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From: Bella Jones on 19 Apr 2010 14:36 Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > On 2010-04-19 19:18:00 +0100, Bella Jones said: > > > Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > > > >> On 2010-04-18 20:29:19 +0100, Ben Shimmin said: > >> > >>> Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com>: > >>>> On 2010-04-18 20:08:20 +0100, Peter Ceresole said: > >>>>> Woody <usenet(a)alienrat.co.uk> wrote: > >>>>>> Why? 10 years ago that is what everyone was using, and it worked fine! > >>>>> > >>>>> Only according to a very, very restrictive definition of 'fine'. > >>>> > >>>> I don't remember people posting DVD rips when there was just dial-up. > >>> > >>> I (dimly) remember spending *hours* downloading Netscape Communicator 4, > >>> which was something ridiculous like 15MB. > >> > >> Noob :-) I remember when Netscape got /slightly/ too big to fit on a > >> floppy and wondering if they'd ruined it. > > > > IRTA 'Nobscape' and did a double take. Need to get out more. > > Hob Nobs? Is there a newsgroup for those? -- bellajonez at yahoo dot co dot uk
From: Phil Taylor on 19 Apr 2010 18:03 Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> wrote: > On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:15:04 +0100, Phil Taylor <nothere(a)all.invalid> > wrote: > > >or if she's living in close proximity with another woman and their > >cycles become synchronised. > > This is apparently a myth, btw. > No, a myth is a fictional story with an element of essential truth about human nature buried in it. This was just an experiment with too few experimental subjects for the conclusions to be deemed significant. It doesn't mean that the conclusions were wrong, just that somebody needs to do it again. The observation that women who live in close proximity tend to have synchronous cycles is hardly unexpected, as that situation is common in other social animals (our two bitches have just come off heat together, as they always do). It would not be surprising if there were traces of that mechanism still hanging around from human evolutionary history. Phil Taylor
From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 19 Apr 2010 18:30 On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:03:32 +0100, Phil Taylor <nothere(a)all.invalid> wrote: > > >Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> wrote: >> On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:15:04 +0100, Phil Taylor <nothere(a)all.invalid> >> wrote: >> >> >or if she's living in close proximity with another woman and their >> >cycles become synchronised. >> >> This is apparently a myth, btw. > >No, a myth is a fictional story with an element of essential truth >about human nature buried in it. Your pedantry is appreciated. Thanks! Cheers - Jaimie -- "If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth. Particularly if the thing is cats." - Lemony Snicket, "The Wide Window"
From: D.M. Procida on 19 Apr 2010 18:45 Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> wrote: > >No, a myth is a fictional story with an element of essential truth > >about human nature buried in it. > > Your pedantry is appreciated. Thanks! A friend of mine used to snort derisively about the title of a book published by one of his colleagues: _The Myth of the Empty Church_. If your subject is theology, you can't afford to be sloppy with the concept of myth... Daniele
From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 19 Apr 2010 19:08
On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:30:04 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> wrote: >On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:03:32 +0100, Phil Taylor <nothere(a)all.invalid> >wrote: > >> >> >>Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie(a)sometimes.sessile.org> wrote: >>> On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:15:04 +0100, Phil Taylor <nothere(a)all.invalid> >>> wrote: >>> >>> >or if she's living in close proximity with another woman and their >>> >cycles become synchronised. >>> >>> This is apparently a myth, btw. >> >>No, a myth is a fictional story with an element of essential truth >>about human nature buried in it. > >Your pedantry is appreciated. Thanks! Ooh, hang on, your pedant points are in the balance: the OED2 says - 1. a. A purely fictitious narrative usually involving supernatural persons, actions, or events, and embodying some popular idea concerning natural or historical phenomena. ���Properly distinguished from allegory and from legend (which implies a nucleus of fact) but often used vaguely to include any narrative having fictitious elements. For the Platonic myth see quot. 1905. b. in generalized use. Also, an untrue or popular tale, a rumour (colloq.). 2. A fictitious or imaginary person or object. Mind you, the Big Dic also says it prefers to be descriptive rather than prescriptive, so it shouldn't really be allowed to be quoted in this sort of conversation. I've always loved that! (I just persuaded VMware to run my OED2 for Windows installation after not being able to use it for a couple of years. Stupid fail-broken copy protection scheme.) Cheers - Jaimie -- "You know how dumb the average person is? Well, by definition, half of 'em are dumber than THAT." - J.R. "Bob" Dobbs |