Commonly held misconceptions/ misrepresentations

johndaman66

I'm sure it has being done in AH in the past but I'd like to go again and start a thread on commonly held misconceptions out there in society. Things that are taking for granted as being the way but are obviously (sometimes not so obviously) not.

1) You feel love/ hate/ anger/ fear and other emotions with your heart - rubbish....the thought processes that create these emotions all happen in your brain, your heart is simply an organ that controls and circulates the flow of blood around your body.

2) Oil and water do not mix. If you seen the sh!tty looking substance that accumulated in the header tank and under the oil cap of my last car when the head gasket went you would realise that they do in fact mix. Now it may take some time and the substance created may be pretty useless but they will mix in time.

Feel free to add more just for the fun of it...as wierd and whacky as you like as long as they are factual.

MrStuffins

Hang on, who the hell doesn't know the difference between heart/brain, the fact that the "heart" thing is just an expression

johndaman66

MrStuffins wrote: »

Hang on, who the hell doesn't know the difference between heart/brain, the fact that the "heart" thing is just an expression

Ah now, years of study of human anatomy would dictate that we experience these thought processes and emotions with our brains...difficult to argue against that. People who had heart transplants hardly start experiencing emotions differently I'd think.

I understand its just an expression but it is a downright misrepresentation if you like. Those less in tune with human anatomy may well assume these emotions are created in our hearts.

carfiosaoorl

johndaman66 wrote: »

Ah now, years of study of human anatomy would dictate that we experience these thought processes and emotions with our brains...difficult to argue against that. People who had heart transplants hardly start experiencing emotions differently I'd think.

I understand its just an expression but it is a downright misrepresentation if you like. Those less in tune with human anatomy may well assume these emotions are created in our hearts.

The thought processes may take place in the brain but you feel the emotion in your chest. Love, hate, anger etc... are all felt in your chest/heart area, so it is not really a misconception.

Dr. Manhattan

I thought I'd got a girl pregnant once, but it was a misconception.

Jimoslimos

Well I guess the fact that you've got a heart pumping blood up to the brain (without which, it wouldn't survive long), makes it a rather important organ.

Oil and water can form an emulsion, not a true mixture as such.

Fromthetrees

Ireland has one of the lowest levels of lactose intolerance in the world. GWAN!!!!!!!!!!!!


I just wanted to share...

The King of Moo

Men do still think with their penises though, right?

Otherwise those practical lessons my biology teacher gave me were all wrong: "Here come the brainwaves!"

MrStuffins

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

The thought processes may take place in the brain but you feel the emotion in your chest. Love, hate, anger etc... are all felt in your chest/heart area, so it is not really a misconception.

No you don't!

Pottler

Fromthetrees wrote: »

Ireland has one of the lowest levels of lactose intolerance in the world. GWAN!!!!!!!!!!!!


I just wanted to share...

yeah, apparently we take just about every other sh1te without a blink, but cows milk, whooah buddy, thats a step too far.

Giselle

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

The thought processes may take place in the brain but you feel the emotion in your chest. Love, hate, anger etc... are all felt in your chest/heart area, so it is not really a misconception.

What??

sock puppet

johndaman66 wrote: »

1) You feel love/ hate/ anger/ fear and other emotions with your heart - rubbish....the thought processes that create these emotions all happen in your brain, your heart is simply an organ that controls and circulates the flow of blood around your body.

Hold on there Copernicus. I'm not sure the world is ready for such shocking revelations yet.

johndaman66

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

The thought processes may take place in the brain but you feel the emotion in your chest. Love, hate, anger etc... are all felt in your chest/heart area, so it is not really a misconception.

I'm not so sure if your correct. I tend to feel all these things going on in my head but maybe I'm different

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Well I guess the fact that you've got a heart pumping blood up to the brain (without which, it wouldn't survive long), makes it a rather important organ.

Yes fair to say all parts of your body are interlinked and ultimately one could not survive without the other (well major organs anyway). Your brain relies on your lungs for oxygen. Do you experience emotions with your lungs?

Dr. Manhattan

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

The thought processes may take place in the brain but you feel the emotion in your chest. Love, hate, anger etc... are all felt in your chest/heart area, so it is not really a misconception.

MrStuffins wrote: »

No you don't!

Giselle wrote: »

What??

Yeh man, wtf? De feelinz is all in your balls or gee!

johndaman66

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Oil and water can form an emulsion, not a true mixture as such.

It did look like the substances had mixed to me but perhaps technically speaking thy had not...then again look here

MrStuffins

Dr. Manhattan wrote: »

Yeh man, wtf? De feelinz is all in your balls or gee!

Or both

Anita Blow

Did you know you can die from having diarrhea?
Even if you drink just a bit

Jimoslimos

johndaman66 wrote: »

I'm not so sure if your correct. I tend to feel all these things going on in my head but maybe I'm different

You feel pain at the site of pain (the signals travel up to brain - and then back) but you never actually feel pain in the brain. There are no receptors up there for that. As for emotions people do 'feel' them in the chest area, release of hormones will trigger a physiological response, increased heart rate, etc.,

johndaman66 wrote: »

Yes fair to say all parts of your body are interlinked and ultimately one could not survive without the other (well major organs anyway). Your brain relies on your lungs for oxygen. Do you experience emotions with your lungs?

No, of course not. I was merely giving a reason why the heart was long regarded as the most important organ in the body. Even now, people aren't pronounced dead until after the heart stops, regardless of brain activity.

tempura

Super Nerd Thread.

carfiosaoorl

MrStuffins wrote: »

No you don't!

(quoting all of the others who quoted me as well) Yes you do or at least I do. I realise that the thought involved takes part in my brain but I feel them physically in my chest, like a constriction.

MrStuffins

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

(quoting all of the others who quoted me as well) Yes you do or at least I do. I realise that the thought involved takes part in my brain but I feel them physically in my chest, like a constriction.

I think you need to see a cardiologist pretty quickly!

Old Perry

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

The thought processes may take place in the brain but you feel the emotion in your chest. Love, hate, anger etc... are all felt in your chest/heart area, so it is not really a misconception.

these are all felt in your chest as a result of perception from your brain.

BornToKill

Jimoslimos wrote: »

you never actually feel pain in the brain. There are no receptors up there for that.

Oh yeah? What about headaches then?

Jimoslimos

johndaman66 wrote: »

It did look like the substances had mixed to me but perhaps technically speaking thy had not...then again look here

Interesting experiment, and not my area of study but I do wonder why the emulsion formed on the removal of dissolved gasses, whereas most emulsions are formed through vigorous mixing - which would I presume, introduce more oxygen into the mixture.

KKkitty

BornToKill wrote: »

Jimoslimos wrote: »

you never actually feel pain in the brain. There are no receptors up there for that.

Oh yeah? What about headaches then?

Headaches derive from the muscle surrounding the brain. Jimoslimos is spot on with this fact.

Jimoslimos

BornToKill wrote: »

Oh yeah? What about headaches then?

Headaches aren't felt 'in the brain'. The pain is experienced outside the brain, usually in the membrane/tissue surrounding.

LETHAL LADY

That only blondes dye their hair.

The King of Moo

What an interesting thread title.

Here are some common misconceptions corrected:

By 1492, it was generally believed that the Earth was at least roughly spherical.

Snakes do not dislocate their jaws to eat thing bigger than their heads. They're just very stretchy. (Thanks, Q.I!)

Viking warriors probably didn't have horns on their helmets.

Napoleon Bonaparte was slightly taller than the average Frenchman of the period.

American undercover police officers are not required to declare that they're police if they're asked.

Searing meat probably causes it to lose moisture, not retain it.

Shaved hair does not grow back more quickly.

A particularly Irish one: The negative of "I used to" is "I didn't use to," not "I used not."

Ducks' quacks do have an echo, and dogs can look up.

Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my Dear Watson" in the original stories and novels.

Threads about commonly-held misconceptions/misrepresentations can be interesting.

Nonoperational

Disappointing thread, was expecting so much more...

johndaman66

Jimoslimos wrote: »

You feel pain at the site of pain (the signals travel up to brain - and then back) but you never actually feel pain in the brain. There are no receptors up there for that.

Thats fair enough. If you cut your finger or break your leg you will feel the pain in your finger or leg. I don't think anyone will argue with that. But I was talking about emotions such as love and hate...

Jimoslimos wrote: »

As for emotions people do 'feel' them in the chest area, release of hormones will trigger a physiological response, increased heart rate, etc.,

Would you not think though that this is due to the thought processes generated by your brain in the first place? This may well stimulate your lower body/ stomach area to generate more of a certain hormone to address the perceived imbalance or shortfall....the result of or response to the emotion rather than the than the phychological process that created the emotion in your brain in the first place?

You experience the emotions in your brain but the likes of the increased heart rate is a side effect if you like due to the impulses sent from your brain to your heart in order for the body to protect itself?

Jimoslimos wrote: »

No, of course not. I was merely giving a reason why the heart was long regarded as the most important organ in the body. Even now, people aren't pronounced dead until after the heart stops, regardless of brain activity.

Fair enough I do understand it is a metaphor but I think its still fair to say it is a misrepresentation.

r3nu4l

List of common misconceptions.

You're welcome.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Climate change and Global warming becoming interchangeable terms. Climate change is ciqual while G.W is Bullsh1t.

Jimoslimos

johndaman66 wrote: »

Would you not think though that this is due to the thought processes generated by your brain in the first place? This may well stimulate your lower body/ stomach area to generate more of a certain hormone to address the perceived imbalance or shortfall....the result of or response to the emotion rather than the than the phychological process that created the emotion in your brain in the first place?

You experience the emotions in your brain but the likes of the increased heart rate is a side effect if you like due to the impulses sent from your brain to your heart in order for the body to protect itself?

Yes, but i don't think anyone is arguing that emotions aren't controlled by the brain, but likewise people are correct when they talk about experiencing that emotion in the chest and stomach area. Stress hormones released by adrenal glands would be responsible for this, and yes this is triggered by signals from the brain. Plus what are you regarding as an emotion, would hunger classify?

johndaman66

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Interesting experiment, and not my area of study but I do wonder why the emulsion formed on the removal of dissolved gasses, whereas most emulsions are formed through vigorous mixing - which would I presume, introduce more oxygen into the mixture.

Its far from it being my area of study also...very far but it would seem fair to conclude that dissolved gasses are what prevented the substances from mixing in the first place. As you mention why is the other question which I think Pashley did not provide any conclusive answers to either...at least not at the time of the article back in 03.

robman60

That a tinker is a bad thing. They're actually people who make things out of tin and all other uses are misconceptions.

Pace2008

johndaman66 wrote: »

2) Oil and water do not mix. If you seen the sh!tty looking substance that accumulated in the header tank and under the oil cap of my last car when the head gasket went you would realise that they do in fact mix. Now it may take some time and the substance created may be pretty useless but they will mix in time.

Oil is completely insoluble in water. They cannot mix. It is a characteristic that defines the class of substances. Google it, or check out any chemistry book if you don't believe the internet.

Oh and talking of water...water does not appear blue because it refelcts the sky, as your parents may have told you. Water appears blue because water is blue.

Proofs

dark crystal

People spend billions worldwide on cough medicines/flu remedies every year, despite the fact they have have no effect whatsoever on either condition.

Colds and flus are viruses - there's no cure for a virus. They just have to work their way out of your system naturally. Antibiotics and over the counter medicines have no effect on viruses at all.

There is also no medical proof at all that cough medicines do anything to improve cough symptoms. In fact, given to children, they can actually be harmful.

johndaman66

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Yes, but i don't think anyone is arguing that emotions aren't controlled by the brain, but likewise people are correct when they talk about experiencing that emotion in the chest and stomach area. Stress hormones released by adrenal glands would be responsible for this, and yes this is triggered by signals from the brain.

I genuinely think we will need to agree to differ on this one;)
Fair to say it probably does boil down to the way you look at it I suppose. I would tend to think about the emotion in terms of where its generated which is your brain. If your sitting there annoyed at something or after falling for a lass the thoughts are all happening in your brain, mine anyway. Thats why I think its correct to say you feel these emotions with your head.

Now you may have a corresponding pep in your body but to me but like I said before that would seem to be the ultimate affect for the emotion rather than the cause of it. I suppose another way to look at it from this point of view is that you experience feel in both your body and brain. The feel in your body is perhaps a physiological feel generated as a result of the psychological feel in your brain as a direct consequence of the emotion...

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Plus what are you regarding as an emotion, would hunger classify?

Is hunger for food classed as an emotion? Not saying it isin't an emotion but not sure if it is either. I wouldn't have thought of it as an emotion before but stand to be corrected on that one. I would have thought of hunger for food as a physiological need rather than a psychological need and hence my reason for not classing it as an emotion. On the face of it I would think of love/ hate/ fear/ anger/ disgust/ surprise/ horror/ expectation as the main emotion categories

You certainly feel the need for food with your lower body though and lack of it will eventually cause not only physiological but also psychological problems I do suppose...but that is probably a different debate to the one in hand, and the question does remain, is it actually an emotion