Doesn't it irritate you sufficiently to put fingers to keyboard when...

[scooter]

IMAGINATION RULES!

And we have it in spades here

[Weaver]

So it appears i'm in a minority then.

Well look at it this way: modellers are a weird sub-group of society and whiffers are a weird sub-group of modellers, so you're a weird sub-group of a weird sub-group of a weird sub-group. That's quite an achievment: own it with pride.....

[zenrat]

Best school report I ever had said "Fred is eccentric...".

[PR19_Kit]

Best school report I ever had said "Fred is eccentric...".

Hehehe, indeed so. Mine said 'Spackman always does what HE wants to do, no matter how illogical that may seem.' 

[Weaver]

http://xkcd.com/1095/

[NARSES2]

I have noticed that the UK Model Magazines (the aircraft ones anyway) are highlighting more What If builds, even if they sometimes use that horrible, to my ears, word "counterfactual". It has to be of US origin ?

Personally I'm probably a 50/50 real world/what if builder

[Weaver]

"Counterfactual" was actually invented by real historians as a "respectable" terms for What Ifs, so that they could play the game too without seeming unprofessional. For my part, I used to regard the idea that experts invent  words to make themselves seem more important was just cynicism and negativity until I read that.....

[NARSES2]

I think the first time I saw the word used was in a serious work of "Counterfactual" histories. So serious it was mind numbingly boring and just seemed to be an excuse for a bunch of third rate university lecturers to show off.  It's probably one of the few books I've got rid of after reading it (I treat books with a reverence normally). However I didn't chuck it, gave it to the Church "Bring and Buy" - didn't they used to be called Jumble Sales when I was a kid ? 

[Dizzyfugu]

I'm no psycho-analyst, so I wont push the envelope here, but I'm pretty sure many who strive for greater realism are trying to control something amid the chaos of the real world around them, while many of us aim to break with an overly structured reality by creating fantasies. Of course I could be completely wrong - & probably am regarding many, both real-worlders & whif-worlders. Hell, I can't even figure me out!

But that's a good point, and well explained. "Realism" gives a kind of cheap guidance - and leaving that behind is actually what makes me enjoy whiffing so much, as well as SF or anime kits. It's a way of moving beyond the boundaries. It's actually the same reason why I never got hooked by computer games - you can only be "so good " as the person who programmed the stuff will let you become. Why run in the treadmill while you can step out and head for beyond the horizon?

Sky and imagination is the limit! 

[Captain Canada]

That cartoon is pretty funny ! True tho.....

[Weaver]

That cartoon is pretty funny ! True tho.....

The whole XKCD site is worth checking out. I love his humour.

[Weaver]

I think the first time I saw the word used was in a serious work of "Counterfactual" histories. So serious it was mind numbingly boring and just seemed to be an excuse for a bunch of third rate university lecturers to show off.  It's probably one of the few books I've got rid of after reading it (I treat books with a reverence normally). However I didn't chuck it, gave it to the Church "Bring and Buy" - didn't they used to be called Jumble Sales when I was a kid ? 

I've seen a couple. What If, edited by Robert Cowley, was pretty good I thought, if a bit dry and cautious. There's been at least one, maybe more, sequels. Once that became popular, everyone jumped on the bandwagon with mixed results. I got another one that was very poor: can't remember the name, but the cover pic was a Nazi astronaut on the moon.

[scooter]

That cartoon is pretty funny ! True tho.....

The whole XKCD site is worth checking out. I love his humour.

XKCD is awesome.  Especially his "What-If" science question answers

[Weaver]

That cartoon is pretty funny ! True tho.....

The whole XKCD site is worth checking out. I love his humour.

XKCD is awesome.  Especially his "What-If" science question answers

Hadn't looked at those before: cheers!

How's this for spooky? The last thing I looked at before coming here was a Kerbal Space Program (computer game) video on youtube. The third What If question I just looked at (Rocket Golf) mentioned Kerbal Space Program within four paragraphs....

[scooter]

That cartoon is pretty funny ! True tho.....

The whole XKCD site is worth checking out. I love his humour.

XKCD is awesome.  Especially his "What-If" science question answers

Hadn't looked at those before: cheers!

How's this for spooky? The last thing I looked at before coming here was a Kerbal Space Program (computer game) video on youtube. The third What If question I just looked at (Rocket Golf) mentioned Kerbal Space Program within four paragraphs....

KSP is a fun little program.  I picked it up when it as 17 bucks on Steam, and mainly play it in sandbox mode.  The modding community is pretty good with making, and keep up to date, mods.