15 Easily Avoidable Mistakes That Even the Smartest People Have Made

From small mistakes to major blunders, there’s always a chance we might make a mistake. No matter how hard we try or how smart we are, some things just can’t be avoided. These things happen to us all — regardless of our intelligence level — there’s no need to stress it. Most recover from mistakes fairly easily, like these users have taken their stories to Reddit so we can all feel a bit better about our own mistakes.

• “My one college professor had a double doctorate, and several masters, and was literally the head of the national magazine for his field and had a lot of respect in the science community. He didn’t know electric eels were real. Like he argued with us.” © suitology / Reddit
• “My friend has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and robotics. He once made a potato salad with raw potatoes because he thought, since it’s a salad, you’re not supposed to cook it.” © massi95 / Reddit
• “My sister. So intelligent, educated... but dang. They had their house inspected and found an issue with their gas heat. Called in a repairman and it turns out they were having lower levels of carbon monoxide leaking into their home. When my mom asked her why she didn’t have several working detectors, she answered, ’Well I did, but one just wouldn’t quit beeping.’ Thankfully everyone turned out to be ok.” © momx3f / Reddit
• “While applying for a job, he thought ‘sick pay’ meant that the job paid really well.” © sizzlingmania*69 / Reddit

• “I don’t know if he’s necessarily the smartest person I know but I know a pretty smart astrophysicist who pointed out a ’star’ to us which was in fact a plane.” © circus-witch / Reddit
• “Where we are, you don’t mess with jellyfish. They mess you up. My partner, a civil engineer, smart, measured, walking along the beach. Sees a mass in the water. ’That looks like a jellyfish’. Kicks the mass. Turns out it was a rock. Having gotten over my amazement at what I just witnessed, I pocketed the rock. Gave it to him as a congratulations present on his promotion, to remind him that he is not immune to errors of judgment.” © eightyfivenumbers / Reddit
• “My aunt. College professor. Ph.D. in mathematics. Was blown away when watching my father cook rice without a rice cooker.” © t-h-e-d-u-d-e / Reddit
• “My dad is basically a cross between a mathematician and an economist. Wrote a textbook for his field, and has been CEO of several companies. I came home many years ago to hear Age of Empires blaring downstairs. I found him playing the game, with headphones on... but unplugged. He had the sound on the speakers and couldn’t hear it over the headphones. To top it off, he had the headphones on backward.” © dasUberSoldat / Reddit

• “A friend of mine was in the gym with me, running on a treadmill at almost sprint speed. He tried to bend down to tie his shoe mid-sprint and was thrown across the gym like an old catapult. I’ve never seen a person fly so far so fast.” © ernieballer / Reddit
• “My incredibly smart wife was driving into our condo park, slowed down, and looked over at my parking spot, I asked her why, to which she replied, ’I just want to see if you are home from work.’ I was in the passenger seat.” © angryfromnv / Reddit
• “I know a guy with a Ph.D. who thought reindeer were fictional.” © fencerman / Reddit
• “My mom is an actual genius. Super decorated in her field, major institutions fought over her. She still loses her glasses on her face, her phone in her hand, and she has never met a TV remote she can operate...” © pamplemouss / Reddit

Have you ever made an easily avoidable mistake like this? Tell us in the comments and find out about other people’s stories. 😉

Check the video for simple mistakes we make without knowing