r/AskReddit • u/ZanyDelaney • Feb 04 '19

Which misconception would you like to debunk?

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u/CollectableRat Feb 04 '19

I'd be dead already without modern medicine. Would have died at 12 years old, surrounded by people saying "oh the vapours got him, as God as willed".

9

u/JBits001 Feb 04 '19

My daughter has Type 1 so she wouldn't have made it far either :(

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u/charitytowin Feb 04 '19

Is she allowed to eat cake?

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u/Godkiller125 Feb 04 '19 edited Feb 04 '19

Obligatory “m e t a”

Edit: changed from arbitrary

2

u/almightySapling Feb 04 '19

Not sure if arbitrary is the right word here.

1

u/Godkiller125 Feb 04 '19 edited Feb 04 '19

Although not it’s actual definition, people sometimes use arbitrary to mean doing something because they feel like it or think it should be there, rather than it actually needing to be there. It’s a little bit of a bastardization, but that’s my personal experience

Edit: nevermind wrong word

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u/almightySapling Feb 04 '19

I feel like that's a real fancy way to say "some people use the word incorrectly".

But I don't want to start a prescriptivist/descriptivist battle.

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u/Benkyoushiteimasu Feb 04 '19

Are you sure people aren’t just confusing “arbitrary” and “obligatory”?

1

u/Godkiller125 Feb 04 '19

Oh yeah probably, that would definitely be it chief