Questions

Here are some questions that have crossed my mind this week. I may start doing posts like these semi-regularly. Let me know if you find it mildly amusing. (Yes, mild amusement is the ambitious goal of this blog.)

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What's a good way to define "routine"? How do you know when something has become a routine?

Do local TV news reporters feel embarrassed about their past "performances"(i.e., reading from the teleprompter) in the way a writer would? I am trying to figure out the extent to which TV news reporting is a skill. Do they actively work on improving their inflection or other voice skills? And if news reporting is a skill in the traditional sense -- one that can be constantly improved and refined -- then what's the peak age?

Is pretension just a taste for subtlety? (Okay, that's more of a theory than a question.)

Why don't employers actively discriminate on the basis of religion as they would education, skills, or employment history? If the Protestant Work Ethic, or something like it, exists, then why don't we see employers favoring certain religions or denominations?

Why don't dogs bite their tongues more often? (This question has actually been really bothering me.)

Why is the stall to urinal ratio in men's bathrooms so inconsistent? Who is the responsible person for making these decisions, and do they or have they run studies? And if so, how?

In response to Harriet's theory that female magnetism is all about confidence: What is there to be confident about in this life? Isn’t confidence just a form of delusion? And why not value sensitivity over confidence? Why not value guys who cry to Bob Dylan songs? Just cause they’re pussies? Pussies make good dads.

What are the merits of having a realistic understanding of facts vs. the merits of just being delusional the way we naturally are? How can we know when to emphasize realistic understanding in what contexts?

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Thanks to Pavs for helping inspire some of these.