samwik's point is well taken. Try to count the number of times you've heard something like this:

"All that crap about smoking being bad for you is pure hokum. My grandfather started smoking at age eleven and died at ninety-seven, still smoking."

I hear it almost constantly in reference to all kinds of things and catch myself using the same mindset from time to time. I try to catch myself doing it and throw it out and I think I'm making some headway but it seems to be hard-wired in the human psyche. At first, it seemed such a small thing then I came to realize how pervasive it really is. It's huge.

When you talk to me like I'm five, I want to write on you with a crayon. -- Joanna Hoffman