IDIOTIC THINGS YOU BELIEVED AS A CHILD

I was around 5 when I first remember the doctor testing my reflexes by tapping that little hammer on my knees. I was sitting on the bed and he tapped once, yet my leg didn't move. My mother was there and she whispered to me that I had to lift my leg a little whenever the doctor tapped my knee, in order to test what were called reflexes.
The doctor smiled and tapped my knee again. I raised my leg for a second, trying to figure out what was the proper way of fulfilling this new "task" I just heard about.

For several years I thought that this examination was about responsiveness, not reflexes. I never knew what reflexes really meant and were until I learned about 'em at school.

One day in biology class our teacher taught us how to properly proceed with this examination, and so I understood that my doctor was actually doing it wrong. He would never hit the right spot on my knee in order to make my leg jerk.

Also, when I learned how to drive, many adults were referring to reflexes as a crucial part in driving abilities, warning me about them being dulled if I didn't drive for a while, and therefore putting me at a greater risk of having accidents.

How wrong they were.
Responsiveness is crucial when driving, but reflexes have nothing to do with it.
It makes me wonder if everyone saw that same doctor :P Seriously, the term "reflex" is often misused.

Erm... I was brought up in a extremely archaic household in the netherlands that had forced all sorts of idoitic things into my head, all because I never saw the outside world til I left at 17, so...

Let's see... When I was a child, I believed that all humans were evil savages and that it was my family's duty to teach them thier place... That one man could match a army with enough faith and will power, and that I was the prince of my lands, thus why I was never allowed to leave the city of Rotterdam.

What other ones were there... Oh yeah! That the moon was a living monster that co-conspires with the earth to plot our destruction, that girls were all assassins, and that if you saw the moon in the daytime, the world would systematically go upside down.

...Man, my family was really nuts to have let me think these things. XD

author=facesforce
Erm... I was brought up in a extremely archaic household in the netherlands that had forced all sorts of idoitic things into my head, all because I never saw the outside world til I left at 17, so...

OMG me too =O except for I didn't grow up in the netherlands.

Well, you also do have families that are a bit nuts, alas!

I grew up in an abusive home. My dad isn't a terrible person. Though he has a bad temper and a twisted sense of humour.
I used to believe in monsters under the bed and in the closet and that my blanket would protect me. So my bed was always pressed against the wall to maximise my protection.
When we went to the families storage unit, my dad would add to the fear of real monsters by scaring me with an Animal Muppet he had. (I later confiscated it as my own, when my fascination for puppetry started up.)

I used to believe in villains. Black and white vision. Either you were a hero or a villain. No grey area. I had to defend my mom at home and my sister from bullies at school. As a result I got in a lot of fights.
Later, around junior highschool, I started to understand that these bad guys were just angry kids, lashing out.

I used to believe I was the Knight of a magical kingdom on the other side of my backyard fence named, Rock Mountain. My sister was the princess of Big Tree, and my friend was the King. I'd climb trees all day on patrol, keeping people out of our Kingdom.
I made the mistake of returning when I grew up, and saw how pathetic it was. A tiny square empty lot in the middle of our block, a bunch of small trees and a lot of weeds. Our 'rock mountain' was a derelect pile of cement bits from construction of a parking lot. Still, to us it was amazing as kids. We had nothing and this was everything.

I used to believe in fate, ghosts, aliens and dinosaurs.
At summer camp with cubs and later boy scouts, we were always told ghost stories and I avidly believed every word.
One time on an island we were camped on, a small group of us found a little nook no one knew about and built an altar to ask the Ghost of the islands questions. They had to be yes or no, and we'd flip a Toronto bus pass coin.
It was stupid. But then at the end, our rivals from another troop were chasing us, because they wanted to know where our secret club would hang out. We evaded them and quickly asked the Ghost, "Will they find us?!" and it came up 'yes'. Right before one of the other kids yelled, "There they are!"
There were plenty other stories about camp and ghosts. Enough that I want to write a book one day.
I guess in short, my imagination was so explosive as a child, that I could make believe and really get into it. It was like lucid dreaming irl.

Also, I believed that ear wigs will crawl in my ears and lay eggs so the babies will hatch and eat my brains. Thanks again, dad.

When I went to bed as a child, I was terrified that the shadow in the hallway was a tornado.