Don Edwards

Stamp collecting? Science, other than pure math, needs data before it can begin constructing theories. Data comes from objects, so to build a reserve of data you must first build up a collection of objects - together with what is known about them. If you collect objects but don't construct or test theories, you're a stamp collector. Darwin, while aboard the Beagle on his most famous trip, collected 468 bird skins plus various other avian samples along with written descriptions of the whole animals and what he could see of their habits and habitats, but as far as ornithology was concerned he was a stamp collector; it was Gould, an established ornithologist back in London, who made sense of the collection and recognized that Darwin's Finches (from the Galapagos Islands) were a number of closely-related species. Darwin did not have the knowledge to do Gould's analysis; Gould could not have done it without the samples (aka data) Darwin provided. Both were legitimately doing science. Stamp collecting is still an important part of some sciences - generally those where finding or identifying objects is difficult, and new sorts of objects are still being discovered. Paleontology, genetics, and astronomy, for example. Right now the most popular sorts of stamps in astronomy are exoplanets; we've found enough that there isn't a huge cachet in discovering more of them in general, but there are certain categories that still count for a lot.

Galileo wasn't executed. He was tried for heresy (and placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life) basically for saying it was PROVEN that the earth moves around the sun and for rather blatantly insulting certain prominent clergymen who held to the geocentric theory. The church didn't have any objection to either theory - but did not consider either to be PROVEN, and objected strenuously to overly-confident assertions of what was still questionable. (In fact the proof that Galileo offered was inadequate - because the instruments of the time were insufficiently accurate and precise.)

The thing is, Elliot's a lousy liar, so the straight unadorned unexplained truth is the best answer, and the answer he's likely to give if he doesn't think about it.

As far as restrooms are concerned (locker rooms and showers are a related but much more difficult issue) I've ended up going with what I think is a realistic view - based on the simple question of "how, and to what extent, do they plan to enforce it?". There will be NO genitalia inspectors guarding restroom doors. ANYWHERE. Trans/fluid people who are currently presenting as whichever sex doesn't match their physical equipment will do what they've been doing for approximately forever: use the restroom that matches their presentation, and close+latch the (stall) door for privacy. Yes, it will be illegal, just as it has been; but no it will never (or almost never) be detected, just as it hasn't been. And so, it will in reality be no big deal - and this will become apparent as soon as those who earn their living by being offended on someone else's behalf pick a different someone else to be offended on behalf of. And the perverts who expect to be able to go into the women's restroom with beards, or into the men's restroom while similarly-obviously female, and ogle or molest the people legitimately there, will stand out and be subject to prosecution. As they should be. The overwhelming majority of trans people would really prefer that the world NEVER treat them as "trans" or give them any special consideration for being "trans" - but instead treat them as their gender. Except of course in those very limited situations where the physical plumbing is directly relevant to the treatment. (When it's the person beside you naked in bed, the plumbing usually matters. Ditto when it's the person on the gurney with a groin injury. When it's the person beside you with their pants down in the next restroom stall, or the person applying for a job as a cashier, not so much.)

Elliot is forgetting he can break character if he wants. And also that he can copy his secret-identity forms using his be-a-girl spell, and not have to deal with the mind alterations as well. As for keeping up with the spellbook, i's one think spotting that there are a few new pages at the back with a new spell on them. It's something else entirely to notice that a few words have been added or changed in a spell that has been there for some time and you're already familiar with - even if the change requires the insertion of a new page. (Ninja'd on this part.)

A totally normal book wouldn't need a title that says it's a totally normal book. What's the problem? "Going out with my girlfriend."

Time travelers do a lot of voluntary policing of each other, and it also turns out that reality is somewhat self-correcting. Example of both

That's the general theory... under the assumptions that Magus correctly understood Pandora, Pandora was telling the truth, and Pandora's knowledge of what would happen is correct. While I don't have any specific reason to doubt those assumptions, I'm wondering what Pandora gets out of it if they are all true. Whereas if Pandora is lying, or simply not particularly confident that what she told Magus was correct, we get a possibility of an outcome that would surprise Pandora. She likes being surprised.

We know that Magus thinks Pandora told him that, and has been acting accordingly. Immortals can lie.

I recently learned in another forum that Seattle Slew was the only Triple Crown winner who did not have centaur ancestry.

Based on what I can find online, I'd advise to not get your hopes up too much. This apparently is a first novel, and not on bestseller lists. And it's about space pirates. Odds are that author royalties won't cover the advance. (Of course, if you deliberately gave the wrong title to not give clues to your identity, then you can ignore this.)

And even if he's surprised, it doesn't mean he's surprised at the *possibility*. It could be that he knows elves exist and are extremely rare - such that he'd be surprised to learn that there's one anywhere in the state, let alone in the same city. But... Immortals can, by their own rules, only guide and empower mortals to deal with aberrations. Elves can act freely, including using their powers, to protect others from dangerous magic - and aberrations involve dangerous magic pretty much by definition. So Raven is a greater danger than Pandora.

That's one of the saner theories, actually.

Although it doesn't mean the scenario is impossible. Poor young couple can't support twins, give up one, then later have a huge unexpected inheritance (or otherwise strike it rich)... It's possible. I'd bet against it, though. Susan being Mr. Pompons' daughter by his mistress (and Mrs. P being unaware of that fact) is one among many scenarios that are far more likely.

Hmm, he can sense there's *something* there, but he was still surprised by Adrian being an elf later on. So if you went looking for an elf by such means, you might have to sort through who-knows-how-many other creatures of various sorts. We don't even know that what Abraham sensed was Raven. After all, Raven is human/immortal; both have been on this planet for a long time, and obviously are capable of interbreeding. On the other hand, humans are not normally capable of interbreeding with squirrels, and uryuom and lespuko are apparently more recent arrivals than Abraham; so by his standards Grace is far more unnatural than Raven or Ellen. An aberration has far more to worry about just for being an aberration than an elf does about restrictions on what he/she is allowed to do. Not to mention that Raven is a wizard, known to the government to be a wizard, and routinely in contact with several other magic-users. What do you base that statement on? I don't see anything that clearly points either way on whether Sirleck was aware that elves are possible.

Low, but nonzero. And fiction in general is full of unlikely coincidences.

I think Sarah would.

Or, she means exactly what she said. She doesn't actually care about her cousins. She goes and visits them on holidays because her mother is going to visit with HER parents/siblings.

English has four genders just in pronouns. Most of our pronouns are neutral (they/them plus all the first and second person pronouns), but we also have male (he/him), female (she/her), and nonperson (it, that, those). There are some languages, mostly African if I remember correctly, where the only genders are person and nonperson. And some others where the genders are animate and inanimate.

And as for terminology, there are languages with no grammatical gender at all, and languages where the grammatical genders have absolutely no relationship to sex.

Well, you know, if you look around in various mythologies... Not all divine beings are good Not all divine beings have complete control over who can draw upon their powers Not all great powers have anything to do with divinity

The copy spell is a Breaker power because it temporarily adds the target's powers to Ellen's. (Whether it removes Ellen's powers is undetermined - it's part of the Guardian Form power that using IT temporarily removes any other powers. But if Ellen were to copy normal-Nanase, and then have the Guardian Form power but not use it, would she still have the FV5 beam? Dunno.) And it's a Thinker power because it gives her a significant understanding of what someone else's powers are. She doesn't even have to wait for the other person to use them, like Tedd does (on the other hand she probably gets a less thorough understanding). And she can not only tell her teammates about those powers, but demonstrate them.

As for Diane realizing that Nanase suspects she and Susan are sisters: Nanase is talking about Diane having an inherited characteristic that is not in any way apparent to normal senses. And she's speaking as if she's confident of what she's saying. It's a very logical conclusion that Nanase believes she knows (or knows a fair amount about) one of Diane's blood relatives. Diane knows that Nanase knows Elliot and that Elliot knows Susan, whom Diane already suspected is her sister. This is not a hard set of dots to connect.

I've also seen that in a lot of these issues, the majority of the people most loudly offended by some terminology that they say is disrespectful of some group are NOT PART of that group. And if you think using the offending terminology brings down their wrath, just try being part of the group yet not be offended at the terminology...