If I was a scientist, I might never be able to read science-fiction
Is it just my degree that makes me sensitive to plot devices like a prenuptial that neither party can get rid of even though both want to rip it up or a contract that one of the signatories isn't permitted to have a copy of or people thinking you can just throw away business deals because you don't like a person? I'd love to think that I would have found those things a little silly even before I went to business/law school (I've always been a cynic, frugal, and more interested in the money than the people), but sometimes I do have to face the fact that my education did change my perspective.
But at the same time, these plot devices just seem lazy. I love a romance with a lot of friction just as much as any smut fan, but it seems to me that we can come up with a plot device that doesn't throw out what seem to me to be common sense rules.
A prenup (or any contract) can be rewritten if both parties desire it (the signers are not slaves to a piece of paper if they both want out, even if only one wants a change, there are mechanisms, but I'm willing to overlook knowledge of that). A copy of a contract cannot be withheld from a signatory. Businesses owe the making of a profit to more than just the owner and can't throw away meetings, deals, and partnerships willy nilly. Is that just the degree talking, or is it common sense? Am I doomed because I am a lawyer/accountant or are these really lazy plot devices?
I've always been forgiving of the criminal procedure snafus. Media did it's work well in creating the "sneaky defense attorney/criminal oriented legal system/rule-playing prosecutor who can't get away with anything" myth*, and maybe my lack in these areas (I have no interest in criminal law) make them easier to overlook. Is that hypocritical? I don't forgive the basics (even in criminal procedure) and these things seem like basics to me.
How painful must it be if you are a doctor, or a biologist, or an engineer, or a computer expert?
*don't get me wrong, it's a hard job to be a prosecutor too and it is an undertaking to fix the technicalities manipulated by the defense, but very rarely do criminals get off on mere technicalities (come to think of it, the technicality thing does make me *facedesk keyboardsmash*)
But at the same time, these plot devices just seem lazy. I love a romance with a lot of friction just as much as any smut fan, but it seems to me that we can come up with a plot device that doesn't throw out what seem to me to be common sense rules.
A prenup (or any contract) can be rewritten if both parties desire it (the signers are not slaves to a piece of paper if they both want out, even if only one wants a change, there are mechanisms, but I'm willing to overlook knowledge of that). A copy of a contract cannot be withheld from a signatory. Businesses owe the making of a profit to more than just the owner and can't throw away meetings, deals, and partnerships willy nilly. Is that just the degree talking, or is it common sense? Am I doomed because I am a lawyer/accountant or are these really lazy plot devices?
I've always been forgiving of the criminal procedure snafus. Media did it's work well in creating the "sneaky defense attorney/criminal oriented legal system/rule-playing prosecutor who can't get away with anything" myth*, and maybe my lack in these areas (I have no interest in criminal law) make them easier to overlook. Is that hypocritical? I don't forgive the basics (even in criminal procedure) and these things seem like basics to me.
How painful must it be if you are a doctor, or a biologist, or an engineer, or a computer expert?
*don't get me wrong, it's a hard job to be a prosecutor too and it is an undertaking to fix the technicalities manipulated by the defense, but very rarely do criminals get off on mere technicalities (come to think of it, the technicality thing does make me *facedesk keyboardsmash*)