Talk:3034: Features of Adulthood

No comments yet? Probably everyone's still considering the filling in of the table. As for me, I just put a load of words in about the middle name(s), but perhaps it drifts and could be cut back a lot. However, I think we do know a lot of middle names of people, especially politicians. Or at least use their middle initials (like with "John F[itzgerald]. Kennedy"), even if we don't use their full names (like with "Harry S. Truman"... :p ). Not that I've had much experience with middle names. Don't have one myself. Knew a couple of people at school who would admit to having them (one had "Colin", the other had "Douglas"), which weren't really names given to people our age and location, so they must have been grandparental honorifics (though I'm not sure the names were right for two generations back, either... never enquired further, but maybe they were being traditional middle names, inherited but never really used). To my knowledge, neither the "Colin" nor the "Douglas" ever went on to use those in post-school life, but at least one of them also changed from their first name as their habitual name to be known by, and likely they prefered to go for something altogether new. 172.69.195.27 03:23, 7 January 2025 (UTC)

In Denmark middle names are common, and Kynde is actually my middle name... Many people use their second name like their first, which can be confusing in work places where the e-mail is auto generated from full name, so no one can find Nicolai, because his first name is Christian... which he never uses. Have more than one of those here at my job. --Kynde (talk) 11:56, 7 January 2025 (UTC)

In Denmark middle names are necessary. Otherwise we'd be lost in a vast sea of Jens Jensen, Hans Hansen and Niels Nielsen. Min farfar Niels Peder Nielsen, hedde altid Peder, ikke Niels. 108.162.238.139 (talk) 13:58, 7 January 2025 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Unexplained smells or noises: I'm trying to figure out what he means by this. I can't say that this comes up often in my adult life. Am I just deaf and anosmic (I don't think so)? Is Randall worried about gas leaks or his house creaking and falling down? What could he be referencing? Mtcv (talk) 09:29, 7 January 2025 (UTC)

I often smell something that others cannot or do not. So I'm completely at par with Randall here. Just now my office has a damp smell, after new people moved their things into my office replacing earlier office mates (four in the room). I'm sure it is some of their stuff that smells, but since the hole room is permeated with the smell, it has not been possible for me to find out what could cause the smell. But have tried this many times, for instance when someone leaves a citrus fruit to rot. Some people just cannot smell the fruit whereas I'm getting an instant headache from it. Also in my office, the guy with the rotten fruit, actually destroying his backpack, could not smell it, whereas other people could smell it down the hall. But inside the office it was hard to pinpoint the source as for those that could smell it is was all over the room. I could go on... --Kynde (talk) 11:57, 7 January 2025 (UTC)

"In later life, a person may drop the use of middle names (or, conversely, adopt only them as the name they are known by) and the unwieldy complete set of names becomes less common, as they may be considered unprofessional and unnecessary." -- What? Who says middle names may be considered unprofessional? Never heard of this before. --172.70.55.140 14:55, 7 January 2025 (UTC)

Just popping in to explain where this comic came from. It's an adaptation of an old John Mulaney bit that makes the rounds every so often on social media unattributed. (Example: Tom Morello stealing the bit over ten years ago on what was then Twitter.) 172.69.58.74 18:23, 7 January 2025 (UTC)

As someone born before 1960 who grew up when espionage shows were prevalent on television and toy spy gadgets were prevalent in toy stores, it is amusing to me the difference in what children thought about passwords then and how we use passwords now.--172.70.83.55 18:42, 7 January 2025 (UTC)