blocking in steel-stud wall |
After years of complaining about halfwits who write at pay sites, we've decided to finally strike a blow for knowledge. We've repurposed this blog to call attention to some of these stupid people and the things they've written while in too big a hurry to make money to deal with useless crap like "facts" and "knowledge." Meet the Dumbass of the Day, people!
Monday, December 31, 2018
Metal Studs for Dummy Builders
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Topography Types for Dummies
Variations in topography |
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Changing Circular Saw Blades for Dummies
Note 1) arrows for direction of rotation and 2) nut on arbor takes open-end wrench, not Allen wrench |
Friday, December 28, 2018
Garbage Disposal Repair for DIY Dummies
Ashton forgot this step... |
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Carport Conversions for Dummies
carport conversion framing |
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Meandering Streams for Dummy Geography Students
Meander cutoff and oxbow lake |
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
The Scientific Method for Dummies
There's a... let's call it a "syndrome" that our staffers here at the Antisocial Network see on a regular basis. All you'd have to do is scroll through our blog listing searching on the tag "scientific illiteracy liberal arts" to see examples: it's people who went through college studiously avoiding science courses suddenly convinced that they know enough about science to write about it. Yeah, sure; and the latest proof is a Kimberley McGee post at Sciencing.com; the one titled, "Why Should We Make Multiple Trials of an Experiment?"
Monday, December 24, 2018
Escape Velocity for Dummies
Calculating escape velocity |
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Installing Fence Panels for Dummies
Stepped fence panels |
Saturday, December 22, 2018
Shimano Acera Derailleurs for the Dummy Cyclist
Acera rear derailleur |
Friday, December 21, 2018
Ovals for Dummies
Ellipse semimajor (A) and semiminor (B) axes |
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Fossiliferous Rocks for Dummies
Fossil in Burgess Shale |
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Metric Prefixes for Dummies
Metric prefixes applied to big data |
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Spin Bike RPMs for Dummies
Stationary bike computer |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Framing Your Art for Dummies
matting and framing artwork |
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Electrical Ground for Dummies
Ground rod specifications |
Saturday, December 15, 2018
A Dummy's Guide to the World's Worst Deck Plans
A cheap deck? |
Friday, December 14, 2018
Sandstone for the Dummy Geology Student
The Antisocial Network's staff geologist looked at the title of today's DotD nominee and heaved a mighty sigh. His next move was to reach onto his bookshelf and pull out a copy of what is arguably one of the most important sedimentology books of the 20th Century, Pettijohn and Potter's Sand and Sandstone. He then laid his head on the tome and wept... as would any sedimentologist who'd been forced to read the eHow article "Characteristics of Sandstone," a bunch of nonsense cobbled together by John London.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Solid Geometry for Dummy Eighth Graders
If there's anything that irks our research staffers more than a self-proclaimed "expert" who proves to be ignorant, we aren't really sure what that might be. While we realize that at least some of the stupidity expressed in eHow.com content (native or reassigned to a niche site) is the fault of ignorant J-school grads working as "content editors," we also know that here was a protocol for correcting any errors they introduced. We'd like to think that as a "former math tutor," Marie Mulrooney would have known that something was seriously wrong with her "How to Calculate Cubic Space," now found at Sciencing.com.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Pumice and Scoria for Dummies
Pumice (left) and scoria (right) |
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Self-Employment Expenses for Dummy Giggers
IRS Schedule SE instructions |
Monday, December 10, 2018
Dating Fossils for the Dummy Geology Student
We aren't quite sure how the site that calls itself HowStuffWorks.com works, but our staffers suspect that the site may have started out as an eHow-style content farm that subsequently tried to recast itself as an authority on everything (not unlike WiseGEEK.com). You can (usually) tell at which stage in the site's evolution a post was written: if there's a byline, it's meant to be authoritative; if written by a "contributor," it's from the eHow-style era. Unfortunately, some of the long and involved posts with bylines are... less than authoritative. Here's one of them, Tracy V. Wilson and her take on "How Do Scientists Determine the Age of Dinosaur Bones?"
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Petroleum Reservoirs for Utter Dummies
petroleum reservoir, trap, and seal |
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Building a Table the Dummies Way
Some fastening techniques to allow movement in tabletops |
Friday, December 7, 2018
Trombones for the Dummy Musician
Parts of a trombone |
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Baseball Pins for Dummy Collectors
1980 Winter Olympics pin |
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Linear Equations for Algebra Dummies
One of our staff's pet peeves – they have a whole kennel full of them – is content-farm freelancers who don't quite understand the questions they're asked to address. A deficiency often becomes clear when they misuse technical terminology, which is why we're here today. The peeve is even more robust than usual, however, because of the rewrite Sciencing.com's Kevin Beck performed on "How to Graph Linear Equations With Two Variables."
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Bogus Saw Reviews for Dummy Carpenters
| Some, although unfortunately not all, of our DotD candidate posts include what the author seems to think are references to back up their statements. Whenever possible, we follow these references to their source to determine whether the original is full of crap or the freelancer in question simply can't reword useful information and make sense. Every once in a while, though... and today's one of those "once in a while" occasions. So let's meet freelancer James K. Blake and his EzineArticles.com post, "A Cut Above: The Bosch 4100 Worksite Table Saw With Gravity Rise Stand." |
Monday, December 3, 2018
Bed Rails for Dummies
hollywood frame |
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Decline Curves for the Dummy Petroleum Engineer
Decline curve models |
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Garnet for the Dummy Miner (OurPastimes Week 7)
Pyrope garnet crystal |
Friday, November 30, 2018
A Train Table for the Dummy Woodworker
train coffee table |
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Rock Tumbler Grit for Dummies
rock tumbling machine |
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Corner Cabinets for Dummy Carpenters
Sample curio corner cabinet plans |
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Socket Wrench Use for the Dummy Mechanic
What lever, Cameron? |
Monday, November 26, 2018
Pigeonhole Shelves for Dummy Woodworkers
pigeon-hole shelf unit |
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Firing a Mortar for Dummies (OurPastimes Week 1)
mortar fire |
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Your Very Own Workbench for Dummy Woodworkers
If you haven't seen the row of clickbait photos spread across the bottom of about 70% of the web pages you access in a day, you must not be paying attention. We mean the ones that advertise crap like, "She had no idea why they were staring," or "You won't believe what [name of celebrity] looks like now!" Of course, if you click on one, you'll find an endless string of stock photos copiously wallpapered with popups and other ads. In other words, bait and switch. You wanted to see what Markie Post or Donny Osmond looks like today, but what you got was 63 unrelated photos! Well, freelancers bait and switch, too, especially when they're basically ignorant of their topic; like HowStuffWorks.com contributor Elizabeth Abbess and her post, "How to Make a Workbench."
Friday, November 23, 2018
Curved Surfaces for Dummies
neither sphere nor cylinder, but still a curved surface |
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Foundation Vents for Dummies
You might be surprised (we're not...) by how often content-farm freelancers manage to botch DIY instructions because, to be perfectly frank, they have no earthly idea what they're talking about. Take, for instance, the half-baked job multiple DotD winner Lacy Enderson performed when attempting to tell people, "How to Install a Foundation Vent" at the mother site, eHow.com.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Breaking Down Oil for Dummy Environmentalists
surfactants and oil |
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Slope-Intercept for Dummy Algebra Students
graph of y = 2x - 7 |
Monday, November 19, 2018
Racks for Dummy Bicycle Owners
Trunk-mounted bike rack |
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Ellipse Area for the Dummy Geometry Student
Area of ellipse calculation inputs |
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Gas Wells for Dummies (HSW Week 7)
Natural gas wellhead |
Maybe because "gas" was in the title? Who knows...
Friday, November 16, 2018
A Router Table for Woodworking Dummies
shop-built router table |
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Magma for Dummy Liberal Arts Majors (HSW Week 5)
Magma generation in subduction zones |
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Router Bits for Dummy Woodworkers (HSW Week 4)
Router bit profiles |
Whatever the case, Abbess (like most HSW bylines, it seems to be a nom de plume) found herself some handy lists of router bit profiles to mine – except that the word "profile" didn't show up Elizabeth's list. Of course, she couldn't just reproduce the list, 'cause that would get her hand slapped for plagiarism. The results, however, of her copy-reword-paste job were rather amusing.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Attic Vents for Dummies (HSW Week 3)
roof vent with flashing |
Monday, November 12, 2018
Clipless Pedals for Dummy Cyclists (HSW Week 2)
cycling shoe and clipless pedal |
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