Realizations that make you feel really stupid

[HalfTangible]

And I'm pretty sure the writers used English spelling

I meant the word in Japanese. The writers of the show used English spelling, yes.

That is all I'm going to say on the matter because I am not in the mood to debate something this small and insignificant.

[Vinyadan]

Isn't that the word for punching people?

[Talar]

I routinely look for my pencil or pen while it is behind my ear. A few times I have given up looking for it and just gotten a new one, and I would knock out the first pencil with the new one as I go to put it behind my ear.

[Jay R]

I remember listening to the Underdog theme song as a child, and thinking it was really harsh. The superhero fights you for making mistakes?

I’d never seen or heard of the word “plunder”. But I knew the word “blunder” – Superman used it fairly often in the comic books I read. So I was kind of confused by the lyric that I heard as “Fighting all who rob or blunder”.

Years later, I realized that it was really “Fighting all who rob or plunder”. But when the theme song runs through my mind, even today, I hear “blunder”.

[Fiery Diamond]

I meant the word in Japanese. The writers of the show used English spelling, yes.

That is all I'm going to say on the matter because I am not in the mood to debate something this small and insignificant.

The t is not silent in tsuki, the Japanese word.

[D&DecentPeople]

It took me so long to learn that you can't actually see black holes because they suck in anything including light so that means there is no light to bounce back to your eyes to see them which makes them invisible. Imagine just going through space and just getting crushed to bits by an invisible force. Weird.

[Sermil]

So in programming, we have a concept called 'rubber ducky debugging'.

Oftentimes, when you are completely stumped by a bug, and have tried EVERYTHING to debug a problem, you ask someone to come over and help you. You start to explain the what the problem is, and why it makes no sense, and about halfway through the explanation, you realize exactly what the problem was the whole time, without the other person every having said a word. Basically, the exercise of laying out all the steps in the problem code verbally, and showing off the code that implements those steps, makes the issue obvious.

In order to avoid wasting other people's time, programmers came up with 'rubber ducky debugging'. You take a rubber ducky and ask it help you. You start to explain what the problem is to the ducky, and why it makes no sense, and about halfway through the explanation, you usually realize exactly what the problem was the whole time.

So, I think I invented anti-rubber ducky debugging. I was convinced that one of our internal libraries was unable to do something I needed. I tried and tried to get it to work with my program, and it just wouldn't. I composed a long email to our internal programming email list (with several thousand software engineers on it, including the ones who maintain said internal library), complete with an simplified example showing exactly where the internal library would fail, and sent it off. I then returned to my real code, at which point I quickly realized:

1. That my real code didn't match the simplified version in a very important way
2. That the difference would completely explain the problem, and
3. That the simplified example actually worked just fine but I had never actually bothered to put it into a test and run to check it would fail in the way I was sure it would fail.

So instead of a single inanimate object, I managed to waste the time of several thousand engineers while figuring out my own problem.

[BannedInSchool]

Pouring liquids out of containers:

Putting the lip of the container on the edge of the cup or spoon isn't so you can't miss; it's so you have the other hand giving you more precise control over the tilt of it. Also, tilting a squeeze bottle until the contents just reach the spout instead of totally upside down means gravity isn't helping and your squeeze is the only real force, again meaning you have more control.

I thought of those as being too futzy, but it's actually a better way to do it, even though I struggle with wanting to excel at the challenge of doing it the wrong way still.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

It took me so long to learn that you can't actually see black holes because they suck in anything including light so that means there is no light to bounce back to your eyes to see them which makes them invisible. Imagine just going through space and just getting crushed to bits by an invisible force. Weird.

Well, the good news is that most black holes are kinda visible, because the accretion disk is very visible. Yes, there might be black holes out there with no visible signs, but even those, you'd figure out something is off because of the changing gravity.

So in programming, we have a concept called 'rubber ducky debugging'.

Oh, that reminds me of my own 'most hated' bug: the one that only causes problems occasionally, or only for some inputs, but that once you've figured out what was wrong, you can't imagine how the program ever worked at all.

I know it has a name - the webcomic Casey and Andy had a page with the "bug fairy" that mentioned it - but I can't find the page (any help would be appreciated).

Grey Wolf

[EsstotheTee]

There shouldn't be a "U" sound in colour. It might be a local form. At least, that's what Cambridge says.

Canada and the United Kingdom would beg to differ.


I recently travelled to the United States, specifically Indianapolis, and being Canadian, when I paid cash for something, I expected a loonie or a toonie as change. I gave a couple cashiers funny looks when they handed me 1$ and 2$ bills.

[Peelee]

I gave a couple cashiers funny looks when they handed me 1$ and 2$ bills.

I'd give the cashier a funny look as well, since I don't know any place that keeps $2 bills on hand. There's certainly no designated slot in standard tills for twos, and the only way I know to get them is to specifically request $2 bills at a bank.

[EsstotheTee]

I'd give the cashier a funny look as well, since I don't know any place that keeps $2 bills on hand. There's certainly no designated slot in standard tills for twos, and the only way I know to get them is to specifically request $2 bills at a bank.

The mere fact they exist is mind boggling to a Canadian. I didn't get many, but I got at least two during my stay. Far more singles than anything else though.

[DataNinja]

The mere fact they exist is mind boggling to a Canadian. I didn't get many, but I got at least two during my stay. Far more singles than anything else though.

I know that the other thing around happened when I was visiting some elderly relatives in the states, and we showed them loonies, toonies, and our newfangled plastic bills. The reaction was mostly "This is money?"

The fact that the two countries are so similar really emphasises the differences.

[Peelee]

I know that the other thing around happened when I was visiting some elderly relatives in the states, and we showed them loonies, toonies, and our newfangled plastic bills. The reaction was mostly "This is money?"

The fact that the two countries are so similar really emphasises the differences.

I kinda get that feeling when I wach Corner Gas. There's no notable accents, everything is just pretty common, so whenever they have a joke like a prominent Canadian politician or media figure come on, use loonies/toonies to pay, etc. I'm abruptly reminded that I'm technically watching foreign television.

[DataNinja]

There's no notable accents, everything is just pretty common,

To be fair, the vast majority of us live within something like 200km/125 miles of the border. So, unless you go to a place like Quebec or Newfoundland (which are basically defined by being different from the rest of Canada ) everything's going to be more-or-less the same as it is just a hop-skip-and-a-jump across the border. At least on the surface anyways. I'm sure you don't have the maple syrup mafia, after all.

[Peelee]

To be fair, the vast majority of us live within something like 200km/125 miles of the border. So, unless you go to a place like Quebec or Newfoundland (which are basically defined by being different from the rest of Canada ) everything's going to be more-or-less the same as it is just a hop-skip-and-a-jump across the border. At least on the surface anyways. I'm sure you don't have the maple syrup mafia, after all.

Imean, the Midwest US has some very notable accents, doncha know.

[Sermil]

Oh, that reminds me of my own 'most hated' bug: the one that only causes problems occasionally, or only for some inputs, but that once you've figured out what was wrong, you can't imagine how the program ever worked at all.

I know it has a name - the webcomic Casey and Andy had a page with the "bug fairy" that mentioned it - but I can't find the page (any help would be appreciated).

Grey Wolf

I usually call them "Heisenbugs" if they keep appearing and disappearing. Especially the ones that disappear if you add any debug code to track them down.

Or ones that only appear in optimized mode, and disappear in debug mode. Those are the worst.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I usually call them "Heisenbugs" if they keep appearing and disappearing. Especially the ones that disappear if you add any debug code to track them down.

Or ones that only appear in optimized mode, and disappear in debug mode. Those are the worst.

No, Heisembugs are the ones that, as you say, change when you look at them. This is a big that, say, only fails in, say, 1 out of every 15 iteration of a loop. But when you track down the bug, you wonder how the program managed to work in any of the iterations in the first place.

ETA: Found it! Its the WTF Bug "After discovering the cause of the bug, the developer will wonder how the routine ever worked at all!"

I hate it because it leaves you with questions you have no reason to try to answer. The program works now, so you don't need to try to figure out how it managed to partially work before. But I hate unanswered questions.

GW

[Lord Joeltion]

Well, the good news is that most black holes are kinda visible, because the accretion disk is very visible. Yes, there might be black holes out there with no visible signs, but even those, you'd figure out something is off because of the changing gravity.

Gravity, and the odd radiation coming from it. Even if they were barely visible to optical instruments, they should ping any other "radar" (detector? Hawkingmeter?) that your spaceship should have installed on it.

Canada and the United Kingdom would beg to differ.

Isn't Cambridge within the confines of the UK? That's where I double check my pronunciation references. I was referring to phonemes, btw; not spelling: (UK) /ˈkʌl.ər/ (US) /ˈkʌl.ɚ/ There's no "u" sound or anything close to that vowel. I'd love to have info whether other pronunciations exists (that aren't just apocryphal).


Since we are in Commonwealth territory; it came up to my mind the most embarrassing moment in UK. I was first time visiting London with my GF, and we took a bus to spend some days at Nottingham. But since we arrived late, the terminal was deserted, and we couldn't find any of the black cabs we were used to back in London. So it occurred to me, that maybe those "very cab-ish" green vehicles were in fact, actual cabs (I know, sounds stupid in retrospective, but I never in my life seen green taxis). We deliberated for a while, until I saw the sec guy of the bus terminal walking in our direction, so I say "why not ask?". So I did.

Me: - Hullo, kind Sir (I really don't remember what my mouth spouted, it was really late and I was exhausted). Are those green vessels the vehicles your townsfolk would refer to as "cabs"? Like the black ones in London? (I really don't remember my part)

Security Man: - I am black (sic)

Me: - Come again?

Sec Man: - I am black (he pointed at himself. His skin was in fact, black)

Naturally, like any Caucasian in my place would have; I then stuttered and probably my eyes started twitching in different directions until that good humoured guy cackled and I felt forever embarrassed for my social awkwardness*. Other than feeling the fool of the town that night, at least I realized two things:

• I need to pay more attention to people I have in front of me and their traits.
• I'm both racially insensitive/blind AND inclusive. I guess that's... good?

Spoiler

Show

It's worth noting that racial issues in my country aren't such a deal for reasons not worth detailing here. Hope that excuses my clumsiness

[Brother Oni]

Since we are in Commonwealth territory; it came up to my mind the most embarrassing moment in UK. I was first time visiting London with my GF, and we took a bus to spend some days at Nottingham. But since we arrived late, the terminal was deserted, and we couldn't find any of the black cabs we were used to back in London. So it occurred to me, that maybe those "very cab-ish" green vehicles were in fact, actual cabs (I know, sounds stupid in retrospective, but I never in my life seen green taxis). We deliberated for a while, until I saw the sec guy of the bus terminal walking in our direction, so I say "why not ask?". So I did.

Me: - Hullo, kind Sir (I really don't remember what my mouth spouted, it was really late and I was exhausted). Are those green vessels the vehicles your townsfolk would refer to as "cabs"? Like the black ones in London? (I really don't remember my part)

Security Man: - I am black (sic)

Me: - Come again?

Sec Man: - I am black (he pointed at himself. His skin was in fact, black)

Naturally, like any Caucasian in my place would have; I then stuttered and probably my eyes started twitching in different directions until that good humoured guy cackled and I felt forever embarrassed for my social awkwardness*. Other than feeling the fool of the town that night, at least I realized two things:

• I need to pay more attention to people I have in front of me and their traits.
• I'm both racially insensitive/blind AND inclusive. I guess that's... good?

Spoiler

Show

It's worth noting that racial issues in my country aren't such a deal for reasons not worth detailing here. Hope that excuses my clumsiness

Two things - black cabs are a very specific type of taxi that's only found in London. While some taxi companies have company cars with their own livery, the large majority are just converted private cars with a logo on the side, a taxi badge on the rear and a meter inside, so a taxi over here can be pretty much any colour.
Second; it's highly likely that the security bloke was partaking of the time honoured British tradition of 'winding the tourist up', so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Goodkill]

no amount of rubber ducking (i call it the same thing when i use real people - i use the "rubber duck technique" on forums when explaining a problem or when talking to my dad about a problem he probably has little understanding of) could help me with my state machine i was working on. it was too dense to ask people to look through it for me.

then finally, after several weeks, i found out that the last problem that was keeping my state machine broken was just a minor logic error near the end of my 400ish-line block of code. 400 lines isn't too bad, except when it's dense. my state machine wasn't too dense, but enough to make it hard for other people to understand.


edit: sharing too much

[BWR]

Isn't Cambridge within the confines of the UK? That's where I double check my pronunciation references. I was referring to phonemes, btw; not spelling: (UK) /ˈkʌl.ər/ (US) /ˈkʌl.ɚ/ There's no "u" sound or anything close to that vowel. I'd love to have info whether other pronunciations exists (that aren't just apocryphal).

There's no 'o' sound either and I don't see you complaining about that. And there is more of a 'u' sound than an 'o' sound in any case.

[Peelee]

There's no 'o' sound either and I don't see you complaining about that. And there is more of a 'u' sound than an 'o' sound in any case.

Phonetically, "culler" sounds about right.

[Gravitron5000]

The mere fact they exist is mind boggling to a Canadian. I didn't get many, but I got at least two during my stay. Far more singles than anything else though.

This should only be mind boggling to a young Canadian. I remember when the Canadian $1 bill was phased out, and I probably still have one or two in a drawer somewhere.

[Lord Joeltion]

Two things - black cabs are a very specific type of taxi that's only found in London. While some taxi companies have company cars with their own livery, the large majority are just converted private cars with a logo on the side, a taxi badge on the rear and a meter inside, so a taxi over here can be pretty much any colour.

I didn't know that. Good to know. Anyway I think wood-like green is very strange colour for a taxi, which made me unsure about it (IIRC, they also lacked any company stamp or the "taxi" sign on top)

Second; it's highly likely that the security bloke was partaking of the time honoured British tradition of 'winding the tourist up', so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Yeah, he was obviously messing around with me. Just that my brain failed to recognize the humorous intent. Once it registered the joke, I still couldn't find what it was about. ONCE I realized what he was referring to, my brain was apparently so tired that I wasn't even sure if I said something disrespectful or not. I guess I made his night anyway

There's no 'o' sound either and I don't see you complaining about that. And there is more of a 'u' sound than an 'o' sound in any case.

I was referring to this quote

In contrast, I can hear and try to pronounce the 'u' in 'colour', verses the more common 'color' of where I live.

Strictly speaking, there is no "u" sound or anything close to it. There are other phonemes belonging to the "u" branch which just aren't there (I'm referring to the phoneme, not the letter "U"). And besides, the letter "u" in the writing doesn't represent any phoneme at all either way.

Phonetically, "culler" sounds about right.

Yesssss.... but that's not exactly what I was talking about. It's ok (for an English speaker) if you say "ʌ" (phoneme) is graphically represented by an "u". In general, it is. But phonetically speaking "ʌ" sounds more like an "A sound" or an "O sound"; not an "U sound". Here's the chart for anyone interested*

I don't know if that was in the mind of the person I originally quoted tho, but I was curious about weird pronunciations nevertheless.

*Do note that saying "it sounds like an A/O/U" isn't the exactly the technical term, but is a good aproximation/generalization to avoid obscure terminology (open/mid/close vowel)

[Peelee]

Strictly speaking, there is no "u" sound or anything close to it.

Huh. Wheee!

[Velaryon]

I'd give the cashier a funny look as well, since I don't know any place that keeps $2 bills on hand. There's certainly no designated slot in standard tills for twos, and the only way I know to get them is to specifically request $2 bills at a bank.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them at horse-racing tracks either, not that those are very common.

[Peelee]

I wouldn't be surprised to see them at horse-racing tracks either, not that those are very common.

They're great for tipping, too, if you want to be remembered.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

They're great for tipping, too, if you want to be remembered.

If you really want to be remembered, can I suggest instead tipping $2 in the smallest coin denomination you can?

It practically ensures that your next meal at the place will be delivered with extra sauce, IYKWIM.
I'm guessing you mean giving a big tip all in $2 bills?
GW

[Anonymouswizard]

Since we are in Commonwealth territory; it came up to my mind the most embarrassing moment in UK. I was first time visiting London with my GF, and we took a bus to spend some days at Nottingham. But since we arrived late, the terminal was deserted, and we couldn't find any of the black cabs we were used to back in London. So it occurred to me, that maybe those "very cab-ish" green vehicles were in fact, actual cabs (I know, sounds stupid in retrospective, but I never in my life seen green taxis). We deliberated for a while, until I saw the sec guy of the bus terminal walking in our direction, so I say "why not ask?". So I did.

Me: - Hullo, kind Sir (I really don't remember what my mouth spouted, it was really late and I was exhausted). Are those green vessels the vehicles your townsfolk would refer to as "cabs"? Like the black ones in London? (I really don't remember my part)

Security Man: - I am black (sic)

Me: - Come again?

Sec Man: - I am black (he pointed at himself. His skin was in fact, black)

Naturally, like any Caucasian in my place would have; I then stuttered and probably my eyes started twitching in different directions until that good humoured guy cackled and I felt forever embarrassed for my social awkwardness*. Other than feeling the fool of the town that night, at least I realized two things:

• I need to pay more attention to people I have in front of me and their traits.
• I'm both racially insensitive/blind AND inclusive. I guess that's... good?

Spoiler

Show

It's worth noting that racial issues in my country aren't such a deal for reasons not worth detailing here. Hope that excuses my clumsiness

As a note, you wouldn't have insulted him at all. Here in the UK black is completely fine, none of my friends shy away from using it. Similarly Oriental is considered fine here, especially as if you say 'Asian' most people will think you mean Indian, although unlike black it is slowly phasing out of use.

As a note to Americans, if you're in the UK and don't want to say black, the other acceptable term is 'Afro-Caribbean', although it's rarely used in conversation. 'African' and 'Caribbean' are also acceptable if you know which applies. But do not use 'African-American', it could be taken as insulting due to the fact it assumes they're American.


For me, probably the biggest was when my friend admitted she has feelings for me (it's now a slightly complicated situation that involves her trying to guilt trip me into moving to France). I had noticed that she seemed to always be smiling around me and wanted to touch me more than she had used to, but I had put it down to her being French.