Common sayings are a big part of culture. We frequently hear aphorisms that aim to teach us a general rule of thumb for life in different scenarios. In particular, our grandmothers and parents repeat some sentences continuously throughout our lives. Proverbs, phrases, and aphorisms can hold some essential truth in them, but have you ever reflected upon their real meaning and value?
Sometimes our experiences can refute a commonly repeated phrase entirely. Today's story covers some of the most untrue things that people have heard throughout their lives, including aphorisms.
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"Money doesn't bring happiness."
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Generally speaking, idioms come from cultural powerhouses, such as religion, literature, and folk stories. Good examples of idioms originating from religion are the sayings "Turn the other cheek" or "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" as both of these come from a religious background.
Interestingly, the same aphorisms and idioms are often present across cultures and languages. Some sayings are essentially the same between different tongues. Research on language universals suggests that even though the words in which we communicate a thought vary, the meaning itself is the same.
For example "Solve two problems with one solution" becomes "One arrow with two birds" in Nepali, or "to catch two flies with one trap" in German.
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Some sayings, such as "Don't give up," can be quite inspiring to hear the first time. But the reality is that sometimes you need to give up on something to re-orientate yourself on a better path. The difficulty is in recognizing when you should let something go, whether it's a goal you have, an ambition, or a relationship.
It all comes down to introspection and a rational assessment of your circumstances. It's hard to give up on something that might be special to you, or something that you worked hard on, but it can be proven to be necessary.
Talking about rationality, Sunk cost fallacy is a great thing to be aware of too. It helps you to spot if you're in a prison of your endeavor, amongst other things.
Logical fallacies are cool on their own as they can vastly improve the robustness of your arguments, and the ability to spot any weak spots in other people's rhetoric as well.
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Other things that people were immediately skeptical of include even scientific theories which are often repeated in media channels, not only mundane catchphrases.
The flat Earth theory was popularized in the 2010s, covered in Physics World. There was even an attempt to raise money to prove that the Earth is flat, with a goal of $200k, later upped to $1M, over the GoFundMe platform. However, there's no real evidence that the goal was met. Due to the popularization of the flat Earth theory, the believers hold a national conference for it in North Carolina.
The so-called 'flat-Earthers' discuss the theory, and hold educational seminars. However, scientists have strong opinions on the theory and consider it entirely disproven centuries ago. As covered in this Astronomy article, to make the flat Earth argument coherent, you need to believe in a global (pun intended) conspiracy of people faking scientific evidence.
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Lastly, aphorisms, sayings, and idioms can become cliches over time. Most cliches once were quite powerful words, but as time passes and we hear them repeatedly, they lose value and the impact they once had. Do you know any idioms that are timeless classics for you? Is there any saying that makes you roll your eyes? Let us know in the comments below.
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Lastly, aphorisms, sayings, and idioms can become cliches over time. Most cliches once were quite powerful words, but as time passes and we hear them repeatedly, they lose value and the impact they once had. Do you know any idioms that are timeless classics for you? Is there any saying that makes you roll your eyes? Let us know in the comments below.
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