‘What’s a skill you thought would matter as an adult but absolutely doesn’t?’ – 21 people who never picked up a protractor again

Before the age of 18, when we’re at school or under the mistaken belief that grown ups know what they’re doing, we’re taught all sorts of thing that we’re assured will be useful when we’re older. And guess what? They are of no benefit at all.

They’ve been chatting about this on the AskReddit page after Lanky-Beach9598 posed this question:

What’s a skill you thought would matter as an adult but absolutely doesn’t?

Lots of people had thoughts on the stuff that ended up not mattering a jot, like these…

1.

‘My extensive education on the Bermuda triangle from elementary school.’
–Salted_Paramedic

2.

‘As a kid I thought biting on coins to prove they are gold would play a much bigger role in my life.’
–lordoflotsofocelots

3.

‘Along with scratching the window to see if it’s a real diamond.’
–YouMustBeJoking888

4.

‘Maturity. I really thought as a kid that people “had” to be mature as adults by their 20’s or so. Turns out, high school truly never ends and many adults have zero self regulation skills. It’s a world of drama and people somehow getting away with ridiculous things.’
–Train_Lanky

5.

‘Dog-catching, as a career.’
–Sufficient-Talk-6013

6.

‘Cursive. I spent years perfecting it in school, thinking it would make me look sophisticated. Now I type everything and even my grocery list is in print.’
–Old-Lingonberry-2583

7.

‘Being able to differentiate between the Greek gods and the Roman gods.’
–homebr3wd

8.

‘I genuinely thought trigonometry would come up constantly in adult life, like I’d be casually solving triangles at work or in a grocery store. Turns out, I haven’t needed sine or cosine even once outside an exam hall.

What I have needed? Understanding taxes, savings, and how not to panic during filing season. No one prepared me for forms, deductions, or basic money decisions!! Would’ve happily traded trig identities for a solid ‘how taxes actually work’ class.’
–Elegant-Region-6775

9.

‘Spinning a ball on my fingers, i thought i would be so cool… not even children are impressed by that nowadays.’
–-JUDGEDREDD-

10.

‘Styling an outfit for day-to-night.’
–whitezhang

11.

‘Critical thinking and objectivity. I studied science and logic in school, firmly convinced these were essential parts of maturity. Now I’m watching great mobs of my adult peers skate through life on pure id, knee-jerk emotion, tribal loyalty, and confirmation bias.

If someone on their team says it and it feels ‘truthy’ to them, that’s proof enough, and to hell with anyone or any analysis that suggests otherwise.’
–cantareSF

12.

‘All those historical dates.’
–Fickle-Ad6976