this post was submitted on 29 Feb 2024
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Asklemmy

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Had someone contact me because a browser interface was 'down' and it was actually a cert issue. It surprised me that in an IT context, this person didn't have a basic understanding of SSL certs. They didn't even know how to add a cert exception.

It got me thinking, what basic ubiquitous things am I a dumbass about outside of IT?

Ive seen lots of 'fun facts' compilations, but it would be better to get a wide range of subject suggestions that I can spend 30 minutes each or less on, and become a more capable human.

Like what subjects would plumbers consider basic knowledge? Chemical interactions between cleaning products and PVC pipes?

What would an accountant or a landscaper consider to be so basic its shocking people can live their lives without knowing any of it?

For most areas of expertise, its difficult to know even what the basics are to start with.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (7 children)

Always use a one lead voltage ~~meter~~ tester when working on electricity. Don't trust your breakers. Don't trust light switches.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Are you talking about the meters that simply detect whether wires are still live or not? Definitely a good backup to double check that you've shut off the right breaker.

If you're talking about a single lead multimeter to measure voltage, I've never heard of such a thing and don't know how that would even work.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

This one can detect voltage with a single lead and also works as a voltage meter if you use two leads: https://www.benning.de/products-en/testing-measuring-and-safety-equipment/test-equipment-voltage-tester/voltage-tester-duspol.html

It also has an inbuilt motor to distinguish leaking voltage from continuous AC.

Sorry if I didn't use the correct English terms and that wasn't clear enough.

In Germany you simply call it a Duspol and every electrician knows what you mean. Didn't research enough into the English description but it seems it's a two pole voltage tester with one pole voltage detection mode.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

You're ignorant of most things, and recognizing this is one of the most important things to growth as a person.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (3 children)

The sales are continuous at Lowe’s. Probably other stores too, but I can say that I worked for Lowe’s for about 15 months and during that time we always had a sale going.

It’s a ruse to provide an artificial sense of urgency. One sale would end say 1/13 and on 1/14 we’d take down all the signage from that sale and put up the signage got the next sale.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

That’s just how retail works.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

We are all terrible at applying statistics, it is incongruent with the way our intuition works. It takes intentional consideration plus math and understanding to consider things statistically, much harder than the immediate intuitive answers our brains give us. The worst part is sometimes those intuitive answers are dead on, sometimes they totally miss the mark, and we have no way of knowing which is which without doing the hard work to evaluate the situation statistically.

The boom Thinking Fast and Slow covers this in great detail and provides some guidance on how to manage it.

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