# Common misconceptions programmers have about lists of common misconceptions

A ‘common misconceptions’ list is an unordered collection of common
misconceptions

* * *

### Common misconceptions programmers have about lists of common
misconceptions

  1. A ‘common misconceptions’ list is an unordered collection of common misconceptions
  2. The order of a ‘common misconceptions’ list corresponds to how common the misconception is
  3. The order of a ‘common misconceptions’ list has no didactic or rhetorical function
  4. The misconceptions on a ‘common misconceptions’ list are all common
  5. The misconceptions on a ‘common misconceptions’ list are mostly common
  6. The misconceptions on a ‘common misconceptions’ list can be simultaneously held by a single person
  7. Any given person can be expected to hold two contiguous misconceptions in the list at the same time
  8. Any two contiguous misconceptions in the list can be held at the same time
  9. Any two contiguous misconceptions in the list are directly or thematically related
  10. Contiguity in such a list does not matter, since there is no underlying connection
  11. The repetitive nature of a ‘common misconceptions’ list is for purely rhetorical effect
  12. The repetitive nature of a ‘common misconceptions’ list is not for rhetorical effect
  13. A ‘common misconceptions’ list can be understood by someone with no background or practical experience in the subject
  14. A ‘common misconceptions’ list does not explain anything not already known by someone with a background or practical experience in the subject
  15. A ‘common misconceptions’ list is not a story
  16. A ‘common misconceptions’ list is not an argument
  17. A ‘common misconceptions’ list consists entirely of misconceptions
  18. The truth value of an entry in a ‘common misconceptions’ list is necessarily false
  19. The truth value of an entry in a ‘common misconceptions’ list can be unambiguously determined
  20. The entries in a ‘common misconceptions’ list mean the same thing when taken out of context
  21. Each entry in a ‘common misconceptions’ list corresponds to a misconception that someone who has not read the list believes
  22. The change in mental model produced by a ‘common misconceptions’ list can be more efficiently produced by a conventional persuasive essay
  23. The change in mental model produced by a ‘common misconceptions’ list can be produced by a conventional persuasive essay
  24. The change in mental model produced by a conventional persuasive essay can necessarily be produced by a ‘common misconceptions’ list
  25. A ‘common misconceptions’ list is not a persuasive essay

By [John Ohno](https://medium.com/@enkiv2) on [August 9,
2019](https://medium.com/p/2436e570fcfa).

[Canonical link](https://medium.com/@enkiv2/common-misconceptions-programmers-
have-about-lists-of-common-misconceptions-2436e570fcfa)

Exported from [Medium](https://medium.com) on September 18, 2020.