Many people’s beliefs seem to be based on assumptions, yet, as we quickly learn, assumptions often are wrong or foolish.

Take jewelry, for example. I still wear my wedding and engagement rings, even though my husband died two years ago. My grandmother wore hers for decades after my grandfather passed away.

On the other hand, my sister and her husband do not wear rings. I know other married folks who also eschew these outward symbols of their marital status.

“I know I’m married,” one such friend told me.

Still, many people glance at the left hand of strangers to quickly determine whether someone is single or unavailable.

“Too bad you’re married,” an unfamiliar man said to me recently. I just smiled.

People often make assumptions about the physical conditions of individuals they don’t know.

I am surprised at the number of folks who assume all disabilities are confined to the legs. Just because a person can walk doesn’t mean he or she should not possess a handicap permit for special parking, yet strangers are quick to judge.

One friend with a handicap placard has a serious heart problem. Another person has lung disease. Neither condition is outwardly visible, yet both are valid medical reasons to warrant nearby parking.

Workers solely dependent on technology and lacking common sense falsely assume the computer is always right. I have had firsthand experience with that annoyance more than once. About two weeks ago, while waiting for my car to be serviced, I wandered into a small post office to buy stamps.

A greeting card rack caught my attention, and soon I had chosen two cards for friends with upcoming birthdays. When I attempted to pay for the cards, the postal clerk scanned them and told me she couldn’t sell one of them because that card wasn’t in the computer! Even though the price was on the back of the card and I had ready cash, she refused to sell it.

That brought to mind a ludicrous experience I had at a big-box store a few years ago. When I found the item I wanted and took it to the register, the employee scanned it and told me they don’t sell that item in their store. Where did she think I got it? Why would I bring something from home and try to pay for it again at that store? How crazy! Exasperated, I asked to see the store manager, who eventually resolved the problem, though not easily.

Workers such as those are so dependent on technology, they forget how to use their brains, and they frequently make false assumptions about their customers, too.

One older friend had a lazy store clerk tell him to look up an out-of-stock item on his smartphone to see if another store had the merchandise. This friend has a simple flip phone, used solely for emergency phone calls. The young employee seemed shocked to meet someone who did not have the latest gadget.

Not everyone has email or the Internet or even a computer, yet many businesses and medical facilities make that assumption, and their employees act confused to learn otherwise.

When driving, we cannot assume an oncoming vehicle with its turn signal on really intends to turn. Too many accidents occur because we assume other drivers know what they’re doing when often they don’t.

Being a vegetarian, I am subjected to quite a few erroneous assumptions. Some people, for example, think I eat only salads. Others expect me to consume soup made with chicken or beef broth because “there is no meat in it, it’s just broth,” I am told.

A friend recently insisted, “We’re all going to be sick next week.” Why? Because the temperatures keep jumping from the 20s to the 60s and back, she said. Like her, many people incorrectly assume we get sick from the weather. We don’t. We get sick from germs.

It is hard to convince people who hold that wrong assumption and fiercely defend it. In fact, it’s difficult for many of us to let go of our false assumptions. At least I assume it is. See what I mean?