I think perhaps because of the billions of dollars involved, and because the element of risk was always insanely high. Did the families of the dead astronauts sue? If the risk was not only higher than usual but the contractors had said so and tried to stop the launch, it does sound very like manslaughter.
The Spanish system is REALLY confusing, kids not only get the mother's surname and the father's surname in their names, they can choose which to use in life.
And because there aren't that many first names to choose from, people will often use both their first names so that Juan Carlos at the bank isn't confused with Juan Manolo at the garage.
My third name is a family name which I use as my main writing name and the authorities got a bit confused when registering my car, to my absolute delight my car is registered in my writing name and not the surname I use for everything else I'm particularly pleased because I used exactly such a confusion for one of my books. Fiction anticipating life
And quickly back to Bear's comment - why do Governments DO that? Exactly the same in Australia with aborigines - unless it happened at the same time, do people learn nothing from these misery caused by these social experiments??
I was asking more about the - hang on, going to look it up quickly so I don't sound like a complete numpty - nope, can't find it. I'd read that a child had the name given by parents until they 'found' their own name.
The closest I can find is about Sitting Bull - copy paste - The son of an esteemed Sioux warrior named Returns-Again, Sitting Bull looked up to his father and desired to follow in his footsteps, but didn't show a particular talent for warfare. As a result he was called "Slow" for his apparent lack of skills.
At the age of 10, however, he killed his first buffalo. Four years later, he fought honorably in a battle against a rival clan. He was named Tatanka-Iyotanka, a Lakota name that describes a buffalo bull sitting on its haunches.
Pity. The idea of the name finding the person really appealed to me, I hoped you'd be able to tell me about it, I'll carry on looking but am beginning to think I was fed a line of fiction.
Molly, families have very little imagination, I find. Just one example, there are so many Lucy's in my combined family that a family gathering would be downright confusing
Vier, no idea why you chose my blog for that comment? Especially when you started your own blog on changing names, then came back to change my blog onto your favourite subject, which I am trying to avoid?
However, that, combined with this Economist report I tripped over - here's an informed explanation of the midterms for those who neither knew nor, ever before, cared, what the midterms are. Neither side should relax enough to celebrate. It seems it is still too close to call.
Bogie, you ever tried one of the talking keyboards? I keep waiting for them to perfect them but I believe right now they get so much wrong they aren't really worth the fuss
Imp, not letting your name be mucked about with must have taken real fortitude in Canada, my BFF emigrated there and said everyone gets their name shortened or changed and her new friends were nonplussed by hers, since it isn't an easy one to muck about with. At school she was known as Effie from her initial but she has managed to avoid that in BC. Her husband has been known as Scottie to all from the day he arrived, no matter how much he tries to cling to Scott - even she calls him that now
I've stuck with my married name purely because it was nice and short, but I added in my family name to remind myself I am, as you say, my own person again
Berry, I'm totally allergic to 'dear' as well. I don't even use it to little old ladies, but that's what I associate it with pity as so many of the mails we get start 'Hello dear'
So Berry is just CS - do you find you are bolder or more outspoken as Berry than you would be under your own name?
(I nearly passed out the first time I Googled my writing name, something like 65000 hits, but turned out mainly because my surname is also a kind of eel with teeth. )
Ek Ekself ja I had all my various names most of the time, and I've been using Elegsabiff as one of my names for years, starting on Twitter about 8 years ago. It's only since I got to Spain, where I am known as Biff, and introduced to new people as Biff, that it has become the name I hear the most, and it is changing me slowly, I think. For the better, naturally
I'm the sixth Elizabeth in a row on my mother's side so I almost had to break out of the mould
Usha, so long as whatever name you use sounds right when people say it, and makes you happy - all my Chinese students take an English name for their classes (or an English word, I have one student who is very proud of his name Tiger) but some tell me their Chinese names and they are way more poetic than the English ones, especially the longer ones.
So Usha is purely and simply for CS? It's a nice name!
I'll have to ask Art if he notices a different 'person' responding to each name he chooses
I was christened with four names in all and they are all multi-syllable, when I have to tell my whole name I need to take a breath and have a little sitdown in the middle. They've proved very useful as writing names, though. Some cultures believe the more names you have, the luckier you are, so you and I must both be swimming in luck
Jac, any census your grandparents completed should show your eldest aunt's real name? That family tree business can be amazing, I was triumphantly tracked down by a distant relative's daughter. As it turned out she could have just asked the distant relative in question, our mothers had known each other as children and we'd been exchanging Christmas cards for years
Wen, it's quite rare for someone to change their name completely, maybe his real name was fairly awful or completely out of fashion.
I did see something about Buzz Aldrin being known as Buzz as a child because his baby sister couldn't say his name, and he eventually changed his name by deed poll to Buzz because everyone knew him as that (was he Eugene, or something similar?)
Wish Bear was still around, she could throw more light on something I once heard, that Native Americans changed their names as life offered new ones, so the name you were born with was just a handle until you found the name that was right, and even that could change. I rather like that.
You didn't answer the implicit blog question - are you known by your birth name, or a variation of it, and have you ever noticed a difference when people use a different name for you? Answer that, THEN you get a biscuit
Jac, it's a lovely name but I think I know what you mean - my sister's name is Anne, and people are forever lengthening it at least it doesn't become Stan or Andy.
Have you always used the Jac version or was it a nickname that slowly became your preferred name?
So far as the rest of the world is concerned, they can call 'hey, you!' and no worries?
Because I have a long name, I tend to think I'm in trouble when someone uses it in full I've had multiple variations all my life. Eliza, Lisbet, Liza-bith. Hence of course my multiple personalities.
Once upon a time one could say pretty much anything - abducted by aliens, ridden a dragon, had fairies at the bottom of the garden - and people shrugged it off, pretty much. So long as the person concerned wasn't hurting anyone, who cared - or as was once famously said, "I don't care what they do, so long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses"
Sign of the times that the media would even pick up on a story like this, and readers of the story will hotly debate it? Some journalists need to get a life.
She's either attention-seeking or believes it. If the former, well done, she has attention for her quite original idea. If the latter, oh well.
So long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses.
(Jac - for your other comment on t'other blog. I didn't want to carry on chatting there.)
For that matter, the earth is only a few thousand years old?
We believe something and then we are taught it is wrong and we believe that too - not because we know for ourselves, but just because we are told it is true.
There are still discoveries to be made. Some beliefs are a little more unlikely than others.
RE: The Space Shuttle Challenger.....
I think perhaps because of the billions of dollars involved, and because the element of risk was always insanely high. Did the families of the dead astronauts sue? If the risk was not only higher than usual but the contractors had said so and tried to stop the launch, it does sound very like manslaughter.