Originally posted by Wouter D
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I’d rather ask you all than google it
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I'm not ready to eat lunch much before 2pm, either - but that's entirely my choosing and not any kind of convention. I mean, my youngest is usually thinking about lunch at around 11-11.30am.
There's something to be said for eating dinner (tea, supper, whatever - let's not get into that again) at around 6-7pm, given that this gives one more time to digest before bed. (Not that I do this either.)
Surely maths is the only 'exact' science?
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On the subject of "Zelig-like" characters, the first Flashman novel predates that film by more than a decade, and the character of Harry Flashman is lifted from a novel published in 1857.
I'm sure there must be even earlier examples too, so I don't think we need give Woody Allen too much credit here.
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Originally posted by Walt Flanagans Dog View PostI've always thought that the are more people who would refer to things as Zelig-like than ever saw Zelig itself, me included cos I've never seen it but would still use that phrase.
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Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post.
1) Is there a standard name for characters in fiction like Forrest Gump or Uhtred in The Last Kingdom who are fictional characters but always seem to be near the center of historically important events? They can serve as a kind of framing device for the story or a way to offer an interesting perspective on real events. I was thinking about this because it seems to also be a thing in science fiction or fantasy where even though none of the events are historical in reality, they are historical important in the world of the story. James Holden in the Expanse series is this guy and I suppose Han Solo is like this in Star Wars. Indeed, so is Indiana Jones. Near the action, and sometimes helping to move it, but they are never the usual drivers of history like Generals, Queens, Inventors, etc.
Is there a name for this “trope” or convention?
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Originally posted by ooh aah View PostWhen getting any transport connection, knowing the minutes accurately is very important. It's what lead to standardised time during the 19th century when trains had to follow a timetable.Originally posted by hobbes View PostThat may be the case for you dear boy, but don't forget clocks and watches became ubiquitous because of the need for timetabling trains across countries. So accuracy was paramount.
Originally posted by hobbes View PostThe modern world is designed around accurate timekeeping.
One's mileage may vary if one lives in Japan.
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Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View PostWhen did people start writing lead instead of led as in 'one thing lead to another'? I see it everywhere now.
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Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View PostA better example in Star Wars is C3PO and R2D2 - who seem to get everywhere. There is a name for it and like almost everything in the galaxy far far away, Lucas ripped the idea from Kurusawa. But the trope was old when Kurusawa used it.
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I know what you mean PT, I keep coming across the "lead" for "led" thing more and more. I mean, it's an easy mistake to make, but randomly seems to be becoming more prevalent. Or maybe these days I'm just reading more stuff assorted people have written online.
Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post1) Is there a standard name for characters in fiction like Forrest Gump or Uhtred in The Last Kingdom who are fictional characters but always seem to be near the center of historically important events? They can serve as a kind of framing device for the story or a way to offer an interesting perspective on real events. I was thinking about this because it seems to also be a thing in science fiction or fantasy where even though none of the events are historical in reality, they are historical important in the world of the story. James Holden in the Expanse series is this guy and I suppose Han Solo is like this in Star Wars. Indeed, so is Indiana Jones. Near the action, and sometimes helping to move it, but they are never the usual drivers of history like Generals, Queens, Inventors, etc.
Is there a name for this “trope” or convention?
* Edit: Reading to the bottom of the page reveals that 'The Zelig' is also a redirect to the same trope.
** Further edit: D'oh – I'd forgotten Uhtred was also created by Bernard Cornwell. So he's basically a Saxon Sharpe, isn't he?
On more important matters, meanwhile, I'm in the camp with the likes of Jah Womble: I don't like to eat lunch before around 2, and dinner is at around 8pm. I remember when I was in school I was delighted when lunchtimes shifted from 12 noon to 12:25, as that meant I could actually eat around 1, which seemed much more civilised.Last edited by Various Artist; 02-03-2018, 16:36.
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Originally posted by Various Artist View PostI know what you mean PT, I keep coming across the "lead" for "led" thing more and more. I mean, it's an easy mistake to make, but randomly seems to be becoming more prevalent. Or maybe these days I'm just reading more stuff assorted people have written online.
There doesn't seem to be a single consensus answer, but as is always the way TV Tropes has a trope for that, which you might enjoy browsing: Been There, Shaped History – formerly known as simply 'The Gump'*. Examples getting a look-in include, naturally, Forrest Gump and Zelig, and also Uhtred, plus the likes of the Doctor in Doctor Who and Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap. The 'Literature' subsection also includes the first example that sprang to my mind: Richard Sharpe from the Sharpe novels**/TV series, who judging by his recorded exploits apparently single-handedly won the Napoleonic Wars with his deeds everywhere from Trafalgar to Waterloo, saving the Duke of Wellington, shooting the Prince of Orange, etc. etc.
* Edit: Reading to the bottom of the page reveals that 'The Zelig' is also a redirect to the same trope.
** Further edit: D'oh – I'd forgotten Uhtred was also created by Bernard Cornwell. So he's basically a Saxon Sharpe, isn't he?
On more important matters, meanwhile, I'm in the camp with the likes of Jah Womble: I don't like to eat lunch before around 2, and dinner is at around 8pm. I remember when I was in school I was delighted when lunchtimes shifted from 12 noon to 12:25, as that meant I could actually eat around 1, which seemed much more civilised.
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- Oct 2011
- 26998
- Cambridgeshire
- Ipswich (convert)
- Those chocolate-coated ring-shaped ones you get at Christmas
Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View PostCan anyone explain how Bayesian statistics works?
David Spiegelhalter can give you a few minutes on the general idea. A key difference from classical probability work is that this is not about calculating a theoretical probability for an uncertain event (lotteries, radioactive decay), it is about finding the likelihood that a thing did happen or did not happen.
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