They say, if you don't use it, you will lose it. Who are "they" anyway?
How do “they” know? Can “they” really speak for all of us?
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Maybe they are the people who will cause you to lose it. I’m highly suspicious of “them”. Don’t trust ‘em, that’s what I say.
They are the ubiquitous masses.
They are the ones who will pull this question for editing.
@marinelife Just how do these masses know this, and at what point is losing suppose to happen? Have these masses been through it?
They, being the consensus of many, who like to talk for a few. But pay no mind to them, they know not what they talk about.
Consensus is a problem in distributed computing that encapsulates the task of group agreement in the presence of faults. – Google dictionary
“They” are often you or I when we say something without wanting to say who we are. ;-)
Ask my mother. She quoted “them” all my young life. “They“advised” me on what to wear, what to think, what to eat, and even what good posture is.
Replace They say that… with It is said by some that….
That makes it a bit less definite, i believe.
Neurologists often say this about dementia and learning.
@dpworkin I don’t often agree with you, but in this case I do. Love the brain games and puzzles.
I always thought that “they” were talking about sex.
B-but if you don’t often agree with me, maybe it isn’t working.~
They are usually the ones closes to your pants or skirts. : /
I think the fundamental question is what “it” is.
@janbb Your right. It could be your ability to speak another language. Or an egg that you just cracked open. Or a dated check that you got in the mail. Hummmm! :D
They are people you know. And the people they know.
The them in this saying are the many who have lost something because they did not continue to use it for a time AND then want to come back to it. Example: If you are in a sport and take a year or so vacation from it. If you are getting older and you stop your morning walks. If you know a hobby and stop buying supplies and reading journals for a couple of years. The list goes on….
Whenever I’ve heard this saying it’s been in a nasty and snarky vein from someone who wants something from me I don’t feel like giving. They are usually unappreciative people and that’s why they are always in want to the point of trying to make others feel bad for having or keeping something good.
Some things attributed to “they” make obvious sense, others do not seem so obviously true.
Whenever you do not know to whom the “they” refers, search for a reputable source and then decide if what “they” say seems trustworthy or not.
@Dr_Lawrence: Talk to my mother. Every “they” is powerful, creditable, and more often than not, omniscient. We, her daughters, are not and have never been “they.”
@gailcalled Your mothers reverence for the unknown “they” are delusional. She clearly has not met you!
@Dr_Lawrence: Have you read Alice Miller’s “The Drama of the Gifted Child”? My mother projected those images onto my sister and me. Each time I did something that required skill, she used to say, “Let daddy do that.” And afterwards, she’d say, “How do you know how to do that?” Disheartening, to say the least.
My brother, not being a worthless female, escaped almost unscathed.
@gailcalled
I’ve not read the book but what you describe is so common and so irritating! My grandparents raised my mother so different than how they raised me (she like you and your sister) and now my mom and I bump heads over the silliest stuff. She’ll say she wished my stepdad was around to do this or that as if she and together are too retarded to figure stuff out or get it handled well. Argh!
Some parents from my generation and later are aware that children, if supported and encouraged become and learn to do that of which they are capable. Forcing children into preconceived boxes is a rarely recognized force of child mistreatment.
If girls are draw to industrial arts, carpentry, hard sciences and mathematics, don’t get in their way out of fear that they will not turn out to be as feminine as you expect them to be. I know plenty of females with extraordinary skills in non-traditional fields who were also excellent mothers and happy wives.
Parents should not panic if their sons have non-traditional play preferences or career aspirations. Whether or not they choose the kind of partners you expect of them is not a reason to shoehorn sons into activities and roles in which they feel uncomfortable or disinterested.
Children should be encouraged to develop their natural skills and interests.
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