Uniqueness Theorems

The more I think about it, the more I realize that I have an extensive set of very specific connotations that fit overtop my words--a set of connotations that others may not share, as witnessed in the "baby" conversation that happened this weekend past. In the interest of becoming a further recovered physicist (read: not studying for the GRE at all, and writing then going to the gym and coming home and being happy) I will share another word with you: pretty.

Pretty is a word that I use a lot. It is never, ever applied to a person. People are beautiful, lovely, attractive, or hot (all have their own subsets of meaning, but that is another story for another day) but never pretty. Things are pretty, usually abstract things. For example:

V for Vendetta was pretty. The plot was well-conceived and well-acted with the exception of Natalie Portman's sinusoidal accent. The characters behaved exactly as I would have wished them to. Visually, with the exception of the baptism by fire/water of V/Evey (overdone, thank you, I get symbolism very well) it was stunning. The scene near the end with the stylized graphic violence puts Kill Bill to shame--hey look, it serves the plot!

When it comes to movies, and I think other physical tangible viewable things, pretty means stylized, coherent, clever, charming, and involving, as well as visually appealing.

Pretty also has a mathematical meaning, one which is harder to put into words. Pretty rarely, but sometimes, refers to work (a proof, a solution to a problem) that I have done myself. When I say a mathematical manipulation is pretty, I mean that it is clever, clean, and intuitively pleasing.