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PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   4648 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 16, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Do you have any interesting/unusual heuristics to share?

I'm sure this isn't original, but I think I derived it independently--the social status of pedestrians in the outdoors public is inverse to the amount of possessions they carry with them. Someone dragging a luggage is homeless while a backpack means low income. Highly contextual with lots of exceptions of course, but if you're walking/jogging on a trail in an affluent area, chances are people not carrying anything are less a threat than people lugging large bags and backpacks.

Face tattoos signify a rather fundamental disengagement with the norms of greater society such that I can't imagine becoming great buddies with anyone who has one. This is true to a lesser degree of full sleeves, etc. This is true in or out of Japan.

Sensible shoes or sneakers worn with business attire on commutes suggests a comfort in the wearer with his/her social standing. (Dress shoes on the same commute could suggest the opposite but context is relevant).

Anyone 24 or younger on my early morning commute is going home, not to school or work (unless of course they are in athletic gear in which case it's off to sports practice before school). Exceptions include regulars, or people with large roller bags (small roller bags could still be going home.)

Within Japan, expatriate women from North America (US and Canada) or Europe are either: 1) Divorced 2) married to or the consort of a Japanese man. 1) Will be politically progressive 2) will be neutral, disinterested, or conservative

Women with crewcuts are lesbian.

Guys with little hair but big bushy, Zeus-like beards will eventually annoy the shit out of me.

The likelihood that females with long, really done-up fingernails working at afternoon retail fashion outlets in Umeda are also moonlighting as call girls is non trivial.

The bigger and more expansive the menu the more likely the food is mediocre but probably not terrible. (Depending on your definition of terrible.)

The allure of the smell of ramen shops is inversely related to the hour of day-- meaning in early morning the smell is revolting. Late night, enticing.

The degree to which an American male tends to adhere to modern fashion trends is a reasonable predictor of how politically left he leans.

If I close my eyes before being introduced to your American female cousin visiting Japan, I will predict that she: 1) looks older than her age 2) is overweight by 20 or more pounds 3) leans politically left 4) eats more than I at lunch and dinner.

People who keep their calendars updated and full are higher achievers than those who don't. Not always true of artist types.

Creative, artistic people are creatively artistic in multiple ways.

Guys with houses that are like pig pens do not get laid. Unless they are extremely rich.

The chance that the Rolex watch on the dude riding the train is fake is at least 50%. The Omega is probably real.

New acquaintances who are overly friendly want something from me.

Women who are obsessed with and routinely post on social media about the plight of animals do not themselves have children.

Criticizing a woman directly about anything is a mistake that will not produce favorable results.

Face tattoos signify a rather fundamental disengagement with the norms of greater society such that I can't imagine becoming great buddies with anyone who has one. This is true to a lesser degree of full sleeves, etc. This is true in or out of Japan.

I know two perfectly respectable doctors with full sleeve tats, one working in the ER and the other as a surgeon. I'd say maybe 30% of the doctors I know (+- 5 years older or younger than me) have some tattoos on them (at least visible to me) including yours truly, though mine isn't really on display until the shirt comes off.

Then again, I'm lacking the inclination to ink up all of my skin, and as an eventual psychiatrist, I'm expected to be the model of sobriety and decorum, though no doubt going for a more outré aesthetic probably appeals greatly to some of the regulars.

Interesting. I hate tats but it's a personal thing and I hesitate to make grand generalizations. Or, I don't hesitate, I make them, but I realize that's what they are.

Let me guess: Caduceus?

Gross stereotyping and oversimplification time:

Historically in the U.S. each specialty has had somewhat of a character (less so now with the way social justice has infected and homogenized the pipeline. Surgeons are conservative and would never get a tattoo. Lots of psychiatrists have them but only in places where they could be covered in hidden from patients. Pediatrics would have typical girl tattoos. Orthos are bros, and therefore never have tattoos, but ED docs are a very different kind of bro (outdoorsy, Colorado types) and often have tattoos up to and including full sleeves.

If you're interested in making generalizations then you might actually be reassured by an ED doc with visible tats because it means they are conforming to the stereotypes and norms of their speciality and therefore have a higher chance of being a good doctor lol.

Interesting! Thanks for the insight.

Nope. Though I suppose that is a justified stereotype, given that I was/am seriously considering getting a tat that has one in it. Though I've ended up leaning a different way again, I'm not one to get a tattoo done unless it speaks to me, and I'm confident I want it for life (being dark skinned makes laser tattoo removal a no-go).

For what it's worth, I don't know any doctors with Caduceus tats, though to be fair we ought to be using the Staff of Asclepius instead. Then again, that war for the public consciousness was lost a while back.

Gonna leave it a mystery are we? I can keep guessing....

I've already irrevocably sprinkled hundreds of tidbits of personally identifiable information on the internet, forgive me for not putting something that could literally be used for picking me out of a crowd there too haha.

But if you can get it in 3 guesses without cheating by being exceedingly vague, I'll reward your efforts by DMing you the answer ;)

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