiences. In hindsight, that was not a good way of doing things.

Lets say you are trying to do a repair and the manufacturer tells you its not possible (my current circumstance) or you are playing a video game and you are told its impossible to make a certain goal or you are told by your superior that there is no way to hit a certain objective
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this is softer stuff where personal experience influences the view of what is impossible and what is not, and it's not clear how much authority the people have, so it may sometimes be useful to take them as challenges, as long as you have a limit though, because otherwise it can become a waste of money.

People telling other people that something isn't possible usually regards ignorants sharing bs on FB like phonebloks or some guy's invention to consume less gas with totally impossible numbers that gets shunned by the big business for some conspirationist reason. Some people just can't see when something is overly complicated and pricey or limitating and thus doesn't make economic sense, so when it doesn't happen, it's a conspiracy of the big business.
This is what I think of when someone says "people who don't listen when told that it's impossible".
 
DaTT said:
I once had a Pastry Chef tell me it was impossible to BBQ a cake. I can tell you that it is not impossible to BBQ a cake.
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You can make a wet cake like that, but not a fluffy cake. Too much temperature variation.

lxskllr said:
I dislike absolute statements. They're usually incorrect. Given enough time and money anything is possible as long as it doesn't violate universal laws.
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Do you ALWAYS dislike absolute statements? :hmm:
 
compuwiz1 said:
Not for me. While you can't prove there isn't a God, I can't prove there is.

0/0

It's just a difference in faith. I'd rather believe and be wrong, than not believe and be proven wrong. I have nothing to lose, except to become worm food, like the unbeliever. If I am right for believing, I get something, whereas, the none believer is still worm food. 😉
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What if you believe in the wrong god?
 
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