Unsolved Mystery Book4 Why now, Elaine?

[Arjan]

Used to work in low-level IT back in the day. The number of times I've heard, "My laptop/computer/discman/et cetera isn't working, FIX IT," was staggering. The number of times my response was "You have to turn it on first," was in far greater numbers than you might think. Legitimately, without exaggeration, I can tell you that approximately 70% of all issues were related to the fact that these people simply did not turn their devices on. Most of them turned red and got embarrassed, but enough of them were extremely angry with me, as though their lack of thought was my fault (though I recognized then and now that they felt dumb and just wanted to blame me). Left the industry about a year after college, when cell phones were becoming a popular thing, specifically because I knew that it was just going to create a new kind of dumb customer, and I'd had enough.

But yes, I've also experienced people trying to open the doors when we were closed, calling before or after posted hours, pushing on a pull door, and a whole bunch of other stuff. When I was freelancing as a writer/editor, price negotiations were fun, because I charged by the word. You would be stunned at the number of people violently angry that $0.05/word for 10,000 words is $500 and not $50, even after I had explicitly explained the math down to the middle school level (I drew one guy a sarcastic picture, with bunches of twenty words equaling a dollar, then adding groups until I hit the word count of the document, with each group clearly numbered; he still didn't get it).

As for Elaine, I don't think it's safe to assume stupidity where she's concerned. She lived with the Summer Fae for a long time, and while it's not as treacherous as Winter, I think assuming that survival requires quite a bit more savvy than you'd think. Look no further than her manipulations in Summer Knight, up to and including her false flight out of town, knowing Harry would chase after her.

She is smart generally but the wish not to confront unwelcome truths especially if you don't have to face them immediately is a strong one and can be difficult to resist. Elaine desperately wanted to be free from the Sidhe so putting your head in the sand and hope it is true is only human. She might have reconsidered later but she just recently had gone through a lot.

So she rationalized it in such a way that it could at least stand her own reluctant immediate logic and went on thinking that if a Sidhe really thought she had a claim she should come to her and explain. Find a home and forget.

How often did Harry hide from unwelcome truths?

[Kindler]

Sure, I think that's a perfectly reasonable interpretation.

[jonas]

That way you do not have to think about why stupidity persists even with intelligent people.

Nonesense. Stupidity exists for all the same reasons all the problems of humanity exists, the Ego. The need to define the self, sticking to that definition without adaptability, lash out against anyone who threatens said self definition, or just to reinforce said self-defining definition by belittling others....

Even other less ephemeral problems like monies, wars between countries or ideologies are a result of constructs that are all defined in the ego.
We believe in them, we willfully act stupid to continue without irregularity our own sense of reality.... Same reason some people argue theories foreign from their own :-x

[Kindler]

Nonesense. Stupidity exists for all the same reasons all the problems of humanity exists, the Ego. The need to define the self, sticking to that definition without adaptability, lash out against anyone who threatens said self definition, or just to reinforce said self-defining definition by belittling others....

Even other less ephemeral problems like monies, wars between countries or ideologies are a result of constructs that are all defined in the ego.
We believe in them, we willfully act stupid to continue without irregularity our own sense of reality.... Same reason some people argue theories foreign from their own :-x

I think you're conflating willful ignorance to support self-interest with stupidity. I define stupidity as the inability to correctly grasp concepts as they are introduced at a speed that deviates significantly from the norm. Your categorization requires motive, though it may be unconscious; mine is concerned with ability.

[Arjan]

I think you're conflating willful ignorance to support self-interest with stupidity. I define stupidity as the inability to correctly grasp concepts as they are introduced at a speed that deviates significantly from the norm. Your categorization requires motive, though it may be unconscious; mine is concerned with ability.

That covers only a small subset of human stupidity because a lot of people do have the mental capacity but do not use it for some reason.

[wardenferry419]

I have a phrase I ofen use, don't know where I got, that explains some behavior. Selective literacy. People read the sign and only see the words they want to see. My boss tells a story where a customer firmly believed that there is a difference between half off and 50% off and that they wanted the better of the two.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

Elaine desperately wanted to be free from the Sidhe so putting your head in the sand and hope it is true is only human. She might have reconsidered later but she just recently had gone through a lot.

Why exactly do you think Elaine wanted to be free from the Sidhe ?

So far as I am concerned, Elaine happily working for Titania all along, and telling Harry she was free once Aurora was gone purely as a way to manipulate Harry's sympathies, makes as much sense as any other take on where she is and what she is doing now.  Harry being Winter Knight does require Summer to do something about balance, as Harry has a ton of extra powers and connections compared to Fitz; Elaine fulfilling that role works for me.

[Arjan]

Why exactly do you think Elaine wanted to be free from the Sidhe ?

She does not want to be conscripted by the council either. Being free from debt to the Sidhe is an obvious motivation for anyone.

So far as I am concerned, Elaine happily working for Titania all along, and telling Harry she was free once Aurora was gone purely as a way to manipulate Harry's sympathies,

She could as well winning his sympathies by telling she was not free. Or by seeking more contact with him.

makes as much sense as any other take on where she is and what she is doing now.  Harry being Winter Knight does require Summer to do something about balance,

Which makes story sense but is not a motivation for Elaine to do anything.

as Harry has a ton of extra powers and connections compared to Fitz; Elaine fulfilling that role works for me.

[jonas]

I have a phrase I ofen use, don't know where I got, that explains some behavior. Selective literacy. People read the sign and only see the words they want to see. My boss tells a story where a customer firmly believed that there is a difference between half off and 50% off and that they wanted the better of the two.

exactly, and I argue the construction of such fallacies from the sieve of perspective is a direct result or faculty of the ego and superego.

That covers only a small subset of human stupidity because a lot of people do have the mental capacity but do not use it for some reason.

and which I theorize is from being unable to see or test their own borders.

Human nature is a bit of hobby of mine, I admit. Mostly from looking to better understand myself, but all people are people.(I theorize lol)