Why not?

I remember talking to a postdoc about quantizing electrical circuits. I felt like it shouldn't be allowed. His response was "why not?"

I've been listening to the new South Pacific recording for the 2008 Broadway Revival. It seems odd to listen to such a sweepingly romantic, optimistic score in our age of discontent, a time when darkness is in fashion. But why not? Hope is one of the few things we have. I don't mind singing "I'm as corny as Kansas in August/I'm as normal as blueberry pie/No more a smart little girl with no heart/I have found me a wonderful guy!"

I was watching a Q&A video with Lucy Lawless, the actress who plays "Number Three/D'Anna" on Battlestar Galactica. A fan asked: "As someone whose characters have pushed the boundaries of sexuality on television, what are your thoughts on the D'Anna/Caprica/Gaius threesome scenes?" Lawless's response (in a New Zealander accent):

Oh, I don't really think they went far enough. I mean, there was so much stuff. You know, D'Anna is really handy with the tools ... the power tools, did you see that? That egg beater that she stuck in Gaius's head? And then in the next scene, she's snuggling up to him. What is up with that? Uh, what are my thoughts on that? Really? Truthfully? I don't know. I don't care. People do whatever they want. They're grownups, right? And if those are the kind of people who are going to have threesomes, then it's my job to portray it. (laughs) If Ron Moore tells me to get in bed with Number Six and Gaius... gonna do it! I mean, think of all the other people they could have said... "I want you to get in bed with Eddie and Hoags." I mean, I've always had a thing for Michael Hogan, but... come on.

Besides the video being hilarious, I think Lawless's opinion is a good example of the "why not" attitude. That being said, Battlestar Galactica is a TV show which is not appropriate for children.

Lawless is more well-known for her title role in Xena: Warrior Princess. She didn't expect to run around in a skimpy outfit, swing a sword, and become a lesbian icon (Lawless herself is heterosexual), but she embraced the role and her lesbian fans. My impression is that Lawless (the person) does these outrageous performances, embraces fun and adventure, yet stays grounded. Despite being a sex symbol, she won't post nude. And she took quite a few years off from her career to raise a family. That is a cool attitude, in my humble opinion. There is something to be said for embracing things that are outside your comfort zone. Michael Cerveris, a Tony-award winning actor, says he always takes the acting jobs that "scare him."

If it's not forbidden, if it doesn't hurt anyone, why not?