I am so tired of hearing people misuse these terms. They are not synonyms. Not even close. Drunk driving, cheating, etc are not mistakes. Those would be examples of just plain old poor choices.
People, start accepting responsibility for your stupidity. That is all.
Mistakes v Poor choices
Re: Mistakes v Poor choices
I don't hear people misuse these two words very often. Good rant though.
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dre1507
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Re: Mistakes v Poor choices
you see it so often in tv shows and movies.
*man caught cheating*
man: baby, i'm sorry. i made a terrible mistake.
*man caught cheating*
man: baby, i'm sorry. i made a terrible mistake.
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Alfador
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Re: Mistakes v Poor choices
Seems the same to me. Mistakes are, by definition, "an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc."
That seems to me to be exactly what DUI and other idiot moves are. The choice of wording is really just a connotative method of implying severity. "Mistake" sounds more like a minor slip-up while a "poor choice" implies greater consequences. Hate to be a dictionary Nazi but well... oh who am I kidding? I love it.
DUI, forgetting to carry the 2 on a math test, throwing bleach at some guy so he runs you off the road (http://www.bostonherald.com/news/region ... id=1242551), they're all "mistakes." The difference is some of them are dumbass moves that you deserve to be beaten with a stick for, and some are minor and ultimately insignificant.
That seems to me to be exactly what DUI and other idiot moves are. The choice of wording is really just a connotative method of implying severity. "Mistake" sounds more like a minor slip-up while a "poor choice" implies greater consequences. Hate to be a dictionary Nazi but well... oh who am I kidding? I love it.
DUI, forgetting to carry the 2 on a math test, throwing bleach at some guy so he runs you off the road (http://www.bostonherald.com/news/region ... id=1242551), they're all "mistakes." The difference is some of them are dumbass moves that you deserve to be beaten with a stick for, and some are minor and ultimately insignificant.
Re: Mistakes v Poor choices
On a similar topic, I am one of those people that believes that there really are no real "accidents" in regards to driving short of a act of god (earthquake or something like that).
If you rear end someone because your brakes failed, that means you didn't maintain them correctly. If you hit someone because your tie rod end broke, you didn't maintain the car correctly. If you hit a child that ran out in the street, you either weren't paying attention, you were going too fast, the parent wasn't watching the child properly, etc. The accident was preventable.
Most accidents are poor choices not mistakes.
If you rear end someone because your brakes failed, that means you didn't maintain them correctly. If you hit someone because your tie rod end broke, you didn't maintain the car correctly. If you hit a child that ran out in the street, you either weren't paying attention, you were going too fast, the parent wasn't watching the child properly, etc. The accident was preventable.
Most accidents are poor choices not mistakes.
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RobPaulson
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Re: Mistakes v Poor choices
Main Entry: 1mis·take
Pronunciation: \mə-ˈstāk\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): mis·took \-ˈstu̇k\; mis·tak·en \-ˈstā-kən\; mis·tak·ing
Etymology: Middle English
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1 : to blunder in the choice of <mistook her way in the dark>
2 a : to misunderstand the meaning or intention of : misinterpret <don't mistake me, I mean exactly what I said> b : to make a wrong judgment of the character or ability of
3 : to identify wrongly : confuse with another <I mistook him for his brother>
intransitive verb
: to be wrong <you mistook when you thought I laughed at you — Thomas >
— mis·tak·en·ly adverb
— mis·tak·er noun
says nothing about a mistake being involuntary... the word choice is actually used in the definition. i think u should have just posted a rant about how stupid and immature people are, and because of such they do not take responsibility for their actions.
Pronunciation: \mə-ˈstāk\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): mis·took \-ˈstu̇k\; mis·tak·en \-ˈstā-kən\; mis·tak·ing
Etymology: Middle English
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1 : to blunder in the choice of <mistook her way in the dark>
2 a : to misunderstand the meaning or intention of : misinterpret <don't mistake me, I mean exactly what I said> b : to make a wrong judgment of the character or ability of
3 : to identify wrongly : confuse with another <I mistook him for his brother>
intransitive verb
: to be wrong <you mistook when you thought I laughed at you — Thomas >
— mis·tak·en·ly adverb
— mis·tak·er noun
says nothing about a mistake being involuntary... the word choice is actually used in the definition. i think u should have just posted a rant about how stupid and immature people are, and because of such they do not take responsibility for their actions.