Submitted 7 hours ago by ickplant@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/5a976eeb-3d92-4498-b906-375a62e3c532.jpeg
Black text on white background reading “when i say “if i recall” or “if i remember correctly” i am being polite about being right. i remember and i am correct.”
When I use those phrases I’m indicating uncertainty, so really, PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong.
I used to work for a guy who was never wrong. He didn’t talk much, but when he said something, it was always correct. He still hedged a lot, so he would say “I’m not sure you’re right; I think the answer might be X.” What that meant was “You are certainly wrong and the only reasonable answer is X.”
That’s me in person. Online I’m more likely to offer an opinion on a subject, with a caveat that I’m willing to be corrected. In person, if I speak up, it’s because I am either 100% correct, or I have every reason to believe I am. I don’t open my trap unless I am positive I know the answer.
I don’t open my trap unless I am positive I know the answer.
This is is a remarkably valuable skill, and remarkably rare.
I’ll stay quiet even in that case if it looks like the answer’s close to the surface of the conversation anyway.
That’s bullshit.
If I was completely certain of something, I would say so.
In most scenarios, if I’m wrong, I lacked pieces of information. It doesn’t really matter how strongly I feel I am right if I’m wrong. It certainly doesn’t matter how often I am right, because I could get it wrong.
In particular if there is a chunk of knowledge where I don’t know how much information I am lacking, that’s the worst outcome. I could be so extremely wrong that it requires more time than waiting to confirm whether or I am.
It’s very rude and condescending of management and clients to always be so critical of my “confidence.” It has nothing to do with how “confident” I am in an solution.
I get paid to be right. So I will be right a lot. It isn’t a magical he’s usually right so he’s right this time. If that is what is expected of me, us LLMs.
Or you’re a woman talking to a certain type of man, and want to avoid an argument if he decides what he thinks is correct when it isn’t … or just try to use passive wording as much as possible in general so you don’t get fired for being ‘a bitch’.
Urgh! I rarely encountered it, but the need to tiptoe around (some) men’s who makes my skin crawl…
My memory is actually not 100% there so when I use those phrases I do mean “if I recall correctly”, lol. I think I use “we’re all free to think what we think” if I wanna keep the conversation going or “fair enough” when I wanna exit it. 👍
My memory is terrible too, but I pretty much only use those phrases when I'm 100% sure I do recall. The rest of the time I feel like it isn't worth speaking up at all.
Yeah lol I use it because I often remember the start of a point, but never what we ended up deciding/nuance of the particular pribkem
I only use it to cover my ass because I’m not sure I’m right
“Is that right? I had heard an alternate theory…”
You’re definitely wrong, and I know more about this than you do.
Typically if I have a working solution in front of me or documentation of being correct I will plainly state it. There’s no need to play with words.
“No, in the documentation, it states”
Or “No, I have the solution in front of me this is the process” etc.
Rolder@reddthat.com 2 hours ago
Most of the time when I use those phrases I’m not actually 100% sure and want an out in case I was wrong