Seemingly trivial things that intrigue you

monkimark

Yes, if you want your daughter to be taken seriously, give her a cod latin transformers name.

her five-month-old daughter Titan Invictus – the couple refuse to give girls feminine names, citing research suggesting they will be taken less seriously

kingstongraham

That was my favourite bit too - if you want to be sure to be taken seriously, get a name like Titan Collins. Or Octavian Collins.

morstar

rjsterry said:

How you can be surrounded by intelligent successful people and still get sucked in by such twaddle.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/pronatalists-save-mankind-by-having-babies-silicon-valley/

Small note, if you claim to be part of an elite, this will be undermined by dressing like a ten year old at a wedding.

No surprise that Elno is firmly on the bandwagon.

8bn of an invasive, resource hungry and destructive species and a diminishing birth rate seems little to worry about.

Pross

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

rjsterry

Pross said:

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

I'd always thought of it in Cold War terms, so just East of Austria, but I would say it has shifted a bit further East.

pblakeney

South America and Africa kind of muddy the waters. Plus Australasia.
I'd say is is a flawed term and probably shouldn't be used.

pinno

The line should have been re-defined after John Wayne died.

Pross

pblakeney said:

South America and Africa kind of muddy the waters. Plus Australasia.
I'd say is is a flawed term and probably shouldn't be used.

Yep, it's using a geographical reference to reflect something that is more geopolitical. I suppose it's one of those terms people use and understand even though it doesn't have any logic behind it.

rick_chasey

Pross said:

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

Either European or English speaking democracies pretty much covers it.

Pross

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

Either European or English speaking democracies pretty much covers it.

It's still not a geographic split though so why define it as one?

rick_chasey

Pross said:

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

Either European or English speaking democracies pretty much covers it.

It's still not a geographic split though so why define it as one?

If you know of a better shorthand I'm all ears.

West is a mindset, not a geography.

focuszing723

Mattfalle, Shortfall, post something!

focuszing723

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zhEVdBuPDo

One for you Rick, worth a watch/listen.

A dyslexic bloke, a nice bloke and a very successful bloke.

First.Aspect

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

Either European or English speaking democracies pretty much covers it.

Aren't there quite a few countries who vacillate between democracy and not quite democracy?

And what about the Arab world?

rick_chasey

First.Aspect said:

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

Either European or English speaking democracies pretty much covers it.

Aren't there quite a few countries who vacillate between democracy and not quite democracy?

And what about the Arab world?

They’re not considered the “west” are they?

First.Aspect

rick_chasey said:

First.Aspect said:

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

Where is the dividing line for ‘the Western World’ or ‘the West’? Logic would be the Prime Meridian but that would mean most Western nations would actually be in the east.

Either European or English speaking democracies pretty much covers it.

Aren't there quite a few countries who vacillate between democracy and not quite democracy?

And what about the Arab world?

They’re not considered the “west” are they?

Not sure. The Emirates sit on the fence quite well, don't they?

I was thinking more about Spain or Italy, or the whole of South America.

rick_chasey

I'd include Spain and italy in the west.

South America certainly not, and they don't speak English or are European.

First.Aspect

rick_chasey said:

I'd include Spain and italy in the west.

South America certainly not, and they don't speak English or are European.

Thought you meant countries with English or European first languages. Which seemed a bit broad.

You've still captured Guayana and a fair chunk of the Carribean and Africa. And excluded Mexico.

Seems to me that the definition is more along the lines of who we are currently getting along with.

rick_chasey

First.Aspect said:

rick_chasey said:

I'd include Spain and italy in the west.

South America certainly not, and they don't speak English or are European.

Thought you meant countries with English or European first languages. Which seemed a bit broad.

You've still captured Guayana and a fair chunk of the Carribean and Africa. And excluded Mexico.

Seems to me that the definition is more along the lines of who we are currently getting along with.

Either you're in Europe or you speak English as your first national language.

pblakeney

Greenland?

surrey_commuter

Nigeria?

Pross

pblakeney said:

Greenland?

Part of Denmark innit

pblakeney

Pross said:

pblakeney said:

Greenland?

Part of Denmark innit

Not Europe though, is it?

First.Aspect

pblakeney said:

Pross said:

pblakeney said:

Greenland?

Part of Denmark innit

Not Europe though, is it?

The Danish speak pretty good English.

pblakeney

First.Aspect said:

pblakeney said:

Pross said:

pblakeney said:

Greenland?

Part of Denmark innit

Not Europe though, is it?

The Danish speak pretty good English.

Not their first language though. I'm simply pointing out that the term cannot be defined in simple terms, other than those on our side. Maybe...

rjsterry

Gold medals for pedantry all round.

briantrumpet

Definitions are slippery booggers at the best of times: you think you know what something is, until you start getting away from the centre... and the closer you get to the fringes, the more you start to question even how you've defined the centre.

pinno

rjsterry said:

Gold medals for pedantry all round.

Oh come on; you must have run out of gold medals.

rjsterry

Ouch! 😁

Stevo_666

Everyone's a winner in Cake Stop