[ [ [ bloggin space w i k i ] ] ]Difference between revisions of "The Hindsight Fallacy"
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See?<ref>Pun intended</ref> 20/20 vision isn't perfect. It is what an average person sees from 20 feet. But when people tell you "hindsight is 20/20" they just blurt it out as if everybody has perfect, unsullied memory of an event. Then, because somebody uttered that phrase, everybody just nods and agrees. | See?<ref>Pun intended</ref> 20/20 vision isn't perfect. It is what an average person sees from 20 feet. But when people tell you "hindsight is 20/20" they just blurt it out as if everybody has perfect, unsullied memory of an event. Then, because somebody uttered that phrase, everybody just nods and agrees. | ||
==My Evidence== | |||
At a jobsite, a worker approaches me and states that he has rolled a backhoe over because the ground was wet. The embankment he was driving the tractor on gave way and because things were so slippery, the machine tumbled over the side. | |||
"I knew that grass was wet, but I drove over it anyways. Hindsight is 20/20," he said. | |||
After figuring out that nobody was hurt except for a $40,000 tractor, I told the guy "You had 20/20 '''''foresight,''''' when you knew the ground was slippery, why didn't you use that?" | |||
He stared at me dumbly. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
Revision as of 14:21, 22 December 2023
Hindsight is 20/20... Gosh, I sure don't like that idiom. When uttered, that stupid phrase assumes far too much. It does not account for opinions, past experiences, or unreliable narrators.
Eyesight
When you have good eyesite, it is often described as 20/20 vision:
“A person with 20/20 vision can see what an average individual can see on an eye chart when they are standing 20 feet away,” - Dr. McKinney, ophthalmologis[1] 
See?[2] 20/20 vision isn't perfect. It is what an average person sees from 20 feet. But when people tell you "hindsight is 20/20" they just blurt it out as if everybody has perfect, unsullied memory of an event. Then, because somebody uttered that phrase, everybody just nods and agrees.
My Evidence
At a jobsite, a worker approaches me and states that he has rolled a backhoe over because the ground was wet. The embankment he was driving the tractor on gave way and because things were so slippery, the machine tumbled over the side.
"I knew that grass was wet, but I drove over it anyways. Hindsight is 20/20," he said.
After figuring out that nobody was hurt except for a $40,000 tractor, I told the guy "You had 20/20 foresight, when you knew the ground was slippery, why didn't you use that?"
He stared at me dumbly.