Adults Are Sharing Basic Things They Don't Understand, And It's Proof The Education System Has Failed Us
As many of us have had to learn (or witness firsthand), being an adult does not necessarily mean you know more. And, I think it is safe to say a lot of basic things that should have been taught in school were not. So, when Reddit user u/Aleksey_Danchenko asked, "What is something you pretend to understand, but really don't?", people fessed up right away:
1."How computers work, on the most fundamental level."
2."People are commending my wife and me on raising our kid who is 10 months now. The truth is, we are totally winging it, and she's just been really pleasant so far."
3."Directions. I listen to you giving directions because it makes you feel good. I'm always going to follow my space phone to your house."
4."Wine tasting. You guys can taste chocolate, cigar smoke, nuts, fruits, etc. — all I can taste is fermented grapes," said u/StudBoi69.
"My boyfriend's rich boss once bought us a few very nice bottles of wine because he could not believe that we couldn't tell the difference between that and cheap wine. His idea was to set up a blind taste test for us with all the nice bottles of wine plus some cheap grocery store ringers.
I picked the cheapest wine as my favorite. It felt kind of embarrassing to be a total peasant when it came to wine tasting, but it was also pretty good to know that I'm not missing out on anything when I buy a $6 bottle of Blackstone."
5."My job. Fake it till you make it. I didn't know over half of my job when I got hired. I researched most of it the weekend before and ask a lot of questions."
6."When people try to talk to me quietly and I don't want to make them repeat is for the fifth time."
7."Cryptocurrency, I know enough to get about 25% of the way there, but then I just don't get it... Something about computers doing complicated math for something or someone. Then that being a block, using that block to make money that might not actually be money but it is money to someone? So I guess that's what makes it money."
8."SEO. My company is at the top of nearly every search involving one of the keywords that should direct you to it. I spend $10 a day on AdWords and everyone thinks I'm a god-tier advertising hacker. I have no idea how or why things have worked so well in my favor."
9."Sleep. I’ve been doing it for over 30 years but I still for the life of me can’t figure out how it works. One second I’m totally conscious on my bed with my eyes closed, and the next moment I’m awake. Like wtf is going on?"
10."How some 'fine art' is considered 'fine art' when it looks like some shit a first grader made."
11."Baking. I'm in my last semester of culinary school, and I'm taking a baking class. I swear, it's like fucking voodoo and witchcraft in there. I'm pretty sure we sacrificed a virgin the other day to make the Foccacia proof properly."
12."Magnets. I mean, day to day, I walk around in my lab coat with a clipboard, pretending I know all sorts of things. Yet, for all my scientific know-how, one question continues to plague me: How do magnets work?"
—Anonymous
13."The Electoral College."
14."Taxes, stocks, investing. I’m very financially uneducated and have tried several general finance books but still don't understand it."
15."Politics. Anything politics. It's all just a jumble to me."
—Anonymous
16."3D printers. Like, I can't even wrap my head around the concept, but then I'm just over here like, if it works why can't we just 3D print everything?"
17."Software development. I'm a software developer but my true job title should be "Creative Googler' because that is what I do."
18."How air conditioning works. Every time I try and research it, I get a lot of smug answers about 'you know it doesn't actually MAKE cold; it just PULLS heat from the air...' OK, great. How does it do that?"
19.And, finally: "Space, time, and gravity, and their relationship with each other."
Got anything to add to the list?! Let us know in the comments!
