https://www.quora.com/Whats-something-everyone-knows-but-no-one-wants-to-admit/answer/Erick-Diaz-16?srid=4qnf

What are some old, but good values that people nowadays are forgetting?

Harold Churchill, Jazz Guitarist

Updated Aug 1

I remember my sisters getting ready for a school dance and my mother telling them, “ If a boy asks you to dance and you say No, then you don't dance for the rest of the night.”

My mother went on to explain that it was ok to refuse a request from a boy who was a thug, or who was known for using a girl sexually. But it was about appearances; you could not refuse a dance request from a boy just because he wasn't your handsome ideal, only to dance with someone else later, thus hurting the boy’s feelings.

We boys didn't escape Mum’s old world chivalry either. Who do you ask to dance? The closest girl. You don't cross the room to ask the prettiest girl and in doing so make the others feel lousy. You ask the closest girl. If she happens to be the Belle of the Ball then that’s your good luck. If not, you treat her like the Belle of the Ball anyway.

I think the self centered, image conscious society of today could do with a dose of these good old values.

_____________________.

Edit: First up I would like to say a big thank you to the people who complimented my mother on the way she was bringing up her children. The overwhelming majority of comments approved wholeheartedly in her old world advice.

There were those who didn't of course. There will always be an alternate point of view. Mostly these people seemed to feel that they would be losing their freedom to choose. I understand this. But I would point out that Mum was no dummy. She knew very well that her brood would step out the front door and do what we wanted to do anyway. What she did accomplish was a raising of our awareness of the plight of others.

My sisters have both been married to good men for 25 and 35 years respectively. I am the screw up of the family but this came about because of my liking for booze and not because of my upbringing. (I'm sober 20 years now)

Mum now has 45 grand and great grandchildren who love her dearly. She did something right.

What are the best life hacks for extremely introverted people?

Erick Diaz, Writer for The Odyssey and Flocku.com/NBA addict

Updated Jul 2

1 ) Pretend the people you talk to are in love with you.
It’s a scientifically known fact that your pupils can widen up to 45% when talking to someone you love. Once I found this out, when I made eye contact during conversations, I’d convince myself the other persons pupils were dilated. Doing this accomplished three things.

First, it instantly made me more comfortable in the conversation. It made me feel like they were invested in me and were an ally in the context of conversation. (Every conversation is a subtle battle for something no matter how LOW STAKES it may seem)

Secondly, it helped me maintain eye contact because I felt more comfortable with them. I put myself under the illusion that we had a strong familiarity with one another and my actions followed suit. Perception is stronger than reality.

Finally, it naturally brought my walls down and allowed me to talk to them with more affection and gratitude. This helped me connect on a more personal level because I could talk to complete strangers with the same enthusiasm and joy I’d talk to my best friends with.

2 ) Take baby steps up the conversational social ladder
Start a conversation with a classmate, then a co-worker, then a co-workers friend, then a store clerk, then a taxi driver, then a complete stranger etc. This way you progressively engage in conversation with people who have less social ties to you, thus creating a bigger “challenge.”

3 ) Have something in your hands when you speak.

People who give public speeches often have a clicker or pen in their hand. This alleviates the confusion of “what do I do with my arms?” You don’t want to stick your hands in your pockets because that would show timidness and just having em rest at your side feels awkward. This is what bars figured out years ago. People will buy drinks just so they have something to hold. A beer in hand is the adult version of a security blanket. So make things easy on yourself.

What little things annoy you?

Wansai Ounkeo

Answered Jun 29

Today in the public bathroom, A guy was washing his hands. I went to wash my hands. I flicked the water into the basin and dried it off on my trousers, because “man”.

This other guy, took his wet hand and flicked the water out to his sides. Not in the sink. Not pointing at the sink. He took both wet hands out, pointed them to the sides, and flicked the water all over the floor and ON ME!

I hate that. I hate it because I know people haven’t been taught how to use a wash basin properly when they were children. I hate it because I purposely keep my distance from people washing their hands as I know they will flick it everywhere. I hate it that some people still can manage to hit me with water from 4 meters away. For fuck’s sake!

You know why I really hate it?

Because guys don’t wash their hands properly. That bugger had his hands on his nuts and dick, and he merely ran his hand through the water quickly before flicking his nasty stuff on me.

I accidentally charged my phone to 100% because I forgot to disconnect the charger. How harmful is that for my battery?

Chuck Rogers, Owner at Chuck Rogers Consulting (1990-present)

Updated Jul 6

It astonishes me that people still think there is some advantage to not charging your battery all the way.

Charge your battery to 100%. Leave the charger plugged in as much as you want. Unplug it as much as you want.

It. Does. Not. Matter.

Modern batteries do not have the memory effect of older batteries. Smart phones have had these “modern” batteries for several years. I leave my iPhone plugged in all the time when I am home. My battery life is great.

So to directly answer your question: it is not harmful to your battery at all. Not even a tiny little bit.

UPDATE To everyone who is going to great pains to point out that batteries degrade. Of course they degrade. Nothing in my answer says they don’t. The issue is whether or not leaving your phone plugged in will harm the battery.

Let’s be clear here: there are a lot of different kinds of batteries out there. But if you have a smart phone, leaving your battery plugged in will not harm the battery that is in it. Will it decrease the battery’s useful life? Depends on a bunch of factors, doesn’t it? What is the useful life for you, for instance? Exactly what phone (and what battery) do you have?

But no, leaving your phone plugged in will not harm the battery.

To those of you who have said research says you can maximize the useful life of your battery by never letting it charge below 30 or 40 percent and never letting it charge above 80%. Sure, OK. Whatever. I am not saying I buy it (and to be clear, I don’t), but it’s not worth an argument. But who has time to do that? And to the percentage of people who are keeping their phone long enough (rather than upgrading to a new phone), listen: just get a new battery when the battery life in your phone bothers you. It is cheaper than a new phone and you will have a so much more productive life in the mean time. You have better things to do with your time than monitor when your phone reaches a certain percentage.

It. Does. Not. Matter.

Who will be the top superpower 50 years from now?

H.L. Cowan, The local American neocon

Updated Jun 24

USA - You don’t honestly expect them to go anywhere do you? China will probably have a large economy in 50 years, but the US GDP per capita will still be much larger. On top of that, the US has an unchallenged military logistics network. With more aircraft carriers than the rest of the world combined, top-of-the-line technology, and a global span and size to match the US has a presence and or impact in nearly every area of the globe.

China - Their economy will get bigger and so will their military spending. Will they surpass the US as a superpower? Likely not, and even if they could, would they want to? The US both created and defined what a superpower does, and the standard can get pretty expensive. China lacks the soft power, military logistics, and span to match US impact now and I’m not sure that will change that drastically.

This is where the list ends. I don’t see Brazil, India, the UK, or Russia being a top superpower in 50 years. They might be powerful, but being a ‘superpower’ is a whole other ball game. Russia doesn’t have the economy to keep up, the UK doesn’t have the desire to keep up, and India and Brazil don’t even have the potential that China does to keep up.

Edit: Some have questioned why the EU hasn't been brought up here. First off, the EU isn't a country and they don't have a military. They are an economic trading bloc. The EU just lost the UK and my bet is you'd get a lot more nation's dropping off once you start proposing consolidating dozens of nations with different cultures and backgrounds. Yugoslavia couldn't even stay together so I doubt the entire EU can. On top of that, Europe's birth rates are stalling, if not declining. A declining birth rate does not make for a superpower in 50 years. If there is going to be a superpower other than the US, it's going to be in Asia, not Europe.

Has anyone ever given someone a job because they sent a thank you email after an interview?

Jimmy Fung, DevOps Engineer at Medtronic (2016-present)

Answered Jul 2

Yes.

After an on-site interview, the recruiter contacted me over email of the rejection (for a fresh grad software engineering position). I replied with a brief email noting that I would have love to work at the company because of the interesting work, career growth and the value of their products. Though at the end I politely thanked them for the opportunity, which was the main focus.

A week later the recruiter called me back with an offer.

Most big companies have a systematic hiring process - a no is a no and it’s final. But always keep things positive while doing the best you can for the situation with zero expectation. Do work with, and recognize, people who has the power to influence things within the organization.

The reality is there is always an element of unknown.

Will I regret not having kids when I get older?

I am 35 and I’m trying to decide if I will freeze my eggs. I am married and we feel like we’ll never want to have children. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll regret this. It worries me that someday I’ll see myself alone. However this is not reason enough to have a child. Do you regret not having kids?

Peter T Mayer, Father | Family Man | GoSynco.com Cofounder

Updated Jul 16

I have a neighbour who lives by himself now.

He is 70 and probably has a few years left.

He lived happily with his wife who passed away 5 years ago. They were deeply in love until the end but they never wanted children.

Last time I talked to this gentleman he said he enjoyed talking to me. He said he feels no one cares about him. He said he feels lonely.

When we get old, children and grandchildren provide us happiness, caring, warmth. It provides us belonging to a family.

Those who don’t have kids might be lonelier when they get old.

Also we have an evolutionary instinct. What we learn in life we pass it on to our children.

Are Chinese big cities more developed than American ones?

I have been to Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and a few other cities in China and US, and always Chinese cities looked cleaner, more organized, and more urbanized. What happened to the american cities? They used to look more developed, but now they look so behind.

Jonathan Buttall, Retired Professional

Answered Jun 25

I have been to Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. I grew up in the greater New York City metro area.

I used to think NYC was the human center of the world and the ultimate city. When I went to Shanghai and Beijing, I realized that the Chinese cities look like they’re a century in the future, and dwarf those in the US.

The Freedom Tower in New York City (I will not call it the World Trade Center because I respect those who died on 9/11/01) would be lost if put in the Shanghai skyline. It’s as high as the third highest building in the photo (and yes, China is working on it’s pollution problems just as the US president is bringing it back to the US)

Have any of you noticed that most of the buildings in US Cities all look alike?

As for the exaggeration of so called “ghost cities”, those are simply large empty developments at the edge of hugely populated cities in China. You can see ghost neighborhoods in Newark and Detroit where the race riots of the 60s took place.

If lightning hit me, would I get super powers?

Zhong Xian Wong

Answered Jun 15

Ever heard of Tony Cicoria?

So in 1994, when he was 42, Anthony Cicoria was struck by lightning. He suffered burns to his face and foot. Nothing special, right?

A few weeks later, Cicoria felt like listening to piano music. He got himself a piano and he taught himself how to play. The thing was, before he was struck by lightning, he had nothing to do with music at all. (He is now a pianist).

Apparently being struck by lightning gave him an affinity for music.

To answer your question, no. It has happened but it probably won't happen to you.