Assumptions have an unnerving way of becoming facts and received wisdom over time. This seems to be the case more and more lately particularly with the power of Facebook. I regularly seem to be reading stuff on there that I know not to be true.
A recent post that I saw being discussed was about the weather (typical British :p), saying “the flooding of a local area is down to global warming” (which is most likely true in a partial form) but I then read an article the same day about the same area having similar floods several times during different periods in the last century, so it can’t be the only reason for the area having flooded. Agreed, it is possibly a contributing factor but people just seem to make these statements without all the facts. That area has flooded in the past, yet there are more and more houses added to it, potentially without adequate drainage solutions provided and of course removing green space which can be so crucial to waterlogged areas and I am sure there are many many other contributing factors. Anyway I’m in no way an expert on global warming or flooding (and I’m wittering!), all I am trying to say is people seem to jump on a bandwagon, especially when a fear factor is concerned but they don’t seem to provide reasonable and robust arguments for these statements (both for and against).
My husband is reading a great book at the moment called “The World According To The Man In The Pub” and it reviews “so called” facts that you get told by the man in the pub and it’s amazing just how many you think are true. One story featured – that I have heard many times and believed (although I am gullible!) – was that if a store had incorrectly priced something they had to sell you it at that price. That is not true. A store at any point can refuse sale of an item and they can do so for any reason, it’s their item.
So, maybe before people dive in at the deep end, maybe they should just sit back a little and examine all the facts surrounding something, maybe even read a book about it. 🙂
KL ❤
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Just Jot It January 7th – Robust 
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New2Writing 
Hi there I totally agree with you on bandwagons and what ppl assume. It is hair raising sometimes.
On the sales question though. If a store advertises for an item at a higher price than it actually is the store has to sell for the lower price. It is illegal to advertise like that. The other way round doesn’t matter I believe.
Hi Morgaine 620, thanks for stopping by and commenting :). Yeah the facebook thing is phenomenal at times! I wonder if schools and universities must have a nightmare of a time with it?
Yea the book I mentioned goes into some of the details, you are correct on the law of advertisement, but only if the store does sell the item, it doesn’t have to, a store still reserves the right to not sell the product at all, but if it goes ahead with the sale of the item it should be the price advertised. KL ❤
Well, the store I work now n would sell it at that price no matter the law. Too much competition and good customer service is needed. Have a great day 🙂
Excellent post. I agree about the bandwagon of disinformation… I see it all too often on FB as well. When did we become a people who didn’t fact-check? I guess we are just accustomed to fast news and believe all that we see and read. Not I! I prefer to actually KNOW if something is true or not, but alas, even when presented with the facts, many still disbelieve.
Thanks Lori! It’s all too easy to trust the information on there but it’s amazing just how many things posted are completely wrong. I wonder if schools and universities must have a nightmare of a time with it? Thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂 KL
You are most welcome, KL. I’ve heard complaints from some HS teachers about kids relying too much on Wikipedia… one local school has banned kids from using it as a reference in their reports. Which is a good thing! I fear our kids these days have become lazy and don’t do the hard research we had to do as kids in HS and College. It’s a real shame. Too much disinformation out there. Have a great evening!
Thanks Lori! It’s just so difficult to know what to trust on the internet even with things that seem trustworthy. Yeah I thought it must be a nightmare for teachers! KL
I thought that was quite a robust argument you put forward KL…..
Haha! Thanks summerstommy2 🙂
Indeed, it’s all become so much more prevalent in the age of Facebook. I’ll have to check out the book – sounds fascinating! 🙂
Sad. But I must agree. Few people do sometimes been carried away by their assumptions. They do quickly judged, speculate w/out even trying to investigate or gather more factual facts about the issue. It just so true that don’t ever be quick to assume. Verify it first. Just saying.