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There's an old fable about a frog and a scorpion. The scorpion wants to cross a river but can't swim, so he asks a frog. The frog say, "No way, you'll just sting me and I'll die." The scorpion says, "That's ridiculous, if I sting you I'll drown, so what are you worried about." The frog mulls it over and decides he'll give the scorpion a ride. Halfway across, the scorpion stings the frog. "Why did you do that", says the frog as they begin to sink, "now we'll both die." The scorpion replied, "It's my nature." (BTW, extra points for telling me what movie that story figures prominently in- no, it's not a Disney)

A lot of old sayings are pretty annoying, whether or not there is any truth in them. I always found myself particularly irritated by "Tis better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." I suppose there's nothing wrong with preferring to have some light, but what's the point of cursing darkness? Darkness is dark; that's what it is, and cursing something for its essential nature is just stupid. I find myself walking out of the classroom muttering something about the f-ing chalk all over my hands, but chalk is chalky. If it doesn't get on your hands, it's probably not going to do such a hot job on the blackboard. Can't blame paper for the mess on my desk either.