To believe that if 100 people tell you you’re dead… you should probably lie down?

[OneJadeWren]

I heard this phrase the other day and it stuck with me. It made me think about situations where lots of people are saying the same thing about you - even if it doesn’t feel true to you.

Is there a point where the consensus becomes the truth or is there value in holding your ground, even if everyone thinks you’re wrong?

Is this phrase wisdom… or just dangerous groupthink?

Yep That’s the point.

And it’s also wrong.

Ah right. Helpful advice for ghosts then 🙄just not for people

Well over 100 people have told me how confident and gregarious I am.

I'm not. But I've taught myself to wear the mask over the years. I'm really an introvert who is very shy and hugely lacking in confidence

People say what they are allowed to see

Clearly OPs never been bullied or grown up in a toxic family...

Well, yeah, as explained it's figurative language. It's not literally for ghosts.

Are you familiar with the story of the hare and the tortoise?

who are "the people"?

If 100 posters on MN tell me I am doing something wrong, it doesn't make it true 😂

Sometimes it's more an acknowledgment you are doing it right.

Have I missed something? What does ‘you’re dead’ mean? Is it something to do with being cancelled? Or a typo for ‘you’re deaf’. Genuinely puzzled.

Unless you are some sort of celebrity or in some way have a large reach of the public eye you aren't likely to get 100 people telling you you're anything!

Again, not the same thing 🙄

But sure, you must be right, I am actually a dead rabbit. Or something.

Never heard this and if the intent behind it is to make you reconsider your views - a bit like those threads where an op digs their heels in despite being manifestly unreasonable / wrong and nobody agreeing with them - I think it fails. I completely get that this is figurative and not literal, but that doesn't mean it works.

It very much is the same thing in the sense that it's figurative.

In the same way that the hare and the tortoise isn't telling tortoises to never give up or hares not to be too cocky, the saying in the OP isn't directed at ghosts...they're both drawing on fantastical ideas to convey a message.

But honestly don't worry about it. It can be hard to get on board with figurative language, particularly when it comes from another culture. If you don't find it a useful or interesting phrase it's fine! It really doesn't matter.

How so?

It depends on the 100 people. For example, if 100 people in the same work environment are telling you you're crap at your job then they might be conspiring against you. If 100 people in the same group are saying you look awful in a dress, maybe they're jealous or a bunch of bitches. If 100 random people with no vested interest are telling you the same things, then maybe you should listen.

If 100 people told me I was dead I’d think they were mad. I have a pulse. So no, the majority isn’t always correct.

You have to have confidence in yourself. Always. It doesn’t matter how many people tell you you shouldn’t be doing something, or you can’t do it, if you have confidence or want to try, then do it. If you fail, at least you’ve tried. What do they say - you never regret what you’ve done, only what you haven’t done.(Obvs doesn’t include murder etc!)

Depends on the 100 people.
You could find 100 TRA to say that a GC member of MN was wrong about her views on gender and should shut up but those 100 people are obviously wrong.

It’s all about the context surely? And on the people? Like, what are we disagreeing about? Who are the people?

There’s certainly some things where I’d consider the possibility of being wrong, especially if the people telling me so had no vested interest in the subject. But something’s not automatically true just because lots of people are holding the same opinion.

Eh? 🤔

The novel Walkabout by Donald G. Payne is about this. The aboriginal boy believes the American girl’s scream is because she has seen the Spirit of Death in him. His belief that he will die becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So if 100 people told me that I'm a cat,I should start purring and eating cat food?

I once was absolutely slated on in a facebook group for saying that prawns are animals. Everyone was telling me I was wrong, one saying they were insects so not animals so I got slated again for saying they're not insects but insects are also animals. One person copy and paste Wikipedia to prove me wrong as it said they are crustaceans...

Sometimes when everyone around you is telling you are wrong it is because you're surrounded by fucking idiots.

The original saying was if people tell you you're drunk, go to sleep. It's about accepting maybe you're not as perfect or innocent as you're telling yourself.

No, if 100 people are telling you you're dead, you should not lie down. You should dance about and prove them wrong.

This is why I miss the laugh emoji 😂