I can handle the Oz Full Monty. I mean, not 'handle' handle.

Xander ,'Help'


Natter 68: Bork Bork Bork  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


DavidS - Apr 16, 2011 7:49:08 am PDT #3562 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Killing people isn't in yours?

You can kill people in a polite manner.


Allyson - Apr 16, 2011 7:49:26 am PDT #3563 of 30001
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica

Where? I thought just-so was specific to squishy sciences like biology/anthropology.

Just-so is culture specific, isn't it?


Jessica - Apr 16, 2011 7:49:58 am PDT #3564 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

Oh I remember the other thing I was going to say - TAM is quite possibly the worst place in the world to do that Million Dollar Challenge thing because the ratio of male:female guests is so ridiculously skewed. (At NECSS the line for the women's bathroom was about four people. The line for the men's room went all the way down the hall. It made me sad.)


Jessica - Apr 16, 2011 7:50:53 am PDT #3565 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

Where? I thought just-so was specific to squishy sciences like biology/anthropology.

I was aiming for sarcasm there.


billytea - Apr 16, 2011 7:51:23 am PDT #3566 of 30001
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

You can kill people in a polite manner.

Which... makes it no less a prickish thing to do.


Amy - Apr 16, 2011 7:52:11 am PDT #3567 of 30001
Because books.

What is a "just-so story" in this context?


Allyson - Apr 16, 2011 7:55:32 am PDT #3568 of 30001
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica

I ran to go a-googlin' when you said that, Jessica. Someone brought up string theory as just-so. Ima have more coffee before I try and set my brain to how it could be construed as just-so.

In the context of evo psych, Amy?


Amy - Apr 16, 2011 7:59:17 am PDT #3569 of 30001
Because books.

Yeah, Allyson. I'm not a science person, and it's not a term I've heard before.


Polter-Cow - Apr 16, 2011 8:00:25 am PDT #3570 of 30001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

You think he's actually a prick or you're just upgrading him because he's a murderer and killing people is prickish in your book?

Killing people isn't in yours?

I don't think going around killing other killers is a prickish thing to do. (It may be morally hazy, but prickish? Hm.) If he were just killing random people on the street, sure, then he's kind of an asshole, though. But, mostly, when ita asked about prickish characters like House, I was thinking personality-wise. And Dexter isn't a prick.


Jessica - Apr 16, 2011 8:01:13 am PDT #3571 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

Wikipedia actually has a very good explanation:

[link]

Critics assert that many hypotheses put forward to explain the adaptive nature of human behavioural traits are "Just-so stories"; neat adaptive explanations for the evolution of given traits that do not rest on any evidence beyond their own internal logic. They allege that evolutionary psychology can predict many, or even all, behaviours for a given situation, including contradictory ones. Therefore many human behaviours will always fit some hypotheses. Noam Chomsky noted: "You find that people cooperate, you say, ‘Yeah, that contributes to their genes' perpetuating.’ You find that they fight, you say, ‘Sure, that’s obvious, because it means that their genes perpetuate and not somebody else's. In fact, just about anything you find, you can make up some story for it."