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Not sure about this.: Impossibly Mundane Explanation

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DragonQuestZ The Other Troper from Somewhere in California Since: Jan, 2001
The Other Troper
#1: Nov 12th 2010 at 6:24:42 PM

Impossibly Mundane Explanation just got launched, but I wonder if we could tweak the name before it gets too large. The thing is that the title implies the impossibility of how mundane something is, not that the mundane explanation is less plausible than than the fantastic one.

Just worried about misuse, however that could come about.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
GiantSpaceChinchilla Since: Oct, 2009
#2: Nov 12th 2010 at 6:28:42 PM

I think that's fair perhaps add a "of" and a "s"; Impossibility of mundane solutions?

rodneyAnonymous Sophisticated as Hell from empty space Since: Aug, 2010
#3: Nov 12th 2010 at 6:36:13 PM

"Impossibly mundane" makes my head hurt. Predictably Mundane Explanation? (Isn't that Agent Mulder?) Humorously Mundane Explanation? Unexpectedly Mundane Explanation?

That article is an example of how much worse articles suck when they don't do YKTTW. I fail. [down] Is that normal, for a YKTTW to be launched with a different title than it had in YKTTW?

edited 12th Nov '10 8:03:49 PM by rodneyAnonymous

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#5: Nov 12th 2010 at 6:41:56 PM

Makes sense to me. I got the article just from the title and it seems to make sense, even if I don't know how many examples it'll actually get. Leave it as is, says I.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
DragonQuestZ The Other Troper from Somewhere in California Since: Jan, 2001
The Other Troper
#6: Nov 12th 2010 at 6:52:54 PM

"Impossibly mundane" makes my head hurt. Predictably Mundane Explanation? (Isn't that Agent Mulder?) Humorously Mundane Explanation? Unexpectedly Mundane Explanation? "

Again, it's not how mundane it is. It's the the mundane is less plausible than the fantastic.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
sgrunt Sigil Spam from the depths of your mind Since: Apr, 2009
#7: Nov 12th 2010 at 6:55:35 PM

Implausibly Mundane Explanation?

edited 12th Nov '10 6:55:47 PM by sgrunt

This space for rent. Cost: your soul.
DragonQuestZ The Other Troper from Somewhere in California Since: Jan, 2001
The Other Troper
#8: Nov 12th 2010 at 6:59:20 PM

Or just Implausible Mundane Explaination.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#9: Nov 12th 2010 at 7:30:44 PM

Impossibly mundane sounds like it can't be the explanation because it's too run of the mill -it's impossibly mundane.

Since it says that the trope isn't simply that it's a mundane explanation that is discarded, but one that is discarded specifically because it is out of character why not simply reverse the word order. It's a Mundane Impossible Explanation.

DragonQuestZ The Other Troper from Somewhere in California Since: Jan, 2001
The Other Troper
#10: Nov 12th 2010 at 7:36:41 PM

Actually the key is the comparison between the mundane and the fantastic, and the fantastic makes more sense.

But Mundane Is Less Plausible Than The Fantastic is just too wordy, even for my long name tolerance.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
GiantSpaceChinchilla Since: Oct, 2009
#11: Nov 12th 2010 at 8:19:11 PM

Is that normal, for a YKTTW to be launched with a different title than it had in YKTTW?

Yes, its very common for a title to change from it's original, although most people change the title while it's still in YKTTW before they launch it's not compulsory.

Edit: In my experience it's harder to get feedback on titles than examples.

edited 12th Nov '10 8:20:37 PM by GiantSpaceChinchilla

SomeSortOfTroper Since: Jan, 2001
#12: Nov 13th 2010 at 1:17:27 AM

Don't suppose you guys could help out with an index too?

rodneyAnonymous Sophisticated as Hell from empty space Since: Aug, 2010
#13: Nov 13th 2010 at 1:19:53 AM

...

edited 13th Nov '10 1:20:33 AM by rodneyAnonymous

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.
DragonQuestZ The Other Troper from Somewhere in California Since: Jan, 2001
The Other Troper
#16: Nov 13th 2010 at 2:28:43 AM

[up] That and Comedy Tropes, since this is often a joke.

[up][up] It's not that it's too mundane. It's that it's too out of character.

Possible But Implausible?

edited 13th Nov '10 2:29:58 AM by DragonQuestZ

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
SomeSortOfTroper Since: Jan, 2001
#17: Nov 13th 2010 at 2:55:00 AM

We could just switch the y out for an e.

Try and avoid Spoony areas. I find SPOON-y names tend to suffer from the exact problem you say the current name has unless they're three sentences long.

DragonQuestZ The Other Troper from Somewhere in California Since: Jan, 2001
The Other Troper
#18: Nov 13th 2010 at 3:19:34 AM

That's a very general statement, and I would say almost dishonest to claim most are like that (especially since we can just use Index Of Exact Trope Titles to disprove it). Plus you are acting as though most tropes are as nuanced as this (specific inclusions and exclusions), when that's only occasionally the case.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
SomeSortOfTroper Since: Jan, 2001
#19: Nov 13th 2010 at 3:37:45 AM

  • 1) Well yeah, it's a general statement. That's how it works as advice. "Don't put your finger in a light bulb socket" is also general advice.

  • 2)I find the very thing to be missing from the Index Of Exact Trope Titles to be exactness. It seems like the very quality of exactness was misunderstood.

  • 3) Yeah, they are mostly this complicated/simple but i think that this is just one that is more prone to the problem due to our vocabulary. If I could just make up a word for each important conceptual element of a trope (for example, imagine if we defined Xanatos to mean what it signifies in Xanatos Gambit) and then put several of them together I think most would end up about the same length. The problem is that without made up words, what we use have difficulty exactly dealing with those concepts.
    • So we rely not on exactness but tropes (language tropes) and trickery. For instance, Impossible Mundane Explanation, I don't find exact but mentioning Mundane in the title, why it's almost the Law of Conservation of Detail in action- because we've mentioned Mundane, the quality of Mundane vs Extraordinary must be involved in some way.

Does anybody remember how one does numbered bullet points?

Ah Rodney has told me.

edited 13th Nov '10 3:53:35 AM by SomeSortOfTroper

MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#20: Nov 13th 2010 at 9:06:59 AM

I added Impossibly Mundane Explanation to Speculative Fiction Tropes, on the logic that it's the index Arbitrary Skepticism (which is definitely a related concept) is listed on.

edited 13th Nov '10 9:07:16 AM by MetaFour

Twilightdusk Since: Jan, 2001
#21: Nov 13th 2010 at 9:33:27 AM

If it makes any impact, my first assumption seeing the name was some kind of cover up. Like, some terrorists used magic to blow something up, and the feds covered it up with an Impossibly Mundane Explanation for the series of events.

Raso Cure Candy Since: Jul, 2009
Cure Candy
#22: Nov 13th 2010 at 9:51:37 AM

So this trope is say, You call a computer tech to fix a computer that doesnt work so he takes it apart does all kinds of stuff to it then to only figure out that it was unplugged?

Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!
SomeSortOfTroper Since: Jan, 2001
#23: Nov 13th 2010 at 11:40:45 AM

No, it's a choice between an alien invasion plan involves supplanting parasitic eggs in our childrens minds to program them to destroy our infrastructure with computer viruses or the children enjoying doing homework and choosing the former because it's so much more reasonable.

DragonQuestZ The Other Troper from Somewhere in California Since: Jan, 2001
The Other Troper
#24: Nov 13th 2010 at 12:52:40 PM

"I find the very thing to be missing from the Index Of Exact Trope Titles to be exactness."

The problem with that notion is that it's personal, and thus subjective. Besides, you're going to tell me that Fur Bikini isn't exact (at least without going into nitpicking)? This trope is something that can't have an exact title for reasons of its own, not because of your claim that exact titles aren't exact in general.

Also, I realized this is a Sister Trope to Something Only They Would Say and Something They Would Never Say. Now Something Mundand You Would Never Do is about long, so perhaps we could shorten it.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
SomeSortOfTroper Since: Jan, 2001
#25: Nov 13th 2010 at 2:18:50 PM


Wow. That was rude. Thumped.


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