10 Hilarious Misconceptions People Actually Believe.

1

Refresh Has The Power To Make Your Computer Work Faster

This one goes out to all PC users. If you own a PC, there is a good chance that you maybe frantically refreshing your desktop all the time. Have you ever wondered what refresh actually accomplishes? If you said you think it makes your computer work faster, you couldn't be more wrong. There is nothing you can do to make your PC work faster than it can.

Without getting into too much technical wordplay, a desktop is considered to be like a folder in the Windows Operating System. As a result, the system needs to refresh whenever a new file is added or removed from the desktop. While your operating system is programmed to do this automatically, there are certain instances where it could fail to do this. (For example, the changes may not be reflected when you try to re-arrange your icons on the desktop.) To tackle this particular problem, Microsoft built a refresh option so it could be done could manually.

This problem was rampant in earlier versions of Windows, and as a result, technicians as well as engineers had to refresh quite often, which lead to the creation of a compulsive habit of sorts for Windows users. This trend caught on like most bad habits do, and is unfortunately here to stay. (Source | Photo)

2

Men Think They Can Fix Their Computers Themselves

A survey conducted by GMI research aimed to establish how good we are at taking care of our computers.

According to the survey of 1001 men and women aged between 35 and 70, about 46% of men responded by saying they can fix their computers. Turns out the they can't. They failed to correctly diagnose a computer when presented with a simple problem.

Looks like men are simply reluctant to get help when it comes to computers or asking directions. (Source | Photo)

3

A Motherboard Is A Deck On A Cruise Ship

Computer jargon is certainly complicated but unless you live under a rock, you probably know what a motherboard is. However, it turns out that as many as 42% of people think that it is a deck on a cruise ship, despite not living under a rock.

If you thought that was absurd, there are 4% of people who think that a motherboard is a female managing director. Luckily, there is some hope alive for humanity as 54% of those who answered the survey correctly identified what a motherboard is.

If you are still wondering, a motherboard is a printed circuit board on a computer. It is called a motherboard because it holds all the electronic components such as hard drives, sound and video cards attached to it. These boards are literally the “mother of all components” in a computer and hence the name. (Source 1 | Source 2 | Photo)

4

Jargon Is A Planet In The Solar System

Jargon is compromised of technical words/expressions used by a particular profession or a group. In other words, it is the language of professionals.

Every group has their own unique terminology. Sales executives use a very different kind of jargon compared to the traders on Wall Street, a local handyman, or coders, to name just a few examples.

While you may not able to understand jargon very well, you should be absolutely sure of the fact that when someone utters the word they are not talking about a planet in our solar system.

As many as 5% of Americans believe jargon is a planet in the solar system while another 12% think that it is is some form of exotic meat. Luckily, the remaining 83% correctly understand what jargon means. (Source | Photo)

5

HTML Is An STD

HTML is everywhere. It is because of HTML that you are reading this article at this moment while procrastinating at your workplace. HTML is in a lot of things, from your Facebook page to your email, the YouTube video you might be planning on watching next and everything else online. So, is it some kind of a disease? Certainly not!

HTML or HyperText Markup Language is a computer language that makes your web pages come alive. A web browser uses this language to render your screen with colors, images, text and other elements on a web page.

A survey conducted to test the tech-knowledge of people revealed that as many as 11% of Americans believe HTML is a sexually transmitted disease while about 10% believe that it is a road structure that traverses England.

Philosophically speaking, you could argue that the internet could be a disease, but it is certainly not transmitted through coitus. (Source 1 | Source 2 | Photo)

6

Cloud Computing Is Affected By Bad Weather

Technology is something that confuses most people. Terms like "big data" and "cloud computing" have a tendency to go over the heads of some people.

One of the prized findings of a Citrix group survey of over 1000 people is that 51% of the participants believed bad weather affects cloud computing. 95% of the participants also believed they never used cloud computing despite that fact that they use it everyday to share songs, images and documents.

Looks like way too many people are taking the “cloud” in cloud computing literally. Cloud computing refers to internet based computing that uses remote servers to allow sharing of data. Anything you store or share on the internet could theoretically qualify as one of the crudest forms of cloud computing. Rest assured that bad weather has nothing to do with it, however.

The next time someone tells you “the workplace of the future will be entirely on the cloud” please DO NOT think of The Jetsons. (Source | Photo)

7

Evolution Is A Lie

According to a national poll conducted in 2012, only about 40% of the Americans believe in evolution. In fact, one Alabama lawmaker has even sponsored a bill that stresses teaching creationism in schools statewide.

A similar survey conducted at a global scale revealed that over 60% of Italians believe in evolution, despite the fact that most are Catholic. (PhotoVia 1 | Via 2)

8

A Browser Is A Search Engine

If you are reading this you are probably using a browser. But, do you know what browser you use? If you answered “Google” or “Yahoo” like 92% of the people interviewed in a survey conducted by Google, your life is about to change.

A web browser is a software application that allows you to access web pages and other information from the world wide web. In simpler terms, a browser is used to access web pages directly if you know their address or the URL. A search engine is something that allows you to find web pages based on keywords. (Source | Photo)

9

1 In Every 4 Americans Believe In Conspiracy Theories

It turns out that the land of the free is not free from conspiracy theories. From the JFK assassination, to UFO landings, 9/11, President Obama's lineage and President Bush's alien origins, there simply isn't shortage of conspiracy theories in America. Rasmussen Reports surveyed the general public in July 2014 about their belief in conspiracy theories.

It turns out that about 30% of Americans believe the existence of a second shooter in the Kennedy assassination, 25% believe the government knew in advance about 9/11, another 25% believe that Obama isn't an American citizen, and about 20% believe in a UFO crash landed near Rosewell, New Mexico. And the list goes on... (Source | Photo)

10

Americans Got Their Independence From Mexico

What do Americans celebrate on 4th of July? Did you answer "Independence Day" or "the Signing of the Declaration of Independence" like most Americans? If yes, you would be wrong. On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was ratified by Congress.

While that's a common misconception (and somewhat understandable), did you know some Americans believe they got their independence from China or Mexico?

You can close that jaw you just dropped. According to a Gallup poll finding from 2012, as many as 20% of the Americans are unsure of who they got their independence from. 2% think they got independence from France, and as many as 3% think they got independence from a different country – the list includes Russia, China and Mexico.

Luckily, about 75% of the Americans responded to the survey with the correct answer which is Great Britain. (Source | Photo)

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