# How short is Tom Cruise's new girlfriend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936 "2013-06-26T03:01:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/61 "2013-06-28T16:01:43Z")
Meh, if someone feels a certain action is a complete waste of time, then it is fair that they are proud they don’t engage in that behavior. One doesn’t have to agree with their assessment of the passtime. I think fishing is a complete waste of time. For some people, it is their favorite hobby. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/62 "2013-06-28T16:56:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But that’s not the same. As I noted, nobody can know everything. > > What I disagree with are the people who are proud about not knowing something. > > Compare these things (which some people would say): > > “I’m proud that I don’t know the name of a single football player.” > “I’m proud that I haven’t watched an hour of television in over five years.” > “I’m proud that I’ve never learned to play any video games.” > > To these things: > > “I’m proud that I don’t know the name of a single member of Congress.” > “I’m proud that I haven’t read a book in over five years.” > “I’m proud that I’ve never learned to speak a second language.” So, which one is supposed to be the “right” choice? I’d feel bad if I could say that about all in either group. I’ve can do all… except the second language isn’t quite fluent (nor is the third). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/63 "2013-06-28T17:20:47Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > So, which one is supposed to be the “right” choice? I’d feel bad if I could say that about all in either group. I’ve can do all… except the second language isn’t quite fluent (nor is the third). It’s a trick question. They’re all wrong answers. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/64 "2013-06-28T17:27:43Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Meh, if someone feels a certain action is a complete waste of time, then it is fair that they are proud they don’t engage in that behavior. One doesn’t have to agree with their assessment of the passtime. > > I think fishing is a complete waste of time. For some people, it is their favorite hobby. Like I’ve said, there are only so many hours in the day. You can’t do everything. If you don’t watch TV because you spent all your leisure time reading books, then okay, talk about the books you’ve read. But bragging about the TV you didn’t watch? That’s just silly. Suppose you weren’t reading or fishing or doing anything else. Suppose you were just sitting in a chair and staring at the wall for several hours each day. Would you still be bragging about how at least you’re not watching any TV? Honestly, you’d be better off if you had turned the TV on and watched it while you were sitting there. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/65 "2013-06-28T18:13:04Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Yeah, you kinda do. He’s the only fixed reference point you have that is close enough to her position to make a valid comparison. > > You don’t know, for instance, if the black guy in front of her is 5’ 9" or 6’4" tall. And you don’t know if he’s 2 ft in front of her or 8 ft in front of her. So using him for a geometrical comparison is dubious. > > Tom, on the other hand, is the same distance from the camera and standing at the same elevation. Furthermore, his height is known. If Tom were 6’4" tall, then she would not be considered [del]tiny[del] short. Word. Just to emphasize this point, check out the tiny muscular dude in the middle of [This picture.](http://gamedayr.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/the-rock-shaq-barkley.jpeg) That’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He is six foot four. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/66 "2013-06-28T19:33:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you don’t watch TV because you spent all your leisure time reading books, then okay, talk about the books you’ve read. But bragging about the TV you didn’t watch? That’s just silly. Context is everything. Those statements don’t arise out of the blue, they typically come up in a conversation about TV, or fishing, or sports, or celebrities, or whatever. Sure, it’s dismissive as hell, but that’s the point. The person is saying your passtime is worthless. He might mention what he does instead (I don’t watch sports, I play sports; I don’t watch TV, I read books;), but the point of the comment is to dismiss the current topic as worthless, or express wonder at why someone would invest to much time and attention at something he considers worthless. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/67 "2013-06-28T20:10:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I try to live by the principle that ignorance of your culture is not considered cool. > > There are unfortunately only so many hours in the day. I can’t know everything. But there’s no justification for celebrating ignorance. There’s no reason to be proud of not knowing who Farrah Abraham or Paula Deen or Aaron Hernandez are - any more than there is to be proud of not knowing who Keith Alexander or Hilary Mantel or Xi Jinping are. Ideally, a person should be familiar with both Raphael and Serge Haroche. And if you had started a pit thread about how comically droopy Hilary Mantel’s tits are or that ha ha, you heard that Serge Haroche’s dad had a lazy eye and struggled with digestive issues that left him prone to embarrassing episodes of public incontinence, I can’t say that I’d think much of that, either. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/68 "2013-06-28T22:40:20Z")
> [@colander](#): > > holy christables, who fucking cares If you don’t care about the topic of a thread, refrain from posting in it – hell, make it easy on yourself and refrain from opening it. Warning issued for threadshitting. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator Note to all: My apologies for the delay in issuing this warning, but since I don’t care about the topic, I hadn’t opened the thread, and thus hadn’t seen the post until someone – correctly – reported it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/69 "2013-06-28T23:17:27Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Word. Just to emphasize this point, check out the tiny muscular dude in the middle of [This picture.](http://gamedayr.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/the-rock-shaq-barkley.jpeg) > > That’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He is six foot four. Yeah, I’ve seen the same thing watching football games. You look at the players on the field together and they all look normal sized because they’re all in the same general range. But then you see a football player in a non-player crowd and see how big they actually are. Take Peyton Manning, for example. On the [field](http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Sports/images-3/peyton-manning-on-sidelines.jpg), nobody thinks of him as being a particularly big player. But here’s a [picture](http://media.dma.mil/2013/Mar/04/2000009622/600/400/0/130301-M-TM093-124.JPG) of him in a crowd of marines. Now he looks 6’5". ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936/70 "2013-06-28T23:45:17Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > If you don’t care about the topic of a thread, refrain from posting in it – hell, make it easy on yourself and refrain from opening it. > > Warning issued for threadshitting. > > **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator > > Note to all: My apologies for the delay in issuing this warning, but since I don’t care about the topic, I hadn’t opened the thread, and thus hadn’t seen the post until someone – correctly – reported it. Turns out the thread was in the Pit when that post was made. Warning rescinded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-short-is-tom-cruises-new-girlfriend/661936.md?page=3)