Assumptions and learning from new data

I have never considered myself to be a “writer.” That seems like a funny thing to say when I literally have Washington Post bylines, but it’s true. Writing always felt like a chore; I knew it was not something I could pursue as a career, because when I had an assignment, it was always difficult. I would procrastinate until the pressure forced some type of inspiration.

But sometimes, I can’t help but write. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it’s like an itch in my brain and I can’t function until I scratch it. Last night, the itch hit me at about 2am, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I got it all out.

At the time, I thought this might be a good intro for a professional presentation. It still may be, either in its current form, or somehow edited/sliced apart. For now, here it is in its entirety, unedited, my thoughts as they vomited from my brain into my phone at 2 in the morning. Thanks for reading.

---

Have you ever made an assumption, without even realizing, and it was incorrect from the very beginning? I’ll start with an example. 

I’ve been wearing the same brand of socks for years. I found socks that I liked, that were comfortable, and I just kept buying them. When I did laundry, all of my socks were the same, so I didn’t have to worry about pairing them up. If one got a hole in it, I could just get rid of it, and not have to worry about getting rid of both, because they were all the same socks. They were Hanes brand, they came in a multi-pack, they were cushioned and comfortable to wear with the athletic sneakers I wore with my scrubs working in a subacute rehab facility. They were white quarter-length socks. Apparently that is what they are now called. Sidebar: apparently Gen Z has decided ankle socks are not cool anymore! Not that I am trying to impress Gen Z, but come on! Anyways. 

So for years, I have been wearing the same white quarter length athletic socks. They were comfortable, but after some time, I would notice they would stretch out a little bit, and the newer ones would look a little smaller, feel a little more cushioned. So even though they were technically all the same plain boring white athletic socks, I did find myself trying to pair up like sets, I couldn’t have one stretched out with one more plush! They had to both feel the same on my feet. 

I don’t know what made me think of it one day when I was out shopping, but I decided to take a look at the sock selection at one of these stores – it might have been a T.J. Maxx, or a Marshalls, or actually I think it was a Burlington. Similar type of store, the same brands you’ll find in the big department stores, but at discounted prices, yada yada. I found a multi-pack of Reebok socks, athletic sucks, quarter length; some were white, but also some black and gray in the same pack. Wow! A real change for me. They did not seem as thick and cushioned as the socks I’ve been wearing for years, but I think that’s okay. I’m not on my feet the same way I was when I worked in that inpatient facility, and I want them to be comfortable in both sneakers and in my Docs. Because those are basically my two go-to types of footwear.

So I figured, I might as well try these Reebok socks. It’s a decent size multi-pack, it’s a good price, they seem good quality, if I don’t like them I can always go back to the old ones, no problem. So I bought them.

I’ve been wearing the new socks, not exclusively, but a good deal of the time. Sometimes when it is nice out, I do wear loafers instead. But most of the time, I am still either wearing Docs or sneakers, and that quarter length athletic sock is what I prefer. I decided I actually really do like these new socks. The pack was half all white, and the other half was split half gray, half black. The brand logo was in a panel on the bottom of the foot. 

I was out shopping again, and decided to head into a store with an eye out for those same socks, might as well stock up on some more, if I’m going to be wearing them regularly – it makes it easier for me to have a lot of pairs of socks, especially if I’m going to be on the road for a while, I always make sure to pack well more than enough socks etc then I will need over the course of my trip, when I am not going to be doing any laundry during the week. I head down to the wall display with all of the different socks, I see Adidas, I see a lot of other brands of socks. I do not see any Reebok. For a moment, I questioned myself so I checked both the men’s and the women’s socks. (I usually buy men’s socks; many times women’s socks are sold too small, and it’s annoying to have to carefully check every package. Most men’s socks fit my feet.)

So still standing there in the store, I figured you know what? I’m on the road enough, I drive past plenty of outlet shopping, I’m sure there is a Reebok store somewhere. Another sidebar here – that is actually not true! There are not that many of them, and the two closest to me are not in the direction that I will be traveling anytime soon. But I digress! 

I also looked at the Reebok website, looking for socks that look like the ones I’ve been wearing – but nothing looks like them. Not even a little bit. But you know what? I’m at a T.J. Maxx. The socks that I bought a couple months ago were purchased at a Burlington. They are probably a previous season, they might not even make them anymore. That is the risk you take when you find something you really like at those kinds of stores. 

This evening, when I took my socks off to throw into the wash, I looked at the bottom. And then I looked closer. I would have sworn to you they said RBK. I would have put money on them saying RBK. But as I’m looking more closely now, it really doesn’t look like a K? It looks more like an X. RBX? “Reeboks” plural? That’s not normally how I refer to the company, I thought the known abbreviation, the one they use for things like the stock market, is RBK. Huh, that’s curious. 

Well, I no longer have the ability to just be curious. We are in a point in time where all of us have a computer and the full internet in our pockets at all times. Which meant I would not be able to go to sleep until I did a web search for RBX. 

And don’t you know RBX is a brand? A brand that has absolutely nothing to do with Reebok in any way shape or form? It actually stands for – and get this – Rugged Bear Xtreme. I am not making this up. Rugged Bear Xtreme. They have been around for a while, and decided to rebrand as their abbreviated RBX as they are a more inclusive clothing brand. Mind blown. 

I’m going to go ahead and buy some more of those socks, because you know what? They are comfortable. They are exactly what I was hoping they would be when I bought them.

I made a very fast assumption when I first stumbled across them when I made my purchase, of what the name brand was, and I have been wearing these socks, and seeing the logo, ever since – fully and wholeheartedly believing I was wearing Reebok socks. It was particularly notable in my mind, because I cannot wear Reebok shoes. I have tried, for whatever reason I cannot wear Reebok nor Nike sneakers. I don’t know if it’s the shape of my foot, or what. I have gone to the actual store, had actual people helping me, tried the narrow when the wide and the smaller and the larger and the men’s and the women’s and the… it doesn’t matter what I try, they don’t fit, and I have accepted that. Obviously socks and sneakers are very different animals, it wasn’t something I really spent a lot of time thinking about, but that is probably why I even remembered what the brand was – because I figured huh, something Reebok in my closet, finally. And yet! Still not. Not at all. 

But like I said, if you had asked me to swear on it, I sure would have. I was fully, 100% confident, there was zero question in my mind, and no reason to ever question my belief. It was not hurting me, it was not hurting anyone else, I was not thinking of it. But I was fully convinced. And I was fully wrong. 

I wonder what would have happened if this had been a conversation, somehow, with another person. Or multiple other people, telling me no, I’m wrong. Would I have gotten defensive? Would I have accused them of messing with me? Of having some ulterior motive? Would I have believed someone telling me I was wrong and explaining exactly how, without them providing proof? I do not know the answer to that question. I never questioned until I happen to notice, huh, why does that letter look a little funny? It never dawned on me that my confidence was incorrect. Obviously, as soon as the search results came up, I found the website, I did a search and found that no they’re surely is no connection at all between RBX and Reebok in any way shape or form – and I mean, we’re talking like 15 to 30 seconds of search, not hours of research or anything ridiculous like that – I recognized my error, and immediately recalibrated my brain to know these socks are not what I thought they were. I still like them! I’m going to buy more of them! But I need to stop thinking of them as Reebok socks, because they are not Reebok socks.