Why quantum mechanics?

[Laurence Horn]

So we've finally realized that the appropriate answer to the Groucho's (or was it Chico's?) question "Why a duck?" is, of course, "Because a duck."

LH

On Jan 10, 2014, at 8:21 PM, George Thompson wrote:

> I find "why Tuesday?" or "why pork chops?", &c. a perfectly natural,
> elliptical way of asking "why have you chosen Tuesday (instead of the day
> I'd prefer) or "why are you serving pork chops (when you know that they get
> stuck between my teeth)"
>
> GAT
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 10, 2014 at 11:10 AM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Isn't a question like "Why turbulence?" natural in speech and a possible
>> source for the "Because X" pattern?
>>
>> DanG
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 10, 2014 at 7:48 AM, Dave Wilton <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET>
>>> Subject:      Why quantum mechanics?
>>>
>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Today's xkcd comic contains a variant of the WOTY use of "because," a use
>>> of
>>> "why," as in "Why quantum mechanics?" and "Why turbulence?"
>>>
>>> http://xkcd.com/1315/
>>>
>>> (I haven't looked into whether Horace Lamb actually said anything of this
>>> nature.)
>>>
>>> --Dave Wilton
>>>   Doctoral Candidate, Department of English
>>>   University of Toronto
>>>   dave.wilton at utoronto.ca / dave at wilton.net
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> George A. Thompson
> Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
> Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much since then.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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