I was getting my flu vaccine the other day and the nurse asked me why I checked “I don’t know” in response to the question “Is the patient sick?”
She seemed genuinely annoyed when I told her that the only two truthful answers to “Are you sick?” are “Yes” and “I don’t know”.
If the question had asked “Is the patient showing any symptoms of illness?” it would have been a different story, but I answered the question as asked.
i went in for a surgery a couple of years ago. receptionist asks if I’ve had covid. i say i don’t know. receptionist looks at me like im trying to be funny. i specify that i haven’t had symptomatic covid. receptionist asks me again if I’ve had covid. my partner tells me to stop being difficult. receptionist rolls their eyes. as far as i was aware you can have covid without symptoms, so i really think answering ‘no’ is dangerously arrogant. or at least foolishly naive.
Meanwhile, I’ve never had Covid and whenever i tell this to medical receptionists they’re like “you’ve never been symptomatic” 😂 every time! You can’t win
Have you done repeated tests, alternatively taken antibody tests (for covid19 proteins not in the vaccines)? (because this is a thread about being pedantic)
Yes, I kept various taking tests weekly for years until it finally got too expensive. I still have only been sick once since 2019, got a cold in 2025. N95 mask nearly everywhere, nearly all the time.
I’m in a couple different academic studies for possible covid resistance, but I keep telling them I don’t think there’s anything biologically keeping me from getting covid, it’s just the masking + forsaking society.
It’s more “fun” for me. I had something that presented quite a bit like covid early on, but it was just barely not bad enough for my province to let me get tested. Then when I got something similar again later I tested negative.
Whenever asked if I’ve ever had covid I tend to explain the whole situation because I have no idea if I’ve had it or why it’s relevant to the asker.
I’ve had some of my family get annoyed at me for a similar thing lol. If someone asks me if I’d do something in a hypothetical scenario, I basically always answer with “probably” or “probably not”. I just feel like no matter how certain I feel I would do something in some given situation that I’ve never experienced, I can’t know 100% unless it were to actually happen, so answering as if I’m sure would be incorrect of me.
I was getting my flu vaccine the other day and the nurse asked me why I checked “I don’t know” in response to the question “Is the patient sick?”
She seemed genuinely annoyed when I told her that the only two truthful answers to “Are you sick?” are “Yes” and “I don’t know”.
If the question had asked “Is the patient showing any symptoms of illness?” it would have been a different story, but I answered the question as asked.
i went in for a surgery a couple of years ago. receptionist asks if I’ve had covid. i say i don’t know. receptionist looks at me like im trying to be funny. i specify that i haven’t had symptomatic covid. receptionist asks me again if I’ve had covid. my partner tells me to stop being difficult. receptionist rolls their eyes. as far as i was aware you can have covid without symptoms, so i really think answering ‘no’ is dangerously arrogant. or at least foolishly naive.
My trick for this is to replace “I don’t know” with “not to my knowledge” or “not as far as I know”.
Same sentiment, but much less pushback from others.
This is the way. “I don’t know” could imply you haven’t even thought about it, while “Not to my knowledge” implies you know but may be wrong.
Saying that and adding a small smile and a quick laugh does wonders
“Have you ever committed a felony?”
“Not to my knowledge, ha ha”
Meanwhile, I’ve never had Covid and whenever i tell this to medical receptionists they’re like “you’ve never been symptomatic” 😂 every time! You can’t win
Have you done repeated tests, alternatively taken antibody tests (for covid19 proteins not in the vaccines)? (because this is a thread about being pedantic)
Yes, I kept various taking tests weekly for years until it finally got too expensive. I still have only been sick once since 2019, got a cold in 2025. N95 mask nearly everywhere, nearly all the time.
I’m in a couple different academic studies for possible covid resistance, but I keep telling them I don’t think there’s anything biologically keeping me from getting covid, it’s just the masking + forsaking society.
It’s more “fun” for me. I had something that presented quite a bit like covid early on, but it was just barely not bad enough for my province to let me get tested. Then when I got something similar again later I tested negative.
Whenever asked if I’ve ever had covid I tend to explain the whole situation because I have no idea if I’ve had it or why it’s relevant to the asker.
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I’ve had some of my family get annoyed at me for a similar thing lol. If someone asks me if I’d do something in a hypothetical scenario, I basically always answer with “probably” or “probably not”. I just feel like no matter how certain I feel I would do something in some given situation that I’ve never experienced, I can’t know 100% unless it were to actually happen, so answering as if I’m sure would be incorrect of me.
Finally, some people who incorporate a bit of epistemology into their lives. Y’all are my people.