| Author | Message | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3247 Registered: 8-2001 |
I like Nigerian art & literature, especiallty the latter, & have thought of applying for a grant to go there to study it. But I've been warned that Nigeria is a hard place to live, both politically & meteorologically. When I mention this problem to people, I often get a TRULY STUPID response. What is it?? | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1225 Registered: 3-2006 |
Does the stupid question concern politics? Meteorology? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3249 Registered: 8-2001 |
Woodworm (Woodworm) New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1225 Registered: 3-2006 Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 - 9:37 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does the stupid question concern politics? no Meteorology? no | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1226 Registered: 3-2006 |
OK, let's try addressing what's stupid about this common response. Is it stupid because: it is racist? it is bigoted in some other way? Or because it reveals ignorance about: the language(s) of Nigeria? Nigerian culture? the whereabouts of Nigeria in the world? the status of women in Nigeria? the universities of Nigeria? Do they confuse Nigeria with Niger? With any other country in the world? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3250 Registered: 8-2001 |
Woodworm (Woodworm) New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1226 Registered: 3-2006 Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 - 9:53 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) OK, let's try addressing what's stupid about this common response. Is it stupid because: it is racist? noish it is bigoted in some other way? noish Or because it reveals ignorance about: the language(s) of Nigeria? no Nigerian culture? yes the whereabouts of Nigeria in the world? no the status of women in Nigeria? no the universities of Nigeria? no Do they confuse Nigeria with Niger? no With any other country in the world? noish | ||
| Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet)
New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1247 Registered: 6-2005 |
*insert goofy comment about getting hit by Meteors* The comment addresses some aspect of the Nigerian Culture, and that aspect is... Art? Literature? Literacy? Sex? Health? Clothing? Economics? Food? Architecture? Housing? Education? Industry? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3251 Registered: 8-2001 |
Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet) New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1247 Registered: 6-2005 Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 - 11:35 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) *insert goofy comment about getting hit by Meteors* The comment addresses some aspect of the Nigerian Culture, yesish and that aspect is... Art? yesish Literature? yesish Literacy? no Sex? no Health? no Clothing? no Economics? no Food? no Architecture? no Housing? no Education? no Industry? no | ||
| Alex319 (Alex319)
New member Username: Alex319 Post Number: 712 Registered: 5-2007 |
Does it have anything to do with the Nigerian "419" e-mail scam? Does the comment state or imply that... ...Nigerians don't have any art or literature that is worth studying? ...There's something objectionable about Nigerian art or literature? Like "Why do you want to study that, its all about (sex|violence|profanity|something else)?" ...It is just as easy to study Nigerian art and literature without traveling there? Like "Why don't you just buy their books off of Amazon.com?" ...You would be prevented from studying Nigerian art or literature for some other reason? Technology related? Like "How can you possibly expect to do research there, they barely even have Internet access"? Does the comment... ...say that you shouldn't be traveling there in the first place? ...say that you shouldn't be studying their literature/art in the first place? ...give advice on how to get there? or what to do/how to live there? ...warn you about something? say that it's dangerous to go there? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3253 Registered: 8-2001 |
Alex319 (Alex319) New member Username: Alex319 Post Number: 712 Registered: 5-2007 Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2008 - 5:29 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does it have anything to do with the Nigerian "419" e-mail scam? no Does the comment state or imply that... ...Nigerians don't have any art or literature that is worth studying? no ...There's something objectionable about Nigerian art or literature? no Like "Why do you want to study that, its all about (sex|violence|profanity|something else)?" no ...It is just as easy to study Nigerian art and literature without traveling there? no Like "Why don't you just buy their books off of Amazon.com?" no ...You would be prevented from studying Nigerian art or literature for some other reason? no Technology related? Like "How can you possibly expect to do research there, they barely even have Internet access"? no (& they do have Internet access) Does the comment... ...say that you shouldn't be traveling there in the first place? no ...say that you shouldn't be studying their literature/art in the first place? no ...give advice on how to get there? no or what to do/how to live there? no ...warn you about something? no say that it's dangerous to go there? no | ||
| Travis (Travis)
New member Username: Travis Post Number: 50 Registered: 12-2007 |
Just to make sure, we are talking about the country of Nigeria in West Africa (between Benin, Chad, and Cameroon), correct? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3257 Registered: 8-2001 |
Travis (Travis) New member Username: Travis Post Number: 50 Registered: 12-2007 Posted on Friday, April 11, 2008 - 10:32 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Just to make sure, we are talking about the country of Nigeria in West Africa (between Benin, Chad, and Cameroon), correct? yes | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3267 Registered: 8-2001 |
HINT: THE STUPID RESPONSE IS ACTUALLY A STUPID BIT OF ADVICE. | ||
| Woodworm (Woodworm)
New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1254 Registered: 3-2006 |
Ah, ok. So is the stupid advice: about eating the food in Nigeria? drinking the water? taking certain medical precautions? learning new languages? Is it relevant that you're an academic? That you would be going there to research Nigerian literature? Would this puzzle work just as well if you were wanting to research stonemasonry? Ornithology? Soils? Incidentally, about internet access: our university has just sent a delegation to Nigeria to recruit to our MA courses. In their feedback, the top concern was that the reliability of broadband services in Northern England wasn't good enough. | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3270 Registered: 8-2001 |
Woodworm (Woodworm) New member Username: Woodworm Post Number: 1254 Registered: 3-2006 Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 12:14 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Ah, ok. So is the stupid advice: about eating the food in Nigeria? no drinking the water? no taking certain medical precautions? no learning new languages? no. Most present-day Nigerian literature is written in English, Nigeria's official language Is it relevant that you're an academic? no That you would be going there to research Nigerian literature?yope Would this puzzle work just as well if you were wanting to research stonemasonry? possibly Ornithology? ditto Soils? ditto Incidentally, about internet access: our university has just sent a delegation to Nigeria to recruit to our MA courses. In their feedback, the top concern was that the reliability of broadband services in Northern England wasn't good enough. Very interesting!! | ||
| Alex319 (Alex319)
New member Username: Alex319 Post Number: 735 Registered: 5-2007 |
So the comment is a piece of advice, but it doesn't have to do with how to get there or what to do/how to live there. Correct? Does the piece of advice have to do with... ...something you shouldn't do there? ...what to do before going there? ...what to do after your return? ...what to do en route to there? coming back? Do they advise you to do something illegal? Is the advice stupid because... ...it's something that everyone should already know? ...it's difficult or impossible to follow? ...something bad could or would happen if you tried to follow the advice? ...it would simply serve no useful purpose and be a waste of time/money/effort? Are passports relevant? Visas? Migration regulations? Travel regulations? Airport security? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3274 Registered: 8-2001 |
Alex319 (Alex319) New member Username: Alex319 Post Number: 735 Registered: 5-2007 Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - 6:01 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) So the comment is a piece of advice, but it doesn't have to do with how to get there or what to do/how to live there. Correct?yes Does the piece of advice have to do with... ...something you shouldn't do there?no} ...what to do before going there? no ...what to do after your return? no ...what to do en route to there? no coming back? no Do they advise you to do something illegal? no Is the advice stupid because... ...it's something that everyone should already know? no ...it's difficult or impossible to follow? no ...something bad could or would happen if you tried to follow the advice?see nexy answer ...it would simply serve no useful purpose and be a waste of time/money/effort? yesish Are passports relevant? no Visas? noMigration regulations? no Travel regulations? no Airport security? no | ||
| Bentarm (Bentarm)
New member Username: Bentarm Post Number: 1679 Registered: 6-2001 |
Might the same people give you similar advice if you were going to work in Chad? Kenya? Costa Rica? Laos? Cambodia? Israel? Brazil? Canada? Seattle? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3278 Registered: 8-2001 |
Bentarm (Bentarm) New member Username: Bentarm Post Number: 1679 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 7:27 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Might the same people give you similar advice if you were going to work in Chad? yes Kenya? yes Costa Rica? possibly but it's much less likely Laos? yes Cambodia? yes Israel? possibly but it's much less likely.I did go to Israel on a grant from the same foundation I'd apply to for Nigeria, & no one made this suiggestion. Brazil?about as likely as qwith Israel Canada?possibly but it's even less likely Seattle?even less likely than in Canada | ||
| Bentarm (Bentarm)
New member Username: Bentarm Post Number: 1680 Registered: 6-2001 |
Did they suggest that you'd better make sure you knew where it was on a map before you went? That you find out some other detail of which you were almost certainly already aware? If you'd followed the advice, would you have followed it: before applying for the grant? After applying for the grant but before going to Nigeria? Whilst on the plane to Nigeria? Whilst in Nigeria? Whilst actually doing your research in Nigeria? Whilst on the plane back from Nigeria? After returning? Did their advice relate to how you should read Nigerian Literature? Spefically which parts of Nigerian literature you should read? Did they suggest that you try to avoid some particular situation? That you take some precautions against some imaginary danger? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3282 Registered: 8-2001 |
Bentarm (Bentarm) New member Username: Bentarm Post Number: 1680 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 1:40 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Did they suggest that you'd better make sure you knew where it was on a map before you went? no That you find out some other detail of which you were almost certainly already aware? no If you'd followed the advice, would you have followed it: before applying for the grant? yes After applying for the grant but before going to Nigeria? noish Whilst on the plane to Nigeria? no Whilst in Nigeria? no Whilst actually doing your research in Nigeria? noWhilst on the plane back from Nigeria? no After returning? no Did their advice relate to how you should read Nigerian Literature? no Spefically which parts of Nigerian literature you should read? no Did they suggest that you try to avoid some particular situation? yesish That you take some precautions against some imaginary danger? noish | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 113 Registered: 5-2003 |
Any particular technology important ("take your own lightbulbs!")? Or any sort of personal or social interaction ("Don't tell the grant supervisor such-and-such!")? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3283 Registered: 8-2001 |
Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo) New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 113 Registered: 5-2003 Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2008 - 2:50 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Any particular technology important ("take your own lightbulbs!")?no Or any sort of personal or social interaction ("Don't tell the grant supervisor such-and-such!")? no | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 117 Registered: 5-2003 |
"But I've been warned that Nigeria is a hard place to live, both politically & meteorologically." Does the question involve politics or weather? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 118 Registered: 5-2003 |
Ack. Already answered, mods feel free to delete. Nevermind... Does the question involve requesting or arranging the grant? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3289 Registered: 8-2001 |
Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo) New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 117 Registered: 5-2003 Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2008 - 11:29 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) "But I've been warned that Nigeria is a hard place to live, both politically & meteorologically." Does the question involve politics or weather?noish Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo) New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 118 Registered: 5-2003 Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2008 - 11:31 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Ack. Already answered, mods feel free to delete. Nevermind... Does the question involve requesting or arranging the grant? no | ||
| Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet)
New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1257 Registered: 6-2005 |
Ok... I need a little recap... please correct if anything in this statement is incorrect: When you talk to people about applying for a grant to study art & literature in Nigeria, you also address political and weather obstacles. You then receive a stupid response... comment? editorial? command? question?... related somewhat to the culture's art & literature. This response has nothing to do with the politics or weather of Nigeria? The response DOES have to do with art and literature? Would it help to discover the particular media referred to in the comment (i.e. newspaper, magazines, canvas, clay, statues)? Does the comment start off, "Don't go!/Don't do it! <insert>" | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3298 Registered: 8-2001 |
Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet) New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1257 Registered: 6-2005 Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2008 - 12:39 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Ok... I need a little recap... please correct if anything in this statement is incorrect: When you talk to people about applying for a grant to study art & literature in Nigeria, you also address political and weather obstacles. You then receive a stupid response... comment? it;s a suggestion, which could also be in the form of a rhetorical question, "Why don't you...." editorial? see previous answewer command? ditto question? ditto... related somewhat to the culture's art & literature. yope This response has nothing to do with the politics or weather of Nigeria? The response DOES have to do with art and literature? it has to do with all these things equallyWould it help to discover the particular media referred to in the comment (i.e. newspaper, magazines, canvas, clay, statues)? No particular medium is referred to Does the comment start off, "Don't go!/Don't do it! <insert>"no (ish?) | ||
| Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet)
New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1259 Registered: 6-2005 |
Does the speaker suggest you go somewhere else? Someplace closer to home? Someplace that they...seriously?jokingingly?... refer to as having similar qualities as Nigeria? I.e. Why not just go to New York and study the insides of the taxi cabs? (In lieu of any international trip for that matter...) | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3299 Registered: 8-2001 |
Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet) New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1259 Registered: 6-2005 Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2008 - 10:55 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does the speaker suggest you go somewhere else?Yes!! Now all that's left is to find out where & bhy. Someplace closer to home? no Someplace that they...seriously? yesjokingingly? no... refer to as having similar qualities as Nigeria? yes I.e. Why not just go to New York and study the insides of the taxi cabs? no(In lieu of any international trip for that matter...) no | ||
| Enjay (Enjay)
New member Username: Enjay Post Number: 1153 Registered: 4-2007 |
Another country? In Africa? Asia? Europe? Australasia? N. America? S. America? Do they suggest that they think African countries are all the same so you might as well visit a different one? Is the reason why they think you should go there instead because it would't have the political/metorological problems? Is the response stupid because that othr place would have the same problems, or be just as difficult to visit in a different way? Because the other place doesn't have similar qualities to Nigeria at all (or at least not the qualities you're interested in)? Because you particularly want to go to Nigeria, not the other place? Do they suggest you visit the Nigerian embassy instead or something similar? | ||
| Nimue (Nimue)
New member Username: Nimue Post Number: 3303 Registered: 8-2001 |
Enjay (Enjay) New member Username: Enjay Post Number: 1153 Registered: 4-2007 Posted on Saturday, May 03, 2008 - 9:08 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Another country? yes In Africa? yes Asia? no Europe? no Australasia? no N. America? noS. America? no Do they suggest that they think African countries are all the same so you might as well visit a different one? yes!!!! Is the reason why they think you should go there instead because it would't have the political/metorological problems? yes Is the response stupid because that othr place would have the same problems, or be just as difficult to visit in a different way? no Because the other place doesn't have similar qualities to Nigeria at all (or at least not the qualities you're interested in)? yes Because you particularly want to go to Nigeria, not the other place? yes Do they suggest you visit the Nigerian embassy instead or something similar? no ********** SPOILER ************ When I tell people I'd like to spent a semester in Nigeria studying Nigerian art & literature but am scared to do so because Nigeria's climate, both potitically & meteorologigally, is so problematic, an amazingly common response is, "Why don't ypu go to South Africa instead?" How stupid can you get? S. Africa has nothing in common with Nigeria. If I told people I wanted to go to Sweden to study Swedish art & literature but couldn't stand long, dark, cold winters, do you think they'd say, "Why don't you go to Spain instead?"? Thanks for sticking with it, everyone, & for solving it Enjay, & please direct those active brains to my new puzzle at the bottom of the page as well as to my two ongoing ones. |
