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HS - HomoSapien.

We'll need to start making distinctions between us and AI. We should do so now when it comes to Junk Mail.


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I too bristle at any call from a sales person. But once in a great while, when I'm able to implement "Don't get mad; get even! -- oh, the joy!!!!

Keiva [insurance agents my specialty]


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I really hate it when my doctor calls me "Elizabeth" (sometimes even "Lizzy"), yet I have to call him/her "doctor".

The doctor's office I go to has three Dr. Rums. There's Jim Rum, Bill Rum, and Jennifer Rum. When I call, I have to say I'm a patient of Dr. Jennifer's or, I want an appointment with Dr. Jennifer. Otherwise, I end up with her brother or her dad! I have no problem with a first name basis there. The way I look at it, she knows just about everything there is to know about me, up close and personal. Why not use our first names?

I do, however, hate when an unknown uses my first name. That irritates the shnit outta me on the phone.

But, when my kids were growing up and their friends would come over, out of respect, of course, they would try to call me Mrs. Neis......, using my children's last name. Unfortunately, I was Mrs. San.....! I always asked them to call me "Kim". After all, that is my name, and was much easier for them.


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What an interesting point of discussion. Thanks Drow.

This much is true...

All designators of persons have a functional application in the context of the pertinent flow of positive evolutionary information.

Now be honest. How many many of you read the above sentence with any application of inquiring thought? This sentence though, in fact, is fundamental to the understanding of the filtering mechanism of the human mind. Without this filtering mechanism, informational input would be indiscriminatingly willy-nilly, and many of us would buy the Brooklyn Bridge.

And so the collective mind of men, i.e. culture, has saw fit to designate some men Doctors, some men Lawyers, and some men simply, Sir. And no man, regardless of his iconoclastic penchants, can resist the import of these semantics. Sad, but it's fair.

I'm guilty, are you?


#65597 04/17/02 04:22 AM
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I once got a call offering me a free glamour make-over. I laughed so hard the caller offered to call for help two states away.

Used to be that no one could ever get my name right and I said without guilt, she's not here. But those glory days are over, sigh. I'd probably be more offended by a gender neutral title than my first name. (I think I'm old-fashioned.)


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I have to say, I object violently to being called 'Ms' 'cause I think it's just plain ugly.

Anyway, if you think we have problems with forms of address, then pity the poor Germans! Women automatically become 'Frau' around the age of 18 - when they look that up to translate it, they find 'Mrs' so they end up calling every woman over the age of 18 'Mrs so-and-so' irrespective of their marital status.

Then there's the whole subject of Herr Professor Doktor .... and his wife who automatically gets the same title, but don't get me started on that!


#65599 04/19/02 01:07 PM
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The doctor's office I go to has three Dr. Rums. There's Jim Rum, Bill Rum, and Jennifer Rum. When I call, I have to say I'm a patient of Dr. Jennifer's or, I want an appointment with Dr. Jennifer. Otherwise, I end up with her brother or her dad!

Not to be frivolous (oh no, never, nnnnno watches,of course not), but the problem can be expressed in a nutshell in this li/ovely telephone conversation:

"Hello, O'Callahan, O'Callahan, O'Callahan, and O'Callahan, Attorneys-at-Law, how may I help you?"

"I'd like to talk to O'Callahan, please."

"He's with a client just now."

"And O'Callahan?

"I'm sorry, she's in court this afternoon."

"Oh. How about O'Callahan, then?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible; he's on vacation until next week."

"Then may I speak to O'Callahan, please?"

"Speaking..."


{Feel free to substitute for name and profession as desired)

#65600 04/19/02 01:43 PM
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True story: In college I met the smartest guy I've ever known (also one of the nicest guys). He scored like a 39 or 49 out of 120 on the Putnam exam - without studying. His name was Dung Nguyen. (The name is pronounced something like Yoong Nwin.)

I call his house one time to talk about homework in the simulation class we took together. He's living with a bunch of other guys. Someone answers and I ask if I can speak to Dung. "Which one?" I say, "Dung Nguyen." He asks again, "Which one?" Well, the one who goes to U of L. "There are three of us named Dung Nguyen who go to U of L." By now I'm thinking this guy's pulling my leg. Okay, the guy I'm looking for is really, *REALLY* smart. "Oh! THAT Dung!" And withing 10 or 15 seconds I'm talking to my buddy.

I'm thinking Dung in the Vietnamese community is comparable to Kim among Koreans. (I'm now reflecting on fond memories of my friend Kim I haven't talked to in 4 or 5 years, but it's not pertinent so I won't elaborate.)

k



#65601 04/19/02 07:54 PM
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FF, you went to U of L? Cool! (By the way, some time ago, I educated these folks on its being U *of* L, vs. UK being UK.)


#65602 04/19/02 09:12 PM
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OK, I'll bite - what exactly is U of L? I know the question is semi off-topic, although it could be construed a term of address I suppose, but I wouldn't mind knowing. I mean, I went to a UL too, although in my case it was London but how would anyone know that if I just said UL? What differentiates one university's abbreviation from another? Here I think there's only one UL as the others all do it the other way round, but that can get terribly confusing too - how do you know if someone means Leeds, Loughborough, Leicester...


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