Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[Jocelyn]

Did you just refer to the group of people that don't share your specific interest as "mundanes"?

It's also the word by which members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval history re-enactment group, refer to things non-medieval. Clothing is either garb or mundanes...people who attend an event in modern clothing are mundanes...fast food is referred to as mundane food, as opposed to venison steaks grilled over an open fire.  It is equivalent to the online word 'newbie'...it can be used contemptuously, but it can be used without any putdown intended.  As a matter of fact, sitting here in jeans and using a computer, I'd describe myself to a fellow SCA person as being mundane, rather than SCA.

[BB-VA]

Here is the Merriam-Webster definition of mundane:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mundane

I did not mean it in any pejorative sense, nor was I making fun of anyone.  It is, in my mind, a shorthand way of referring to non-fans.    And, as VorFemme said, it can be applied to many different areas.

In fact, as far as some genres are concerned, I would classify myself as mundane.  I love Ren Faires, I do respect and admire the SCA (the incredible attention to detail of the garb, the rank structure,  the general intensity of participation), but I am not a participant.  Therefore, I class myself as mundane in the SCA world.

Also, in the areas of vampires, witches, werewolves, and Xanth (I do love Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, though, except for the book about Nox) I would be a mundane.

However, in the world of Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Babylon 5, some Star Trek, Star Wars, Silver Age DC, and Spider Robinson (to name a few) I am a dyed-in-the-wool fan!

[starofwinter]

My friend and I are collaborating on a science-fiction story (people stop aging at 50 due to a genetic mutation).  After talking through all the relationships, we have this:

An older man (94) marries a younger woman (24).
He has three children, one aged 36, and two aged 33, and two grandchildren aged 16.  The two of them have a (genetic) son, aged 14, but she didn't give birth to him - in fact, they hadn't even met when he was born.  She has a younger sister, aged 16, who is in love with their son.

That was definitely a brain-hurty conversation.  I still have a headache.

[greencat]

My friend and I are collaborating on a science-fiction story (people stop aging at 50 due to a genetic mutation).  After talking through all the relationships, we have this:

An older man (94) marries a younger woman (24).
He has three children, one aged 36, and two aged 33, and two grandchildren aged 16.  The two of them have a (genetic) son, aged 14, but she didn't give birth to him - in fact, they hadn't even met when he was born.  She has a younger sister, aged 16, who is in love with their son.

That was definitely a brain-hurty conversation.  I still have a headache.

The ages as given for the wife and the "genetic son" make my brain hurt - I'm not sure it's physically possible to harvest viable eggs from a child who has not yet gone through puberty, even if the procedure didn't violate all sorts of ethical considerations.

[starofwinter]

My friend and I are collaborating on a science-fiction story (people stop aging at 50 due to a genetic mutation).  After talking through all the relationships, we have this:

An older man (94) marries a younger woman (24).
He has three children, one aged 36, and two aged 33, and two grandchildren aged 16.  The two of them have a (genetic) son, aged 14, but she didn't give birth to him - in fact, they hadn't even met when he was born.  She has a younger sister, aged 16, who is in love with their son.

That was definitely a brain-hurty conversation.  I still have a headache.

The ages as given for the wife and the "genetic son" make my brain hurt - I'm not sure it's physically possible to harvest viable eggs from a child who has not yet gone through puberty, even if the procedure didn't violate all sorts of ethical considerations.

Well, the story we eventually went with was that he was genetically altered to match their DNA after they adopted him.  The universe we have combines magic and science into a viable method of altering nearly anything. 

[Kaora]

Not to continue the Star Trek thing but it reminds me of one brain hurty moment.  I like a whole lot of different genres of fiction and don't have "my" genre.  So at one point a friend of mine and I had discussed a couple of Star Trek/Star Wars novels that we had both read.

Him: "Read anything good lately?"
Me: Well I'm reading this new series by Mercedes Lackey which isn't high literature but it's entertaining.
Him: Mercedes Lackey?  She's fantasy!  You couldn't pay me enough to read fantasy. I have to read Sci Fi like Star Trek because it's not crazy-made up stuff.  It's real life!

And then my brain just hurt. I don't think I came up with a suitable answer, I think I just stared at him in horror.

The force is not strong with this one.  And she's missing Terry Pratchett!  Her head would explode if she learned I read Andre Norton (an early modern scifi and fantasy writer.  She tends to be quite soft, but her Time Wars series are one of my favorite book series.  I'm just mad it was never finished.)

Maybe Heinlein or Asimov is more her style? Then again, she would get a brain hurt for it being too realistic.

Also, Star Wars: The Crystal Star was a book full of brain hurt for me.  Out of character, really bizarre story (for the nerdy, I remember a nearby star crystallizing causing an anti-force wormhole with a giant space snake that is never explained.)  It really is out of style for the series... then I heard it might've been a rejected Deep Space 9 Script/Book, and it made more sense.  The giant omnipotent space snake could've easily been the Prophets.

Still, that book, as it is in the Star Wars universe?  Load of brainhurt.

Now I need to pick up a copy of the book and can't see who all the characters are.

[MariaE]

Not to continue the Star Trek thing but it reminds me of one brain hurty moment.  I like a whole lot of different genres of fiction and don't have "my" genre.  So at one point a friend of mine and I had discussed a couple of Star Trek/Star Wars novels that we had both read.

Him: "Read anything good lately?"
Me: Well I'm reading this new series by Mercedes Lackey which isn't high literature but it's entertaining.
Him: Mercedes Lackey?  She's fantasy!  You couldn't pay me enough to read fantasy. I have to read Sci Fi like Star Trek because it's not crazy-made up stuff.  It's real life!

And then my brain just hurt. I don't think I came up with a suitable answer, I think I just stared at him in horror.

That reminds me of an acquaintance of mine who vocably put down "Twilight" and said she preferred Bram Stoker's "Dracula", because "at least his vampire was real." and that "Stephenie Meyer obviously didn't know a real vampire from a fake one"  

[Yvaine]

Not to continue the Star Trek thing but it reminds me of one brain hurty moment.  I like a whole lot of different genres of fiction and don't have "my" genre.  So at one point a friend of mine and I had discussed a couple of Star Trek/Star Wars novels that we had both read.

Him: "Read anything good lately?"
Me: Well I'm reading this new series by Mercedes Lackey which isn't high literature but it's entertaining.
Him: Mercedes Lackey?  She's fantasy!  You couldn't pay me enough to read fantasy. I have to read Sci Fi like Star Trek because it's not crazy-made up stuff.  It's real life!

And then my brain just hurt. I don't think I came up with a suitable answer, I think I just stared at him in horror.

That reminds me of an acquaintance of mine who vocably put down "Twilight" and said she preferred Bram Stoker's "Dracula", because "at least his vampire was real." and that "Stephenie Meyer obviously didn't know a real vampire from a fake one"  

Well, if she meant she thought Stoker was writing nonfiction, yes, that's brain hurty. But if she just meant that Stoker wrote scary vampires like the ones from older folklore, and Meyer's are much more toned down, then she's on to something! 

[kherbert05]

Not to continue the Star Trek thing but it reminds me of one brain hurty moment.  I like a whole lot of different genres of fiction and don't have "my" genre.  So at one point a friend of mine and I had discussed a couple of Star Trek/Star Wars novels that we had both read.

Him: "Read anything good lately?"
Me: Well I'm reading this new series by Mercedes Lackey which isn't high literature but it's entertaining.
Him: Mercedes Lackey?  She's fantasy!  You couldn't pay me enough to read fantasy. I have to read Sci Fi like Star Trek because it's not crazy-made up stuff.  It's real life!

And then my brain just hurt. I don't think I came up with a suitable answer, I think I just stared at him in horror.

That reminds me of an acquaintance of mine who vocably put down "Twilight" and said she preferred Bram Stoker's "Dracula", because "at least his vampire was real." and that "Stephenie Meyer obviously didn't know a real vampire from a fake one"

I had a parent tell me she would rather her child read the Twilight books than other vampire books because the Twilight books are more Christian. The other vampire books are about demons and that isn't Christian.


The original folklore was about not inviting evil into your life. You have to invite the vampire into your home. You have to consent to drinking their blood to turn.

[Midnight Kitty]

I, who grew up in Wisconsin and have had enough snow to last me several lifetimes, offered to stay inside and guard the hot chocolate until they returned 

DH grew up in Wisconsin, too.  He makes people's brains hurt when he tells them, "I'm allergic to snow."  He doesn't even think it looks pretty in greeting cards.

Seriously, he's disabled and the deep cold hurts his joints so bad, he can't walk with his cane and has to use his wheelchair.  Good thing we live in Hawaii.

[Dazi]

While I was waiting to be waited on, I heard this gem at a gun range recently... 
For those unfamiliar, most places you can either bring your own or rent a piece from the establishment to target practice.  If you rent, the employee will go over how to handle that particular model and safety rules prior to you being allowed on range. 

A man that just went on comes off range and goes up to employee. 

Man:  Excuse me, can you show me how to load this?  <hands magazine to employee>
Employee: <look of confusion/horror> shows him how to load magazine...employee sends other guy to go on range with this man because chances weren't good he knew how to handle a firearm if he didn't know how to load it.

He wasn't there all that long (maybe 5-10 minutes) and I waited until he left before I even stepped foot on range (everyone else there were regulars and I wasn't worried about them accidentally shooting me).  He was instructed he needed to attend safety class and at least a few instruction classes before he would be allowed on range again and given a list of class times.

It just boggles my mind that a 40-50 year old man (or anyone else, for that matter) would even think it's acceptable to go there without knowing how to handle their own firearm.  If he knew how to handle others (which I highly doubt) and this was a new one, he should of at the very least went through the owners safety manual several times, been able to field strip it and reassemble it, know how to load/unload and how to handle misfires before even attempting to target practice. At least he didn't argue about their assessment.

[mmswm]

While I was waiting to be waited on, I heard this gem at a gun range recently... 
For those unfamiliar, most places you can either bring your own or rent a piece from the establishment to target practice.  If you rent, the employee will go over how to handle that particular model and safety rules prior to you being allowed on range. 

A man that just went on comes off range and goes up to employee. 

Man:  Excuse me, can you show me how to load this?  <hands magazine to employee>
Employee: <look of confusion/horror> shows him how to load magazine...employee sends other guy to go on range with this man because chances weren't good he knew how to handle a firearm if he didn't know how to load it.

He wasn't there all that long (maybe 5-10 minutes) and I waited until he left before I even stepped foot on range (everyone else there were regulars and I wasn't worried about them accidentally shooting me).  He was instructed he needed to attend safety class and at least a few instruction classes before he would be allowed on range again and given a list of class times.

It just boggles my mind that a 40-50 year old man (or anyone else, for that matter) would even think it's acceptable to go there without knowing how to handle their own firearm.  If he knew how to handle others (which I highly doubt) and this was a new one, he should of at the very least went through the owners safety manual several times, been able to field strip it and reassemble it, know how to load/unload and how to handle misfires before even attempting to target practice. At least he didn't argue about their assessment.

Oh, I feel your frustration on this one.  I have a number of brain hurty stories from gun ranges.  I continues to shock me how truly stupid people can be around firearms.  One of my most brain-hurty moments came from an employee.  A friend and I were at a range that's run by the county park system. My friend is a bit of a gun-nut, and has a massive collection of all sorts of different firearms.  One of the guns he has is a .22 with a legal silencer. According to the rules of this range, we are allowed to shoot that gun, but we must have the paperwork proving that it's legal out and visible to the staff while we were shooting the gun.  So, we bring out the .22.  This (obviously new) employee totally freaked out, called the cops, all that good stuff.  The cops actually got irritated with the employee, since the guy never even bothered to look at the permit allowing the silencer. The guy kept insisting that "all silencers are illegal. Considering the rules about the "non-standard" stuff are prominently displayed, and silencers are specifically mentioned, it just hurt my brain that this guy would bug out to the extent he did.

[Coruscation]

While I was waiting to be waited on, I heard this gem at a gun range recently... 
For those unfamiliar, most places you can either bring your own or rent a piece from the establishment to target practice.  If you rent, the employee will go over how to handle that particular model and safety rules prior to you being allowed on range. 

A man that just went on comes off range and goes up to employee. 

Man:  Excuse me, can you show me how to load this?  <hands magazine to employee>
Employee: <look of confusion/horror> shows him how to load magazine...employee sends other guy to go on range with this man because chances weren't good he knew how to handle a firearm if he didn't know how to load it.

He wasn't there all that long (maybe 5-10 minutes) and I waited until he left before I even stepped foot on range (everyone else there were regulars and I wasn't worried about them accidentally shooting me).  He was instructed he needed to attend safety class and at least a few instruction classes before he would be allowed on range again and given a list of class times.

It just boggles my mind that a 40-50 year old man (or anyone else, for that matter) would even think it's acceptable to go there without knowing how to handle their own firearm.  If he knew how to handle others (which I highly doubt) and this was a new one, he should of at the very least went through the owners safety manual several times, been able to field strip it and reassemble it, know how to load/unload and how to handle misfires before even attempting to target practice. At least he didn't argue about their assessment.

In his defence, when we went to Hawaii, we went to a range which let you target shoot their guns with no paperwork at all. I had a couple of shots from a Luger which the guy loaded for me. So places like that do exist. If he was unfamiliar with your particular range and the way it work then I don't see him as a SS.

[Dazi]

^^^ I never said he was a SS.  IMO, he was just very irresponsible to go to a gun range with little or no experience and as he was removed, the business thought so as well.  Rules are posted.

This range does allow you to shoot their weapons and will assist you in doing so, but this man was using his own firearm....in which case, he needed to know at least the basics before ever coming there. 

Someone like that is a danger to himself and to others on a range.  He had zero business being there without, at least, another person who was experienced or taking a safety class and beginner class. 

[nutraxfornerves]

I was in the supermarket, looking for, among other things, shallots. Since "shallot" means different thing in different countries, I'll specify that I wanted these things, what Americans call "shallots."


I went to the shallot bin, but it was blocked by a young couple. The woman was selecting shallots. Since I wasn't in a hurry I waited for them to finish.
Man: That's a lot of shallots. Do we need that many?
Woman: The recipe calls for 6 shallots.
Man: Wait a minute. Doesn't it say 6 scallions?
Woman: Scallions, shallots, they are the same thing. [they walk off]

It took a minute for it to hit me. If the recipe calls for 6 scallions (green onions, spring onions) and she is going to use 6 shallots, it just might be a very interesting outcome, especially if the scallions were to be minced & used as a garnish. 

(In the US, "shallot" never means "green onions," and the young woman's accent was in no way Australian.)