For generations, Americans were taught that finishing every antibiotic course was a moral and medical duty — a lesson so thoroughly absorbed it became instinct. Now, a study in Open Forum Infectious Diseases reveals that 88% of Americans still hold to that belief, even as medical science has quietly moved on, finding that shorter courses are often equally effective and safer for many common infections. The gap between what patients believe and what evidence now recommends is not a failure of public trust, but a testament to how deeply good intentions can outlast the knowledge that inspired the