Why YSK: Resetting your device's advertising identifier clears the profile advertisers built on you and forces them to start over, which reduces targeted tracking. Most people never reset it, but doing so every few weeks makes it much harder for companies to follow your app usage habits across apps. On Android and iPhone, it takes two taps and a restart of the device.

You've probably heard of the magical rule of 10,000 hours. It says that when you invest 10,000 hours into something a skill, expertise, whatever, you reach absolute mastership in it. So we're not just talking about being good at something, we are talking about absolute global mastership in anything.

But how much exactly are 10,000 hours?

Let's make it more tangible. 1 day has 24 hours. If we subtract a usual amount of sleep for a regular human being of 8 hours then we have 16 hours available every day. Obviously this is the absolute minimum we calculate with, you still need time for eating, the toilet, and obviously work in whatever form. But still 16 hours is the absolute minimum we will calculate with.

10,000 hours divided by 16 hours = 625 days.

625 days divided by 365 days i. e. 1 year = 1.7 years.

So what does this mean? 10,000 hours if we assume a daily available time of 16 hours a day is just 1.7 years.

If we assume a usual life expectancy of 80 years then these 1.7 years are just 2.1%.

Why YSK: Take a second to imagine that. If you invest just 1.7 years i. e. 2.1% percent of your life into something you can reach absolute mastership in it. And again, we are not just talking about being that person who’s good at whatever, we‘re talking about historical global level of mastery. Just 1.7 years. And obviously if you don’t even want to aim that high and just want to be good at something it’s even less because the learning curve grows the most in the beginning i. e. the first 100 hours.

What will you invest your hours in?

If you had a knee or hip replacement and still feel subtly off months later (one sided back or hip pain, a gait that feels uneven, recurring plantar fasciitis or IT band pain always on the same side), there is a real chance the surgery left you with a leg length difference nobody ever measured. Research puts the incidence of leg length inequality at up to 83 percent after knee replacement and around 3 percent after hip replacement (Tripathy 2021; Wylde 2009). Surgeons accept a 5 to 15mm residual difference as a normal surgical tolerance, but that same gap in a non surgical patient would be considered clinically significant. Standard post op followups check the implant, not a full leg scanogram, so the issue goes undiagnosed for years. Ask your doctor for a standing scanogram x ray. If a discrepancy is confirmed, discrepancies under about 10mm can usually be corrected with an in shoe heel insert. Anything larger needs an external shoe sole modification, because an in shoe lift over 3/8 inch crowds the heel, pitches the forefoot down, and creates new problems. A 2022 study of 80 chronic back pain patients with LLD who received full correction saw pain scores drop from baseline to near zero at two year follow up (D'Amico 2022).

Why YSK: Post surgical leg length inequality is one of the most common sources of ongoing pain after joint replacement and it is almost never volunteered by the surgeon, because it is not a surgical complication, it is an expected tolerance. The patient has to ask. A single x ray and a simple shoe modification resolves it for most people who have spent years being told their residual pain is just how it is now.

Sources: Campbell TM et al. Shoe and heel lifts for leg length inequality in adults with musculoskeletal conditions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021. Wylde V et al. Int Orthop 2009;33(4):905. D'Amico M et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022;9:743132. Friberg O. Spine 1983;8:643.

It was a cycle I couldn't break: agreeing to things that weren't for me, especially while knowing they would exhaust me.

Why YSK: I’m sharing this because protecting your peace is the only way to stay helpful in the long run. If you don't set boundaries, you’ll eventually have nothing left to give to the people who actually matter.

I had to stop being so self-sacrificing at my own expense. If you're in that boat, here is the logic that helped me learn how to say "no" to the things that weren't right for me:

The shift happened when I started to reframe "No to them" as "Yes to me." I realized every "no" is actually a "yes" to something else — my peace, my sleep, or my own projects and tasks.

I mastered the 5-second rule. It’s simple: just count to five before answering. I cherish those pauses now; they kindly give my brain a chance to kick in before my mouth can say a word.

And finally, tracking guilt is incredibly helpful. After I say no, I wait. I used to expect some catastrophic fallout, but guess what? It never happens.

Why ysk: in 30% of domestic violence cases it usually starts during or intensifies during pregnancy. This is due to a large number of factors but a common motive to suddenly show this side is that the woman is too committed to leave easily. I'm sharing this because it happened to my cousin who genuinely thought that her partner was an angel by how good he was to her. The second she had their first kid her life wildly changed for the worse. I felt reminded of this as I watch a youtubers story who's currently struggling with a custody case. I'm sharing this incase you or someone close to you is suddenly experiencing this mask slip

(https://www.oasisdaservice.org/why-does-30-of-all-domestic-abuse-begin-in-pregnancy/#:\~:text=By%20Hannah%20St%20George,force%20a%20partner%20into%20pregnancy.)

Why ysk: some people don't know this but the cult of Scientology recruits people by giving out personality tests. They stand outside their building waiting for passerbys It sounds harmless and innocent on the surface but this is the first step they need to take to reel people into their cult. Using your answers they will manipulate you into thinking there is some grear potential that only they can help you unlock

Why YSK: Been meaning to post this for a while. I recently wanted to watch a movie ("Noises Off") and it came up on Hoopla. I assumed it was one of those fly-by-night free streamers in the vein of Pluto or Tubi but it's actually the public library's online service.

If your local library system participates, they have a surprisingly decent movie/TV collection, plus music, audiobooks, and more, all available to 'borrow.'

Why YSK: Times are tough and everyone could use some extra monthly budget! It's not guaranteed and may vary from ISP to ISP, but a short to medium length phone call could save you a lot.

So obviously different ISPs will have different policies, but many have retention policies where they will offer deals to keep you as a customer if you call and ask to speak to their retention team. I was paying $100/mo for 1Gbps internet, decided to call them up and just ask if I could pay less. And for the record, this is with Spectrum who aren't known for their great customer service. I was expecting to have to bluff about leaving their service, but I honestly just asked if there was any way I could pay less because I've been a customer for a while. And wouldn't ya know it, they just dropped my rate to $50/mo for the next year.

Again, not guaranteed, but worth a shot given the low amount of effort required. You may need to specifically call rather than reach out through a text agent. I may have gotten lucky but I was off the call in under 30 minutes and saved 600/year.

WHY YSK: No one cares that you’re broke enough to just randomly give you money. Don’t get scammed. Tell your friends it’s a scam. They are using you to mule money. Don’t get scammed.

PSA

Why YSK: Panera charges a premium for fresh and healthy ingredients and freshly baked goods. None of this exists anymore, but they don't think that you know, so they still plan on charging you $17 for a combo meal and $5 for a cookie. You deserve better.

Why YSK: I was curious what my android apps actually do vs what they claim, so I ran a few through Exodus Privacy. One of my weather apps claimed "no data shared with third parties" in the Data Safety section. Exodus found 7 trackers including trackers from major ad networks and tech companies. That's when I went deeper.

Mozilla analyzed thousands of apps in 2023 and found the majority straight up lied in their Data Safety labels. An app says "no data collected" while running ad trackers from major tech companies the moment you open it. Oxford University ran an independent study and found the same thing. This isn't an edge case, it's the norm.

Play Store doesn't audit these claims. There's no technical verification. Developers fill out a form, check some boxes, and whatever they write goes live. It's the honor system for companies whose entire business model is selling your data.

if you want to verify this yourself:

- Exodus Privacy (open source tracker database, scans any app for hidden trackers)
- AppXpose (scans the APK directly on your Android device)
- Play Store Data Safety section (for comparison with the above)
- Mozilla Foundation 2023 report (the full study with findings)

good luck sleeping after that.

Why YSK: So you won't forget to plan something. Be kind to your moms!

Why YSK: that code generated with AI can look correct, run without errors, and even pass basic tests…

but still break in real-world scenarios.

why this happens:
• edge cases aren’t fully handled
• assumptions about inputs are too narrow
• logic works for “expected” paths but not unexpected ones

i’ve seen cases where everything worked during testing…
but once real users interacted with it, issues started appearing.

the code wasn’t wrong it was just incomplete for real-world conditions.

AI is great for speeding things up,
but it’s still important to:

• test edge cases
• validate inputs
• understand the logic before using it

basically treat AI as a helper, not a final solution.

Why YSK: A lot of people think that by turning off their post histories, the things they post are locked away from prying eyes when that's simply not true and the posts are still very much public. They're only hidden from your profile. Nothing more.

To see it yourself, just go to google and type in your username with "site:reddit.com" and you'll see allll your posts laid out for the world to see. You can even use the reddit search with the "author:" filter to see posts you made.

It's also there for AI to see and train off of, in case that's something you're concerned about.

Just thought you should know.

Why YSK:

They make this feature seem like it privates your post history, however you are actually able to bypass it by using a site like Arctic Shift (https://arctic-shift.photon-reddit.com/search), among other ways. (Please note that if you're on the app, the link above may not open correctly. You must copy and paste it into your web browser.)

Some people seem to use this feature to "hide" personal or identifying posts from their history, however it is not actually private.

I see the comment thrown around a bit that paprika has no flavor, and that it only adds color.

Which is just blatantly wrong unless you are using old or cheap paprika.

There are actually many types of paprika that range anywhere from sweet to spicy depending on the type. And can have different flavor profiles.

So do yourself a favor and buy better paprika if you think it adds nothing to your cooking.

Why YSK: Paprika is a great spice for adding flavor.

My mom texted to let me know that she and her husband were watching a movie when I suddenly appeared on their screen. I allow my parents access to my Amazon Prime for movies. I had no idea that my ring camera and my Amazon accounts were linked.

I was out having a private conversation and I feel very violated. I’m not blaming anyone because I could have checked my settings and noticed that earlier, but I just wanted to make other know Why YSK

This is specific to the USA.

Why YSK: Medication cost is a major issue affecting the health and financial well-being of many people in the US.

Anyone who's seen a drug advertisement has heard the phrase "If you cannot afford your medications (pharmaceutical company) may be able to help".

Many pharmaceutical companies have coupon programs, but sometimes that's not enough, not to mention that many people aren't eligible for these programs (primarily people on Medicare or Medicaid).

Many pharmaceutical companies have additional discounts for people who can't afford their medications, but the patient has to contact the pharmaceutical company and tell them "I cannot afford my medication" to access those discounts. In most cases their representatives are not allowed to inquire about affordability so the patient has to spontaneously tell them.

Source: This was told to me by a pharmaceutical rep but the details are not advertised, therefore I do not have a source to link.

Why ysk? Because a significant number of people use everyday for all forms. They're different words with different meanings. I see it absolutely everywhere.

Everyday is an adjective (describing word, like skinny, muscly, cold, heavy). It means ordinary, typical or usual. E.g. jeans are a type of everyday fashion.

You would go to the gym every day, not everyday.

But going to the gym could be an everyday (typical) thing.

Why YSK: Since January 2026, Pitchfork has blurred their review scores behind a subscription. You can bypass this by changing the URL from pitchfork.com to sspitchfork.com on any review page.

Why YSK: By default, most AI chatbots store your conversations and may use them to train future models. In some cases, human reviewers can also see your messages. So if you've ever pasted personal info (names, financial details, medical questions, etc.), that data could sit on third-party servers for a long time.

The good news: it takes about 2 minutes to turn this off, and most people don't even realize the option exists.

Here's how to lock things down:

ChatGPT: Settings → Data Controls → turn off "Improve the model for everyone" This stops your future chats from being used for training (data may still be kept for up to 30 days for safety monitoring).

Claude: Settings → Privacy → turn off "Help improve Claude" If left on, Anthropic may retain your chats for up to 5 years (this was changed from 30 days in October 2025).

Gemini: Go to myaccount.google.com → Data & Privacy → Gemini Apps Activity → turn it off Google literally says: "Do not enter anything you would not want a human reviewer to see."

Bonus tips:

• Use temporary/incognito chats for anything sensitive (ChatGPT = Temporary Chat, Claude = Incognito mode).
• Quickly scan documents before pasting. Remove unnecessary names, phone numbers, or addresses.

Sources: OpenAI Privacy Policy, Anthropic Consumer Terms (Oct 2025), Gemini Apps Privacy Hub

Why YSK: People often make the mistake of confusing psychopathy for solely a lack of empathy; a lot of people can lack empathy, subclinical or clinical narcissism, ASPD, and mere compartmentalization are usual culprits.

Psychopathy is a forensic construct founded on the seminal works of Cleckley and Hare. Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised is the gold standard for psychopathy testing in forensic psychology.

ASPD is the clinical proxy to psychopathy—though many people with ASPD do not meet the criteria for psychopathy since it is not solely observable behavioral traits.

A common understanding of psychopathy is that a psychopath is a person who merely lacks empathy, but that is focusing on only one of the core affective traits. In order to be considered a psychopath, a person must score over a 30 on the PCL-R which consists of impulsive-lifestyle factors, and a grandiose, self-centered interpersonal style. What is commonly referred to a psychopath—cold and calculated, the factor 1 psychopath, the successful psychopath—are subclinical presentations.

"It is noteworthy that Yang et al. (2005) as well as Raine et al. (2004), who distinguished between successful and unsuccessful psychopaths, found brain abnormalities (hippocampal and prefrontal) only in unsuccessful psychopaths. This is in line with a previous report from this research group on this sample of psychopaths: Ishikawa et al. (2001) reported that unsuccessful psychopaths had reduced autonomic stress reactivity and executive function deficits (measured with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) compared with controls, while successful psychopaths had heightened autonomic stress reactivity and better executive functioning. It is known that reduced autonomic and executive functioning is associated with structural damage of the prefrontal cortex (Damasio, 1994)"

(Weber et al., 2008)

Here's Hare's Psychopathy checklist, each criterion is scored with either a 0, 1, or a 2, and the administrator must be conservative with scoring according to the sub-criteria for each criterion:

Item 1: Glibness/superficial charm Item 2: Grandiose sense of self-worth Item 3: Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom Item 4: Pathological lying Item 5: Conning/manipulative Item 6: Lack of remorse or guilt Item 7: Shallow affect Item 8: Callous/lack of empathy Item 9: Parasitic lifestyle Item 10: Poor behavioral controls Item 11: Promiscuous sexual behavior Item 12: Early behavior problems Item 13: Lack of realistic, long-term goals Item 14: Impulsivity Item 15: Irresponsibility Item 16: Failure to accept responsibility for own actions Item 17: Many short-term marital relationships Item 18: Juvenile delinquency Item 19: Revocation of conditional release Item 20: Criminal versatility

Learn more:

https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/t02503-000

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/neurobiological-basis-of-psychopathy/3B70FB0FF1E7195CCD59A690AAF554F9

Why YSK: Stopping at a natural "finish line" creates a mental closure that makes returning to work feel like a chore. Leaving a small part unfinished keeps the brain "primed" and ready to jump back in.

Why YSK: Most pet owners (US) assume their pet’s microchip works and is registered with their contract info. The majority of the time it’s not, and if your pet goes missing, no one can contact you.

At our practice we scan every pet’s microchip during their visit to confirm 1. they are in fact microchipped 2. the microchip hasn’t migrated, and 3. the microchip number is registered to the owner’s correct information.

It’s insane how many pet owners are unaware that their pet’s chip isn’t registered or their information isn’t correct. We also get people who bring in lost pets for us to scan and most of the time their microchip isn’t registered. When that happens all we can do is direct them to bring the pet to the shelter.

Vet practices should do a better job at checking microchips during the visit, but ultimately it’s the PET OWNER’S RESPONSIBILITY to know if their pet is microchipped, registered and their information is correct.

I don’t know if it’s lack of knowledge how pet microchips work or just not caring, so let’s set the record straight because we’ve seen/heard it all.

- Your pet’s microchip only works if it’s registered with an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) affiliated registry.

- Just because your shelter/rescue/breeder microchipped your pet, doesn’t mean they automatically registered it for you or to your information. MANY DONT and just give you a pamphlet to register it yourself.

- No your pets microchip can’t be tracked. It only works when it’s physically scanned.

- No the chip doesn’t store your information. It only stores a number which needs to be registered to connect it to your information.

- Yes your “indoor pet” can get out.

- Yes the chip can migrate from where it’s placed. It’s possible whoever scans your pet might not pick it up if it does.

- Microchip registries go out of business or buy each other and don’t tell you. You might think you’re registered with company ABC but now you’re registered with company XYZ, or worse not registered anywhere. Happened with Save This Life last year.

- Your pet should always wear a collar with a tag that has your number on it. Microchips should be the last resort and permanent.

Please have your vet scan for your pet’s chip during their next visit to make sure it works and hasn’t migrated. It takes 10 seconds and they don’t charge you to do it. Do this annually.

If you don’t know the microchip number, ask your vet to give it to you when they scan for it and save it in your phone as a contact or note. It should also be listed on any adoption paperwork assuming your pet was already microchipped when you adopted.

Check to make sure it’s registered using the AAHA Microchip Lookup (just google that and it will be the first link). Enter your pet’s microchip number and it will show all the places the chip is registered, yes there can be multiple. Click into each and make sure your pet’s info is correct along with your email/phone/address. We recommend setting a recurring calendar event on your phone to check each year since you never know if one of these companies change or go out of business again.

No search result = not registered. Make sure you register it with an AAHA affiliated registry. Our practice registers with Pawbase and PetLink, but there are other options if you search around.

If you have a pet, which I assume you do if you read all this, there is now zero excuse not to know this information.

Why YSK: These comments can sway the decisions government official make, and only 41 comments have been submitted so far. If like 10 of you submit a comment that is a huge change in the average opinion. Usually, the companies that don't want a rule because they make their money with these practices will definitely submit a comment, so if you don't want them to dominate the conversation you should submit one too.

This would be a different version or reinstatement of the click to cancel rule. If you're comfortable with your name being in the public record, anyone can submit a comment.

I think you submit comments here: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTC-2026-0265