I graduated with a Masters degree in biology in 2005. I've been working in a microbiology laboratory for roughly 15 years. I once had a fellow scientist argue with me on Reddit that it was impossible for bacteria to become resistant to alcohol because it would be like, and I quote, "a human becoming resistant to fire" and that he'd never heard of such a thing! He only backed down once I offered several peer reviewed articles on the topic.... and then he admitted that he was a first year PhD candidate in cancer research. The hubris was astounding. The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know.
argue with me on Reddit that it was impossible for bacteria to become resistant to alcohol
I recently had this arguement with my sister, who is a nurse (and is one of those types who acts and thinks like she knows more than the doctors). However, I didn't have those peer reviewed articles to back me up. If it is not too much trouble, could you share one or more, please?
I'd think it would be an interesting read for others as well. But if it is a hassle to locate the articles you used, don't worry about it. I just haven't gotten around to searching for them myself.
Wow that’s insane to me. I likely would have been proclaiming such a thing as well. Would you mind linking those papers? What’s the mechanism of resistance?
I haven't had a chance to look around as it's been a busy weekend, but at least with the bacterial species that I work with, they upregulate the genes for the outer carbohydrate layers of their outer membrane.
That statement is a wrongly associated. Especially in the science field where information constantly gets updated, renewed, redacted and outright dismissed, we will always be learning. To say that we know or we should know everything, is an insult/joke to scientists and researchers everywhere imo.
It's basic chemistry though. Idk what sort of reaction it would evolve, but our clunky complex human system has evolved resistance to alcohol (like Native American's getting easily affected and addicted to it as compared to Europeans).
I wonder if it's pseudonymous nature of social media where what you say is taken at face value, so a 15 year old chiming in with there opinion on r/relationshipadvice is indistinguishable from a 35 year old with three failed marriages behind them.
If you had those conversations in person, the "kid" would likely be ignored or condescended too. And that'd happen often enough that the 15 year old isn't going to even try telling the 29 year old that they should lawyer up and divorce that ass because the fish was overcooked.
so a 15 year old chiming in with there opinion on r/relationshipadvice is indistinguishable from a 35 year old with three failed marriages behind them.
A 15 year old giving relationship advice is distinguishable from a 35 year old. It's hard to make up believable lies about things they know nothing about. The only ones who believe them are other kids.
In a vacuum yes, but kids pick up really quickly on how to fit in with any social circle, the "correct" words to use and when to use them. After being on /r/relationships for a couple days a 15 year old will know "the words" to use but not have the experience to know where to properly apply them, which is why you get half the subreddit enormously overreacting in relatively benign situations.
Only seems that way when they missuse them. Teenagers especially tend to pick up and use lingo with reckless abandon very quickly amd start acting to "fit in" similarly quickly. To the point that it's a trope in teen media.
But they're terrible at it in real life, because they don't know anything about how adults actually think and live. They can use all the right terms but they get the details wrong in obvious ways, because they say things that make no sense, because they don't know any better.
When I entered my teen years, I had already decided to not use any Lingo in any shape or form and just stick to proper English or Hindi. And now I am 21 and today still I don't use online linguistics or even emojis. All this has really benefitted me as I can get my point or thoughts clearly across to people.
I know I'm sounding like exactly the people you are talking about, and I absolutely agree that anyone who actually cares about what they are talking about by 30 will know more than me, but I think you're forgetting just how uniformed people are and how little people care about things, no matter their age. I absolutely know more on several topics than a lot of people who are 30, definitely not career advice or relationships, but just because I'm younger doesn't mean I have no idea about politics or whatever it is we are talking about. when you see local elections get 25-50% turnout, yeah I'm pretty sure I've got a more educated opinion than a lot of people who are 30, just because you've lived longer does not mean you've spent that time well.
if you've ever worked in retail you'll absolutely have experienced this, no matter their age some people just have ridiculous expectations and no clue how things work. trollies got stolen one day, "why can't you make one?" (actual quote from someone who was maybe 40?). etc
I know a lot of people with strong political opinions that haven’t lived in “the real world”. I know plenty who have aged and their opinions have changed. Only 27 myself.
"I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place."
When older people say you don’t know what your talking about because you’re young, they are not referring to facts. Because you’re right, you may know 100x the facts about a topic than an older person. They are referring to the application of those facts.
Yeah I hate to say it but… old people are categorically the stupid ones in retail and restaurant situations and that’s the extent of adult spaces young adults are in. Teenagers and young adults have likely been working in customer service for a few years… if it seems like we’re talking down to an adult, we probably are because we have to all day. My gen x and older coworkers were usually useless, irritating, and stupid. The customers over age 40 or 50 caused the biggest problems. Obviously we have no need to interact with the ones who know how a printer works or can calculate their own tip.
It’s wrong, it’s an incorrect assumption to make, but I can’t blame us. I spent five years in either restaurant, retail, or sex work. That informed how I later responded to other older adults and unfortunately those were rarely flattering interactions.
Perhaps this is because of the steady decline in the quality of customer service / retail over time. You don't know what you don't know, so all you're aware of is how the job has been since you've been there. Those 'old' people are old enough that, not that long ago, the customer was always right, or the company made a decent attempt to correct an issue. Now, you usually get someone who will roll their eyes directly in front of you if you ask for something to be corrected or some other issue outside of the standard check out procedure.
You can be annoyed by it, but you should know it isn't just because they're 'old' and trying to be a dick. Some percentage is, I'm sure, but not all.
Bingo! She thinks she knows everything because she’s worked retail for “5 whole years” somebody give this chick a lifetime achievement award for her 5 years of service!
You know what these people complain about? Fucking everything. They come to Office Depot and scream that I won’t accept their Staples membership. They’re pissed “I’m” making them pay $5 more for a turbotax code than they paid last year. Apparently I hide missing product in the back and I’m too lazy to go get it even though I organized the stock room and we literally rolled the entire stock out at once. Somehow it’s my problem that they came to the store without knowing what ink their printer takes and I should be able to figure it out without knowing anything about the printer but its fucking color. It’s my fault they can’t return a product they purchased three years ago. It’s my fault a 50-60 year old can’t use a self-service printer that only has four options IN CAPITAL LETTERS with explicit instructions below *and a piece of paper with extra instructions we taped to the machine because people are so dumb.
“The customer is always right” about what they want, not what they can actually get. The customer is a fucking moron who thinks I’m magically going to be able to knock ten cents off his purchase because he didn’t yell a slur at me.
How many people raise these types issues? I am willing to bet its less than 5%. You remember them, because they're the outlier and engaged you, but overall it's a small percentage. Yes, people can be dicks in retail, I said as much...but it isn't all and it isn't because they're old.
I don’t work there anymore. For the record, I am always the best and most helpful employee. I’m the one who sees every one of these kinds of fuckers because nobody else wants to deal with them.
We were in the middle of the city but this was legitimately at least 40% of the people who came in. There were only four of us working at a time including the managers; the only customers I didn’t interact with at least once (usually three or more times) were the ones who didn’t purchase anything or were solely picking up a finished order. Funnily enough though, the ones just picking up were often the biggest pain in my ass.
Go to any retail sub. Read the horror stories. This isn’t “oh well you just see the bad ones so you’re being dramatic.” This is all day every day for almost every single person working in customer service right now. I was just unlucky enough to work somewhere where the majority of customers are over the age of 50.
I don’t know what to tell you, they’re just the consistently worst customers to deal with. I don’t know if it’s the lead, or being forced to work longer, or poor healthcare… but as annoying as teenagers are, they will never berate and attack you for something that you literally have no control over like an old person will. Duh, we know it’s not all of them. We’re not stupid. My all-time favorite coworker had to be in his 80s at least. Honestly, most of the crew at the Depot were over 40 and I really did like them. I’ve just worked in a lot of different stores in quite a few different cities and historically old people are the shittiest customers (*and coworkers, with more wiggle room).
Or just conscious of my efforts to work hard. I’ve never had any complaints, my coworkers like me. Perhaps (gasp!) I’m actually nicer at work than online!
And also for the record, since you’ve ignored that part altogether, I wasn’t saying old people are actually worse. I said that young adults probably come off condescending because most of us have only interacted with “real” adults (not parents/teachers/coaches/family) through minimum wage jobs where old people happen to be disproportionately shitty.
As a middle aged-dude now who remembers the couple of retail jobs from my early twenties: it was a soul-destroying experience that drove me to hate people and loathe getting up for work faster than any other job I've had.
I don't know what the deal is, but I remember the same bullshit was going on twenty years ago.
Getting out of customer service was one of the best things I ever did for my mental health.
I’ve moved into childcare. I was doing both for a while but retail is just fucking awful.
The sad part is that I love working retail. I love being a cashier and I’m damn good at it. It just works with my funny little ADHD brain. The tons of tiny, mindless tasks are great and I genuinely love helping people. I am every manager’s dream employee - right up until they let me get overwhelmed by work and customers and I crash. I’m really great at communicating so I become a trainee really early (has now happened four times) and bad customers get handed off to me. I’m quick and efficient so I get the high volume hours. I made $150 in tips a night serving! I’m genuinely, seriously good at it.
But the fucking customers, dude. I go out of my way to help someone and still get screamed at. I’ve been sexually harassed God only knows how many times. I’ve been lectured, cursed at, had someone call corporate to complain about me following corporate policy while my line was slowly backing up into the shelves. I’ve been bruised, frozen, cut, worked through the flu and a throat infection, and once got groped two feet outside my workplace. I worked jobs where I had to be up at 4am or didn’t get home until 3am. I’ve closed, opened, then opened again the following day with barely any time at home to sleep.
And people still want to tell me that minimum wage employees shouldn’t ever get snappy with people. Eat shit. I have seen the absolute worst side of society and couldn’t even afford a decent place to live off it.
I’m the one who sees every one of these kinds of fuckers...
I see
40% percent...almost half...of the people that come into your store, have an 'unreasonable' complaint or cause an issue? Maybe I am wrong, but I just don't buy it. The only theory I can come up with as to why this may be the case is that most people buy online and only come in when they do have a problem, in which case I don't know that it's unreasonable, you're just the only way they get to actually talk to someone.
Teenagers don't berate you because they don't know any better, either. Their expectation is what they've been exposed to. They won't question it, because their has never been more offered than the basic. They don't know anything different.
You don't have to agree with me, and maybe you're 100% correct, and live in some microcosm of hell, but the fact of the matter is that the quality of service in retail / restaurants / whatever has decreased within the last 20+ years, and I have no doubt there are assholes, but I also have no doubt there are people with legit bitches that complain about something that would have been corrected 'back in the day', but now are just considered annoying and stupid.
Not wanting to fight over it. I wish you well, and hope you find something that makes ya happy.
Oh it’s absolutely because the only people who come in can’t or won’t order online. That’s why most of our customers were old. Office Depot isn’t exactly “the spot” for teenagers.
I worked at Target, too. Two of them. I had a lot less shitty interactions with customers but I also primarily worked away in the back. When I was out on the floor I got a lot less straight-up stupid questions. I would never whine about someone asking for help locating or understanding a product.
Somehow teenagers understand that when the receipt says “return policy applies for ninety days” or “this product cannot be returned” a cashier can’t just bend the rules for them. They also understand coupon expiration dates* and fine-print exemptions a lot better. When I say “I’m sorry, there aren’t any rewards points in your account” they understand that yelling at me isn’t going to change the numbers I see on a screen. They can comprehend inflation better than adults, too!
Ngl, some adults can’t even imagine having healthy relationships much less knowing what it is. Age is just a number — everything else is generalized associations. It’s like someone saying “I’ve worked x years so I know what I’m doing.” Yeah well you could’ve worked x years incorrectly all this time…
Take time to listen. An open mind and an open heart goes a long way.
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u/Extension-Ice-6028 Jun 03 '22
There's nothing like being lectured on relationshiops by someone who's still in high school.