As if that wasn't a sign, among the numerous other signs, that the guy was way more thoughtful about these things than some of GC people ever will be. I fucking despair
Show this thread
Literally one of the first jokes in Terry Pratchett's first novel "The Colour of Magic" made fun out of researchers who couldn't stop obessing about what sex the giant space turtle, the Great A'tuin, was. The joke being literally who fucking cares about the turtle's sex.https://twitter.com/rhipratchett/status/1421250250019426305 …
-
-
Thanks. Twitter will use this info to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Slight correction: the joke was in Terry Pratchett's first *Discworld* world.
Show this thread -
New conversation -
-
-
a) other turtles b) people who are trying to breed them.
-
As far as the inhabitants of Discworld were aware, there were no other turtles on the scale of the Great A'Tuin. Trying to breed them would be impossible. And, if there *were* other turtles on the same scale, trying to breed them would inevitable be disastrous for the inhabitants
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
Just to be thorough, here are the jokes from both "The Colour of Magic" (pg2) and "The Light Fantastic" (pg2) if anyone is in doubt. It isn't explicitly obvious, but anyone familiar with this kind of humour will know what's going on.pic.twitter.com/z2apqssGCD
Show this threadThanks. Twitter will use this info to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
The joke was if A'tuin was female, and there was a *male* turtle out there, then Discworld would be in some serious trouble come mating season....
-
In the Light Fantastic the turtle tends to some celestial eggs. I dont thing the sex is mentioned here (further proof that TP thought it irrelevant) but i do seem to remember the supposedly inevitable apocalypse turning out to be a lot of fuss about nothing. That feels relevant.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
On second reflection, some decent points have been raised about why the giant space turtle's sex could matter. I've only read 4 Discworld novels so far, but given the ending of The Light Fantastic, and further evidence from a Discworld wiki, https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Great_A'Tuin …pic.twitter.com/vnsQuF5cNU
Show this thread -
there still wouldn't be a point in trying to find out the giant space turtle's sex. Either a female and male space turtle mate very, very carefully, and everyone's fine, or they don't, and both Discworlds are probably buggered, anyway lol. That's despite magic being a thing.
Show this thread - Show replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.