Talk:List of common misconceptions

message: I noticed the acne misconception only mentions fatty and carbohydrate-rich foods. In my understanding, this is a bit of an oversimplification of the acne-food relationship, but I’m not sure whether or not this is worth elaborating on or clarifying and don’t personally have the medical expertise to properly summarize medical sources.
I found this source which may be useful if anyone more qualified wants to adjust that entry slightly: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33462816/ Catfrost (talk) 21:23, 8 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Expansion to acne fact? 

message: In the "black belts" section, there is no reference to why there are different colors for these belts.   My daughter took JuJitsu and it even states on most website, White is first level, then Yellow, then Green and so on.  So what is the reason for these colors? 76.11.78.116 (talk) 14:24, 12 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Martial Arts Belts 

message: Article published in the NYT May 9 2024 entitled: Cass Elliot’s Death Spawned a Horrible Myth. She Deserves Better.
The Mamas & the Papas singer was known for her wit, her voice and her skill as a connector. For 50 years, a rumor has overshadowed her legacy.
:For years, the origin of the story that Elliot died from choking on a ham sandwich — one of the cruelest and most persistent myths in rock ’n’ roll history — was largely unknown. Then in 2020, Elliot’s friend Sue Cameron, an entertainment journalist, admitted to publicizing it in her Hollywood Reporter obituary at the behest of Elliot’s manager Allan Carr, who did not want his client associated with drug use. (Elliot died of a heart attack, likely brought on by years of substance abuse and crash dieting.) But that cartoonish rumor — propagated in endless pop culture references, from “Austin Powers” to “Lost” — cast a tawdry light over Elliot’s legacy and still threatens to overshadow her mighty, underappreciated talent.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/arts/music/cass-elliot-mamas-and-the-papas-death.html
It's not mentioned in the topic article though. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 15:04, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: It's now mentioned in the topic article. Editors there have been arguing for decades about whether to include it, but it appears the recent NYT article may have turned the tide.  Of course, it might disappear at some point.  I've added a brief entry here for this myth. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 19:35, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Entry for Mama Cass demise myth? 

message: People think line go down but actually line go up. Many such cases!  Benjamin (talk) 23:10, 22 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Line  

message: An entry was recently added regarding hand washing. It says:
:Washing one's hands with hot water is not more effective at eliminating germs than with cold water. Any temperature is sufficient as long as soap is used. In order for water to kill germs, it would have to be hot enough to scold one's hands.
This is basically correct, but what is the misconception?  Is it that warm water kills more germs than cold water? If so, then the entry has correctly identified the misconception. OTOH, if the "misconception" is that warm soapy water is more effective than cold soapy water at preventing bacterial spread, the topic article has this to say:
:WHO considers warm soapy water to be more effective than cold, soapy water at removing natural oils which hold soils and bacteria.
So, it's a bit complicated.  Warm soapy water doesn't kill more germs than cold soapy water, but it is more effective at removing oils that provide an environment that allow germs to grow. At the very least, we should add the caveat above; my sense is to remove the entry, but I'll wait for other editors to weigh in before removing it. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 23:22, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Based on the source I think this entry is in error, and I have (boldly) removed it. If anyone has an argument that it should stay or a better source, of course, we can put it back. Elliptical Reasoning (talk) 18:54, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
replies: text:  If there is a misconception it's that the point of washing your hands is to kill germs rather than remove dirt. Benjamin (talk) 00:12, 29 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hand washing entry 

message: https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/the-public-thinks-the-average-company-makes-a-36-profit-margin-which-is-about-5x-too-high/ Benjamin (talk) 02:01, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Profit margins  

message: For #Alcoholic_beverages
With a long history as one of the oldest beverages, alcohol consumption is normalized in many cultures, leading to unique drinking cultures. This leads to the misconception that alcohol is separate from other drugs. Phrases like "drugs and alcohol" unintentionally reinforce this idea, implying alcohol isn't a drug itself. Some people might not consider alcohol a drug because it has different effects and legal status compared to illegal drugs. However, according to scientific definition, alcohol is a drug. 94.255.152.53 (talk) 22:16, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Do you have a reliable source that supports that this is a misconception, and is this "misconception" mentioned in any of the topic articles? We'd need both of those to meet the inclusion criteria. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 13:46, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text:   No, but many adult people that I've talked to say "alcohol and drugs" (see above). I bolded the text above + cn that we need to find a source for. --94.255.152.53 (talk) 00:02, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

text: Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is one of the most widely consumed psychoactive drugs in the world and falls under the depressant category. It is found in fermented beverages such as beer, wine, and distilled spirit – in particular, rectified spirit. With a long history as one of the oldest beverages, alcohol consumption is normalized in many cultures, leading to unique drinking cultures. This leads to the misconception that alcohol is separate from other drugs. Phrases like "drugs and alcohol" unintentionally reinforce this idea, implying alcohol is not itself a drug. Some people might not consider alcohol a drug because it has different effects and legal status compared to illegal drugs. However despite being legal, alcohol, scientifically classified as a drug, has paradoxically been demonstrably linked to greater social harm than most illegal drugs. 94.255.152.53 (talk) 22:16, 1 June 2024 (UTC)

text: Please be kind. I found this "The alcohol industry has been keen to emphasise that alcohol is not a drug" - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1995479/ --94.255.152.53 (talk) 00:58, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: (no need to ping here) People have varying understandings of how the concept of drug and alcohol intersect, and in varying contexts. That doesn't indicate any conceptual confusion as to whether alcohol is or isn't a drug. And your argument that it's a common misconception is the efforts of , even though it's a common misconception.   signed, Willondon (talk)  01:12, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: "(no need to ping here)" -- You're boring. --94.255.152.53 (talk) 01:23, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

text: As the ethanol article itself says, it is the "second most consumed drug globally behind caffeine". Should we also mention that people don't think of coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola as drugs? By the way, the phrases "marijuana and other drugs", "heroin and other drugs", etc. are not uncommon either. Not to mention that "drug" is a very broad and vague word. The "drugs" referred to in "penicillin and other drugs" are presumably not the same as the ones being referred to in "heroin and other drugs". --Macrakis (talk) 18:18, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: * I decided to use "Alcohol is a drug" for this Talk section to make it consistent with w:Alcohol (drug) (which describes that it's a psychoactive drug). So, I agree, "Alcohol is a psychoactive drug" is a clear and informative title for the section. It aligns with scientific definitions and how other psychoactive drugs are presented on Wikipedia. To delve deeper, we could add a sentence about the concept of normalization.  The term "drug" encompasses a wide range of substances, including commonly consumed psychoactive drugs like caffeine and nicotine.  Unlike some illegal drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine are normalized in many cultures. This normalization can contribute to the misconception that because something is common, it's not a drug. --94.255.152.53 (talk) 19:07, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

text: * "By the way, the phrases "marijuana and other drugs", "heroin and other drugs", etc. are not uncommon either." -- Exactly, they are commonly referred to as drugs, while alcohol is often treated differently; As I said earlier, Phrases like "drugs and alcohol" unintentionally reinforce this idea, implying alcohol is not itself a drug. (which is equal to "alcohol and drugs" but not "alcohol and other drugs). --94.255.152.53 (talk) 19:24, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: I see your point. But very few people would deny that alcohol, caffeine, etc. are psychoactive (although they might not use that word). It's just that the word "drug" that has come to mean "illegal drug" or "illicit drug", to the point that medical professionals seem to avoid talking about "drugs" and instead talk about "medications". By the way, the definition in drug is clearly inadequate. It reads: "A drug is any chemical substance that when consumed causes a change in an organism's physiology, including its psychology, if applicable." This would cover water, salt, and sugar as well as poisons such as cyanide. --Macrakis (talk) 20:18, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text:  " It's just that the word "drug" that has come to mean "illegal drug" or "illicit drug", to the point that medical professionals seem to avoid talking about "drugs" and instead talk about "medications"." -- Thank you, I don't think we can get broader than this. "The terms drug and medicine are used interchangeably, although the word “drug” has the connotation of an illegal substance, such as cocaine or heroin (controlled drugs in the UK)." - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7120710/ -- I don't mind if we change the subject to: The term "drug" shouldn't be confused with "illegal drugs". What do you think about it? --94.255.152.53 (talk) 21:38, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: This is an article about misconceptions, not about ambiguous words, and it doesn't give advice like 'The term "drug" shouldn't be confused with "illegal drugs".' --Macrakis (talk) 21:53, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Obviously I meant: The term "drug" is misconceived as "illegal drugs". --94.255.152.53 (talk) 23:43, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: That's not a misconception, just semantic drift, to the point that it's becoming a skunked term that you can't use in the general sense for fear of misunderstanding. In that sense, it is perfectly true that alcohol is not a drug (sc. illicit drug). --Macrakis (talk) 14:08, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Thank you very much, I appreciate your use of precise vocabulary. I added "Drugs can have a negative connotation, often associated with illegal substances like cocaine or heroin. This is despite the fact that the terms "drug" and "medicine" are sometimes used interchangeably." to Skunked_term#Other_terms. Do you think the text/article/section is correct? --94.255.152.53 (talk) 06:35, 5 June 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alcohol is a drug 

message: https://www.psypost.org/is-penis-size-related-to-gun-ownership-heres-what-the-science-says/
"A new study published in the American Journal of Men’s Health has debunked the long-held assumption that men dissatisfied with their penis size are more likely to own guns. Contrary to popular belief, the research found that men who are more satisfied with their penis size are actually more likely to own guns." Benjamin (talk) 19:45, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Guns