In most geek communities, being hit by a clue-by-four is generally a sign that the hitter (person doing the hitting) believes the hittee (person being hit) to be an inferior form of
life and therefore in need of a good whalloping.
In the past the idea behind the clue-by-four was that you were beating some sense into the hittee. Unfortunately it was later discovered that being hit on the
head with a large wooden plank with "CLUE" written on it actually caused a loss of brain cells in the hittee. When you consider that the original intention of the hitter was to provide the hittee with some in the first place, this then put the hittee in a deficit of brain cells.
Life, the universe, and everything being what it is, likes to be in a state of balance. So in order to solve the problem of the
brain-cell deficit, the hittee would proceed to ask ever increasingly stupid questions causing the original hitter to
smack his or her
head against a wall, therefore restoring the balance.
For the purpose of beating sense into
people, the clue-by-four was replaced by a large foam clue
bat which has much the same result as the clue-by-four except does not kill what few brain cells the hittee may or may not already possess. Though the
tool of choice now is the foam clue
bat, the clue-by-four is still in regular use. It was renamed to the "Luser Attitude Readjustment
Tool" which was then shortened to LART.
The key difference between the two tools, though they have the same origins, is what implications of being hit by one might have to your standing in the community that you are a part of.
To be hit with a large foam clue
bat signifies that the hitter believes you are being immensely stupid and need correcting in a way that you
will never forget, for your own good. Being LARTed is somewhat more common despite it's neurological implications and the fact that it is generally more serious. To be LARTed means that the hitter believes you have done or said something mind-bubblingly stupid and must be punished for your crime. You are not expected to gain anything from the experience as no friendly "constructive criticism" or advice
will be given with the LARTing.
It has been theorized is that being hit by a clue-by-four only dislodges the slower, denser brain cells allowing the faster, smarter brian cells more chance of forming rational thought. The tests, however, have been inconcluive; showing positive results in only
42% of subjects.
