# Threshold of Disbelief **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689 "2018-12-06T17:22:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/101 "2018-12-12T14:22:02Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And if you can’t tell the difference between the Appalachians and the Rockies, you shouldn’t be making a movie. [Even if it did win 5 Oscars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deer_Hunter). Deer Hunter was partially filmed in the Cascades, not the Rockies. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/102 "2018-12-12T15:59:27Z")
The Cascades are part of the Rockies. As are the Tetons, the Sierra Nevada, the Bitterroots, the Sawtooths, the San Juans, the Beartooths, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/103 "2018-12-12T16:10:29Z")
My info says otherwise; Rockies are tectonic, Cascades are volcanic in origin, and part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” Geographically, some may consider the Cascades as part of the greater Rocky Mountain range; geologically, they’re two separate and distinct formations. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/104 "2018-12-12T16:14:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The Cascades are part of the Rockies. As are the Tetons, the Sierra Nevada, the Bitterroots, the Sawtooths, the San Juans, the Beartooths, and so on. Most of the sources I read state that the Cascades are **not** part of the Rocky Mountains. The Cascades are chain of volcanic mountains. The Rockies were formed by orogenic uplift. [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120511092107AAbtOxe](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120511092107AAbtOxe) [http://www.mountainprofessor.com/the-rockies.html](http://www.mountainprofessor.com/the-rockies.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/105 "2018-12-12T16:29:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This is the exact opposite of what I was told. The exact opposite?? They told you to make sure you stop CPR before professional help arrives? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/106 "2018-12-12T16:49:35Z")
I love the SD! I ding a movie and we get a debate about the Cascades v the Rockies. And I learned something. Can we agree that neither looks like Appalachian Pennsylvania in the slightest? And that when the actors got their location airplane tickets to the [del]Rockies[/del] Cascades, why didn’t at least one person say, why are we here rather than in PA? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/107 "2018-12-12T17:11:39Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I love the SD! I ding a movie and we get a debate about the Cascades v the Rockies. And I learned something. > > Can we agree that neither looks like Appalachian Pennsylvania in the slightest? > > And that when the actors got their location airplane tickets to the [del]Rockies[/del] Cascades, why didn’t at least one person say, why are we here rather than in PA? Your right of course. Pennsylvania’s highest point is Mount Davis at 3213 feet. The North Cascade peaks are on average 4000-6000 feet above the valley floors. So there definitely would be a distinct difference in appearances. A lot of Appalachian peaks are entirely forest covered; most of the Cascades have bare peaks and glaciers. Or at least the remnants of glaciers thanks to global warming. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/108 "2018-12-12T17:19:00Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I love the SD! I ding a movie and we get a debate about the Cascades v the Rockies. And I learned something. > > Can we agree that neither looks like Appalachian Pennsylvania in the slightest? > > And that when the actors got their location airplane tickets to the [del]Rockies[/del] Cascades, why didn’t at least one person say, why are we here rather than in PA? I will, provisionally, allow that neither the Rockies or the Cascades are _universally_ visually similar to the Appalachian Mountains. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/109 "2018-12-12T17:21:40Z")
And all it would have taken was one line of dialog about them all going out west to hunt. Lots of people make hunting trips. And so many movies do that! Two version of _True Grit_ were made and neither one was filmed where it was set. How many movies were filmed in Monument Valley and were passed off as somewhere else? Even in totally fictional movies like the atrocious \*Hateful 8 \*they set the movie different than where it was filmed. But why? it’s fictional! It can take place anywhere, so why not set it where it was filmed? Must be Tarentino’s “genius” in action. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/110 "2018-12-12T17:25:50Z")
I’ve heard it said that an audience will believe the impossible but not the improbable. Having your safecracker discern the combination through psychic powers will be accepted, but having him guess correctly won’t. I don’t know if I Believe it, but it’s an interesting idea. The worst way for a work to break the suspension of disbelief is to ignore its own rules. Example: in the movie perfect stranger, a reporter investigates a tycoon she suspects murdered her friend. Turns out, she murdered the friend and used her investigation to frame the tycoon. Disbelief broken: we see many scenes of her conducting her investigations alone, when she had no reason to pretend- nor any reason to actually investigate! ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/111 "2018-12-12T17:52:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > I’ve heard it said that an audience will believe the impossible but not the improbable. Having your safecracker discern the combination through psychic powers will be accepted, but having him guess correctly won’t. I don’t know if I Believe it, but it’s an interesting idea. Similar to this, I HATE it when people look around a desk and guess a computer password based on a book title or whatever. NOBODY does that for a password. Just have it written down under the keyboard or something. (Hated when Sherlock did that!) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/112 "2018-12-12T17:54:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > The worst way for a work to break the suspension of disbelief is to ignore its own rules. Example: in the movie perfect stranger, a reporter investigates a tycoon she suspects murdered her friend. Turns out, she murdered the friend and used her investigation to frame the tycoon. Disbelief broken: we see many scenes of her conducting her investigations alone, when she had no reason to pretend- nor any reason to actually investigate! Die Hard 2 is that way as well. We see the actually not-yet-revealed-to-be baddies act in ways they would not, if they were the bad guys. And it is out of sight of anyone they need to fool. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/113 "2018-12-12T18:21:54Z")
No, they said that there were a wide variety of reasons to stop CPR, as trivial as just “you’re tired”. And in fact there are some situations short of EMTs showing up where it’s recommended: If, for instance, there are two laypeople trained in CPR (but not EMTs or whatever), it’s recommended that they take turns on it, so as to not get tired out. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/114 "2018-12-12T18:25:08Z")
Oh, and even aside from height above sea level (which might not be obvious, if the rest of the surrounding ground is also high), all of the mountains out West definitely look completely different from the Appalachians. You’d be better off simulating the Appalachians with lowland temperate forests. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/115 "2018-12-12T19:01:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Oh, and even aside from height above sea level (which might not be obvious, if the rest of the surrounding ground is also high), all of the mountains out West definitely look completely different from the Appalachians. You’d be better off simulating the Appalachians with lowland temperate forests. Geography doesn’t generally bother me too much, unless it’s egregiously broken, like the “Mountains of Illinois.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/116 "2018-12-12T19:46:38Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Geography doesn’t generally bother me too much, unless it’s egregiously broken, like the “Mountains of Illinois.” A person born and raised in southern Illinois could be forgiven for believing the world is flat. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/117 "2018-12-12T20:08:06Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > A person born and raised in southern Illinois could be forgiven for believing the world is flat. 🙂 [Or some Canadians.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veu-Cm7aHMw) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/118 "2018-12-12T20:08:43Z")
I get frustrated when good guys are essentially invincible and never die no matter what. It ruins any sense of suspense when you know the hero/protagonist is never in real danger. The \*Taken \*series were like this; you just knew nothing could kill Liam Neeson and it got exasperating. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/119 "2018-12-12T21:34:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > [Or some Canadians.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veu-Cm7aHMw) It looks like a model railroad! Flat like a 4x8 sheet of green painted plywood. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689/120 "2018-12-13T09:00:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This is the exact opposite of what I was told. What I learned might just be an Oregon rule. > [@ExTank](#): > > Geography doesn’t generally bother me too much, unless it’s egregiously broken, like the “Mountains of Illinois.” You mean there are no snow capped mountains in New York? :eek: (In case any of you haven’t seen it, I’m referring to “Rumble in the Bronx”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/threshold-of-disbelief/825689.md?page=7)