Today in my databases class, I absorbed a programming concept by mentally comparing it to a Dungeons and Dragons combat mechanic. This is almost as bad as when I learned a Mahjong rule by comparing it to Magic the Gathering spell speeds. I feel like the biggest dork in the world.

(In SQL, you can create a trigger command that will execute when a condition is met, either before the event or after it. In D&D, immediate actions can be performed when a condition is met, either before the event if it is an immediate interrupt or after the event if it is an immediate reaction.)

(In Mahjong, you are allowed to claim a tile in order to form a set. If multiple people try to claim it, preference goes in order to: winning hand, identical tile set, consecutive tile set. In MtG, if you play a sorcery (consecutive), others can play instants that resolve before it (identical). Split second cards (winning) have priority over all other cards, however.)