NationStates Jolt Archive

When a dear friend says something completely asinine, what do you do? Let them live in their delusion? Laugh your ass off? Gently attempt to correct them?

Also, what are some completely asinine things you've heard lately?


My story:
So my friend has a son who's had a few episodes of unilateral facial numbness. He ignored the first couple of episodes, even though I said it needed medical attention. After the third episode he took his kid in.

And of course, reasearched on the internet. Because obviously doctors try to hide things from us because they want us to be chronically ill and/or kill us.

So he's telling me how he didn't like that the doctor "blew him off" when he wondered if his son had Bell's Palsy, brought on by herpes he got from a severe poison oak rash.

I had a partial seizure when I heard this, strangely didn't laugh, but instantly asked "Herpes is a virus, how did he get it from poison oak?"

To which he replies, "Don't dismiss it that easily, look it up."

"What site should I visit," chances are I can point out Some Guy's Blog /= science and be done with this, but no.

"Uh, I can't remember. But you should find something on it."

When I pointed out Googling "Herpes, poison oak, and Bell's Palsy" yielded no results the subject rapidly changed.

I took the time to tell him that anything internet reasearch he does tells the doctor one thing, "the sky is blue, the sky is blue, the sky is blue." I ignored the fact that his research says "The sky is hippopatamus." And that every second year medical student [in the US] knows everything he could possibly find online. That's when they learn to diagnose. They spend the next 8-10 years developing their clinical judgement by seeing thousands of cases, and that's what we pay them for. And that isn't something found online or in a book.

Anyway, my friend is well meaning, so I'm glad I didn't burst out into fits of laughter on the phone.

Yeah.. yeah.. that's how I got herpes... it was poison oak... look it up..



it was in no way connected to nailing my buddy's older cousin in the back of a t-bird in '78, I swear...

One of my uncles is one of those people who really believes in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and that you don't have to pay your credit cards off.

I tell him he's a fucking idiot on a regular basis, but I no longer bother to debate him.

When someone says something totally fucking wrong about a legal matter, and I know them, I'll correct them. Usually they'll then say 'oh you're just a third year student, you don't know'. You're right. I don't know for a fact that trespassing is a strict liability tort. You really can get off if you can convince the judge that you didn't know you were trespassing.

Oh wait. That's a lie.

Anyway, my friend is well meaning, so I'm glad I didn't burst out into fits of laughter on the phone.

Next time, burst. How do you deal with the utterly asinine? Laugh at it. Mock it. Tease it until it develops an eating disorder. Treat the ridiculous ridiculously.

Suggest that maybe the kid had a stroke. Or a tumor could be pressing on his brain. Maybe he has body parts of an unformed cannibalized twin brother pressing on his cerebral cortex like in that Stephen King book.

Maybe the Thetans made the kid's face numb. :p

Next time, burst. How do you dea lwith the utterly asinine? Laugh at it. Mock it. Tease it until it develops an eating disorder. Treat the ridiculous ridiculously.

Suggest that maybe the kid had a stroke. Or a tumor could be pressing on his brain. Maybe he has body parts of an unformed cannibalized twin brother pressing on his cerebral cortex like in that Stephen King book.

Maybe the Thetans made the kid's face numb. :p

Who the hell are the Thetans?

I'm usually just brutally honest with them, and I add in a few insults. :D

Who the hell are the Thetans?

Google Scientology....

Next time, burst. How do you deal with the utterly asinine? Laugh at it. Mock it. Tease it until it develops an eating disorder. Treat the ridiculous ridiculously.

Suggest that maybe the kid had a stroke. Or a tumor could be pressing on his brain. Maybe he has body parts of an unformed cannibalized twin brother pressing on his cerebral cortex like in that Stephen King book.

Maybe the Thetans made the kid's face numb. :p

No, I'm sure it was the tree-herpes. Proven by the fact that I can't document that there isn't tree herpes.

Who the hell are the Thetans?

ask Tom Cruise


typically i let it slide, unless its someone i know well. usually i just can't be arsed, and most people aren't open to changing their minds about anything anyway. (on a related note, why the fuck do i post here then? :p)

Who the hell are the Thetans?

The "demons" of the Co$...

That's it! Clearly this is Tom Cruise's fault!

How do you deal with the utterly asinine? Blame it on Scientology.

I smile sweetly and let them believe themselves to be correct, while imagining performing a frenzied knife attack on their faces.

Keep smiling through, just like I always do until the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.

Point, laugh, use the time spent laughing to think of a new and interesting way of telling someone they're wrong.

No, I'm sure it was the tree-herpes. Proven by the fact that I can't document that there isn't tree herpes.

This puts a new twist on the concept of getting wood.

Use plenty of fire.

When a dear friend says something completely asinine, what do you do? Let them live in their delusion? Laugh your ass off? Gently attempt to correct them?

Also, what are some completely asinine things you've heard lately?

It depends on the person. With some people it is possible to gently point out that what they are saying is complete nonsense and, with these people, I manage to remain reasonably civil.

Then there are the ones who won't be convinced, in which case I either resort to mockery or start ignoring them.

Hey, who am I to stop people from supporting Ron Paul? It's their choice.

When a dear friend says something completely asinine, what do you do? Let them live in their delusion? Laugh your ass off? Gently attempt to correct them?

Also, what are some completely asinine things you've heard lately?


My story:
So my friend has a son who's had a few episodes of unilateral facial numbness. He ignored the first couple of episodes, even though I said it needed medical attention. After the third episode he took his kid in.

And of course, reasearched on the internet. Because obviously doctors try to hide things from us because they want us to be chronically ill and/or kill us.

So he's telling me how he didn't like that the doctor "blew him off" when he wondered if his son had Bell's Palsy, brought on by herpes he got from a severe poison oak rash.

I had a partial seizure when I heard this, strangely didn't laugh, but instantly asked "Herpes is a virus, how did he get it from poison oak?"

To which he replies, "Don't dismiss it that easily, look it up."

"What site should I visit," chances are I can point out Some Guy's Blog /= science and be done with this, but no.

"Uh, I can't remember. But you should find something on it."

When I pointed out Googling "Herpes, poison oak, and Bell's Palsy" yielded no results the subject rapidly changed.

I took the time to tell him that anything internet reasearch he does tells the doctor one thing, "the sky is blue, the sky is blue, the sky is blue." I ignored the fact that his research says "The sky is hippopatamus." And that every second year medical student [in the US] knows everything he could possibly find online. That's when they learn to diagnose. They spend the next 8-10 years developing their clinical judgement by seeing thousands of cases, and that's what we pay them for. And that isn't something found online or in a book.

Anyway, my friend is well meaning, so I'm glad I didn't burst out into fits of laughter on the phone.

If it's any help, I'm here so if you have never heard anything asinine I can be of assistance.


Trees are purple becuz I say so. :)

Most of my friends don't usually say totally asinine things. And the ones that do are accustomed to me laughing at them for it. :)

Next time, burst. How do you deal with the utterly asinine? Laugh at it. Mock it. Tease it until it develops an eating disorder. Treat the ridiculous ridiculously.

Suggest that maybe the kid had a stroke. Or a tumor could be pressing on his brain. Maybe he has body parts of an unformed cannibalized twin brother pressing on his cerebral cortex like in that Stephen King book.

Maybe the Thetans made the kid's face numb. :p

Maybe it's Lupus?


(*waits for WYTYG*)

I figure their education and understanding of the subject being discussed doesn't extend beyond what they were told in H.S. and/or read on some liberal/conservative blog.

If it is a person I know, I generally try to point out how/why they are wrong. If it is a person on the intrawebs, I generally just laugh to myself at it and let it lie.

I generally try to correct them.

As for an asinine story- I once had an otherwise-intelligent friend inform me that the war in Iraq was pointless because the Iraqis would simply go back to communism once we left. I didn't talk to him for the rest of the evening.

I generally try to correct them.

As for an asinine story- I once had an otherwise-intelligent friend inform me that the war in Iraq was pointless because the Iraqis would simply go back to communism once we left. I didn't talk to him for the rest of the evening.

BWAHAHAHAHA!

Brilliant. I love him.

As someone who's had a level of numbness down the whole side of my body for a year or so (it's mostly recovered now)... I have a simple suggestion of what the problem could be (and possibly the reason why the doctor 'blew him off'). Has the person had any sort of blow to the neck or back (including whiplash). After increased levels of doctor investigation (including an fMRI), it was concluded that my numbness was probably due to nerve bruising, which is a bugger because it takes ages to heal but is otherwise not at all serious. It's taken me a while to heal up, but it will eventually go away if this is the case.

On the wider topic of dealing with the asine, I tend to go for just telling them they are wrong and explaining in detail why this is so.

it depends. sometimes I laugh, most times I correct. sometimes I just let them think what they like becuase trying to change their mind is like teaching a Rancor how to dance. both get irritated, and the results are never pretty...

I amuse myself at the antics of the utterly asinine. But occasionally I get bored so I close NSG and do something else for a while.

First I laugh, then I correct them, and if that doesn't help, punch them till they give up pretending to know.

Two out those three methods are true and part of my behavior.

The people I know and consider worth talking to generally don't say asinine things. On those occasions when one of us misspeaks or gets really drunk and misspeaks, the tradition among us is to point and laugh and yell, "What the fuck are you ON?? :p" That usually causes the misspeaker to say something like, "Damn, I hate it when I do that. :D"

When one of the faceless rabble known as "the rest of humanity" says something totally asinine, I hardly notice, because when don't they? Generally, they're not among those worth talking to, which also means they're not worth correcting or arguing with, so I generally just walk away.

I've been known to play horrible pranks involving needles with saline solutions that have had food coloring applied or collars covered in putty with some people.

Maybe it's Lupus?


Or it could be vasculitis. :tongue:

Or it could be vasculitis. :tongue:

Nah. It's early Shatner Syndrom. Lucky they caught it before the wooden acting set in.

Depends on the person, some accept ridicule as the proper response, others can be reasoned with, and some people (my mom's fiancie is a prime example) are just so god damned stupid that nothing works.

It is a tough situation, but I probably would have said something. Because, really, herpes from poison oak? wtf?

When someone says something totally fucking wrong about a legal matter, and I know them, I'll correct them. Usually they'll then say 'oh you're just a third year student, you don't know'. You're right. I don't know for a fact that trespassing is a strict liability tort. You really can get off if you can convince the judge that you didn't know you were trespassing.
Another good legal point that many lawyers won't tell you is that the police can't arrest you if they're not wearing their hat. 100% true.
Also, next time you're pulled over speeding, tell the cop, "you should be out chasing the REAL criminals". Honest to God, they will let you go every time.

You need to ask your friend why their son is screwing plant matter. Proffer up some condoms to the son so he can practise safe sex with the botany of his choice next time. Maybe even bring them a sexy little houseplant for him to 'use' in the safety of his own bedroom. cacti are probably not a good idea.

How do I handle the utterly asinine? Look it up (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1231).

One of my uncles is one of those people who really believes in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and that you don't have to pay your credit cards off.

Well you don't have to pay credit cards off. You can just charge them up and ignore them. Usually they'll give U a pay off rate at about 20% of delinquent balance.

Naturally there is bugger all chance of getting more credit after that. But he's right about the whole not paying attention thingy.

(YahYahYah, I kno about teh bankruptcy reforms, but meh, they really aren't worth teh poop. They weren't even passed for collection reasons).

Yeah.. yeah.. that's how I got herpes... it was poison oak... look it up..



it was in no way connected to nailing my buddy's older cousin in the back of a t-bird in '78, I swear...

Even if it WAS, that's TMI.

One of my uncles is one of those people who really believes in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

I take that to mean he's a rabid anti-Semite. Am I right?

Next time, burst. How do you deal with the utterly asinine? Laugh at it. Mock it. Tease it until it develops an eating disorder. Treat the ridiculous ridiculously.

The first time I encounter the asinine, I tell it that it's being asinine.

THEN I go to step 2: your post here.

Hey, who am I to stop people from supporting Ron Paul? It's their choice.

OK, what is asinine about supporting Ron Paul? :mad:

Aside from the fact that he has no chance of winning?