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Little I am, but not always of little importance
some ignore me while some adore me
I can change good to bad and bad to good
which is why sometimes I am repressed
I do not need to be matter to matter
and sometimes, I am not even a fact

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    $\begingroup$ Short riddles often allow good interpretations and answers that were not intended, as is happening here. If there is some reason (beyond "that wasn't what I was thinking of") why the existing answers do not solve this riddle, it's not apparent at all what part of the riddle actually invalidates those responses. Because it seems they should be at least as valid as any other answer you might have in mind, this may be "too broad"—you may need to update the riddle to make sure invalid responses are demonstrably invalid. $\endgroup$
    – Rubio ♦
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 17:42
  • $\begingroup$ @Rubio, I think one important thing for this puzzle specifically is the last line and using 'repressed'. Answers are really trying to stretch the meaning here. $\endgroup$
    – Jordan.J.D
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 18:32
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    $\begingroup$ @GendoIkari, i definitely agree. I was going to guess memories as well. $\endgroup$
    – Jordan.J.D
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 19:32
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    $\begingroup$ Whether or not this is really too broad, I’m going to be quite annoyed if I never get to find out the correct answer because the question is closed! $\endgroup$
    – GendoIkari
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 13:18
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    $\begingroup$ @GendoIkari i hope the new lines help without being too obvious $\endgroup$
    – Finni
    Commented Mar 20, 2018 at 10:43

15 Answers 15

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Are you

A detail?

Little I am, but not always of little importance

A detail is something that is small enough to be easily overlooked but can be of great importance (ask Sherlock Holmes)

some ignore me while some adore me

Depending on what they do, some consider details as unwanted noise, others consider them of utter significance

I can change good to bad and bad to good

See some of the examples given here by fellow editors: a mere punctuation mark may completely invert the meaning of a sentence.

which is why sometimes I am repressed

Some consider details as something they can drown into and prefer to ignore them so as to go ahead.

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Are you

A comma?

Little I am, but not always of little importance

A comma is a small symbol, but can change the meaning of an entire sentence.

some ignore me while some adore me

Some people don't use them because they don't care, whilst others use them too much.

I can change good to bad and bad to good

"Let's eat, Grandpa!" OR "Let's eat Grandpa!"

which is why sometimes I am repressed

Might refer to people who avoid using them, because they don't know how?

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    $\begingroup$ I like that, but it's not my intended solution $\endgroup$
    – Finni
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 16:39
  • $\begingroup$ I thought of this answer too! $\endgroup$
    – Alex
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 19:09
  • $\begingroup$ @Finni although this answer is a good guess, if it's not the intended solution why did you mark it as such? Feel free to upvote it for its cleverness, and you can even bounty it, but I don't think it should be marked as the accepted solution if it's not what you had in mind. $\endgroup$
    – Tas
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 0:19
  • $\begingroup$ I did not accept it, but someone put this question on hold and your answer is the one with the most upvotes $\endgroup$
    – Finni
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 6:29
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Is it:

Memory

Because:

Little I am

We can only remember a small percentage of all events we experience (if you consider each little thing your senses experience its own event).

not always of importance:

A lot of memories are things that have any effect on us from day to day. Remembering what I had for lunch last week won't matter.

Some ignore me while some adore me:

We adore memories through things like nostalgia; but we ignore most memories (again, such as what I had for lunch last week).

I can change good to bad and bad to good:

Our memories are not reliable, sometimes we only remember the good things about situations; other times we only remember the bad. Our memory can take a good event and make it seem bad; or vice-versa.

Which is why sometimes I am repressed:

Repressed memories are a thing; people repress memories when they are harmful to the psyche to think about.

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  • $\begingroup$ No, sorry but nice idea $\endgroup$
    – Finni
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 16:38
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A wild guess, Is it

Salt

Little I am, but not always of little importance

Refers to the little amount of salt we add in our dishes. Adding salt is important as it can change the entire taste of the dish.

some ignore me while some adore me

Some people don't like the taste of salt but some do.

I can change good to bad and bad to good

Like said before, it can really make some thing tastes good if we add it in the right proportion and something testes bad if we add it in the wrong proportion,

which is why sometimes I am repressed

Some people do not use salt because of this reason if they are beginners in cooking.

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    $\begingroup$ I think this fits with all forms of seasoning dishes, not just salt. $\endgroup$
    – Rick
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 0:30
  • $\begingroup$ @RickvanOsta You are right. But salt is quite well know for this in this category i think. $\endgroup$
    – ran
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 7:19
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Is it:

Love

Because:

Little I am, not always of importance:

It's part of life, but not always important (I guess that could work)

Some ignore me while some adore me:

Some people fall in love easily and like loving, while others don't and hate it

I can change good to bad and bad to good:

When you love someone, while they do not, your relationship/friendship might go bad, when you fall in love after a while, it can overcome evil/bad things (?)

Which is why sometimes I am repressed:

This is a reason for a lot of people not to engage in love, because it might hurt them

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    $\begingroup$ Unfortunately this is wrong, but wow I really like that! $\endgroup$
    – Finni
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 14:36
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Are you

Bacteria?

Little I am, but not always of little importance

Bacteria are small, but they're important

some ignore me while some adore me

Some ignores (5 sec rules) and some adore (the biology PHDs mostly?)

I can change good to bad and bad to good

Like cheese or rotten food

which is why sometimes I am repressed

is it referring to Catabolite repression?

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    $\begingroup$ Wrong (also here we have the 3 sec rule :p) $\endgroup$
    – Finni
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 16:40
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Not sure about the last line, but the other lines lead me to think you might be:

a hyphen/ minus sign?

Little I am, but not always of little importance

It's quite a little symbol, but can make a big difference in terms of meaning (for example, the difference between man eating cake and man-eating cake).

some ignore me while some adore me

Some people ignore the hyphen in their writing, while some love it and use it quite often.

I can change good to bad and bad to good

A minus sign is the same character as a hyphen, and can change positive numbers to negative, and vice versa.

which is why sometimes I am repressed

Still working on this one...

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Are you

emotion

Little I am, but not always of little importance

Day to day emotions may seem unimportant but

some ignore me while some adore me

some people are very emotional, and some are not

I can change good to bad and bad to good

happiness / sadness

which is why sometimes I am repressed

"Psychological repression, or simply repression, is the psychological attempt made by an individual to direct one's own desires and impulses toward pleasurable instincts by excluding the desire from one's consciousness and holding or subduing it in the unconscious." - wiki

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Are you

An electron?

Little I am, but not always of little importance

One of the important components of an atom, electron microscopes, generation of x-rays, etc...

some ignore me while some adore me

Many use and study them

I can change good to bad and bad to good

High energy electrons can cause ionization. Similarly, they can neutralize molecules.

which is why sometimes I am repressed

Sometimes, we shield beta particles

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My guess is

a wrinkle

Little I am, but not always of little importance

Wrinkles are generally small, but can be indicative of wisdom and the high regard of experience

some ignore me while some adore me

Self-explanatory -- some folk find wrinkles endearing, especially when they're "laugh lines"

I can change good to bad and bad to good

In literature, adding a wrinkle to a plotline indicates a major change, from bad to good or vice versa

which is why sometimes I am repressed

When wrinkles are in clothing, an iron is used to re-press the clothing and repress the wrinkles

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  • $\begingroup$ I noticed after posting my answer that you also took the alternate meaning for "repressed". I think this is definitely the way to go : D $\endgroup$
    – Kaya
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 21:44
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Could it be

a minority

Because:

Little I am, not always of importance:

It is indeed smaller by definition and is ignored in a lot of cases

Some ignore me while some adore me:

people minorities can be overlooked and others are fascinated by them

I can change good to bad and bad to good:

can be a tiebreaker in voting or statistics

Which is why sometimes I am repressed:

people minorities can be oppressed

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  • $\begingroup$ #racism :P But a good answer $\endgroup$
    – Foitn
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 14:46
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting idea, but unfortunately not correct $\endgroup$
    – Finni
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 16:41
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Are you

The word "no"

Little I am, but not always of little importance

"No" is a small world, but can mean a great deal depending on the context

some ignore me while some adore me

Some people won't take "no" for an answer, and some people love saying no

I can change good to bad and bad to good

E.g. "Did he die?" "No"

which is why sometimes I am repressed

Some people don't like to tell others "no"

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Are you

a child's tantrum?

Little I am, but not always of little importance

tantrums are often about nothing

some ignore me while some adore me

some people ignore them, while others find them adorable

I can change good to bad and bad to good

They can be annoying or they can be entertaining, depending on the situation.

which is why sometimes I am repressed

restraining and calming the child is a good way to stop them.

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Are you

An olive?

Little I am, but not always of little importance

Olives are small. Often in human history have they been an important trade good.

some ignore me while some adore me

Olives are very polarizing for eaters. You either love them or you hate them. (I guess...)

I can change good to bad and bad to good

Olives can go rancid (good -> bad) and they can improve bland food (bad -> good)

which is why sometimes I am repressed

Extra virgin olive oil is produced from the first pressing. When olives are "repressed" then common grade olive oil is produced.

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How about:

A flaw (used here to mean character flaw, but this could be applied to other kinds of flaws)

Little I am, but not always of little importance

Flaws can be small, though significant to some

Some ignore me while others adore me

Some people might simply ignore your flaws of others for the sake of getting along, while your close friends/family/loved ones might learn to love your flaws

I can change good to bad and bad to good

flaws can negatively affect your life, depending on what they are, or, by recognizing them, can drive you to overcome them

Which is why sometimes I am repressed

Embracing your own flaws can be difficult, which is why some opt to ignore them

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