When your friends smack you down

For an Econ presentation, a bunch of us LPS (Law, Policy, and Society) students banded together and decided to do the oh-so-controversial topic of military contracting and outsourcing in Iraq, from an economic efficiency standpoint, and taking into account "externalities" like human rights and international law. We present in two weeks. It'll be fun.

Tonight, my group met over burgers and beer to go over the structure of our presentation. During one of our discussion tangents, we somehow got onto the topic of lactose intolerance. I asked one colleague (who is Asian, which is relevant) whether he'd ever heard that Asians or half-Asians are disproportionately likely to be lactose intolerant. (He had.)

But our other group member, who is white (which is relevant) and also one of the only other Master's students so we're taking all the same classes and sit next to each other (which is irrelevant), turned to me and suddenly said, "Actually, it's that white people are disproportionately likely to be lactose tolerant."

Which, of course, rendered me speechless and as I realized the dynamic of the way I phrased my statement. I love it when my friends make me think.

Have I mentioned I know really cool people?

Oh wait. Yes, I have...