Name: Anonymous 2013-12-09 21:16
I went on usenet (specifically comp.lang.lisp)
today and I came across mentifex, a /prog/ celebrity
from what I recall. He posted a book and he wants
YOU to give it a good review on amazon:
--------
[excerpt from comp.lang.lisp]
As the author of the Singularity e-book,
I am already well-known on the Internet
as an independent scholar in artificial
intelligence (AI). Whether you praise my
first fiction or debunk my first fiction,
you will become even better known than
you already are because lots of people
are closely watching the Singularity e-book
to see if it sells and to observe how it
gets reviewed.
Singularity is actually a combination of
AI science-fiction and some pretty serious
ideas of how to build AI Minds from someone
who has programmed free, open-source AI to
think in English, in German and in Russian.
For me as an independent scholar, it has
been pretty much impossible to break into
the academic AI literature, so I have
decided to bypass the cloistered walls of
Academe by going directly to you, the savvy
readers and potential AI coders -- if you know
how to program computers -- and many of you do.
Your mission -- should you choose to accept it --
is to compose your well-thought-out review
off-line and then post it to Amazon. Please do
not misspell any words and please do not engage
in pointless vituperation or ranting. The whole
world of AI, robotics and neuroscience will be
watching what you write in your review and may
immediately take issue with any discrepancies
or deviations from verisimilitude. You will
become known as the sage, the maven, the savvy
reader who issued an early or first opinion on
the AI Singularity e-book. You may receive calls
from radio-stations asking you to comment on
new developments in science and robotics.
Authors of serious books may ask you to provide
jacket-blurbs for their forthcoming publications.
Wild frenzied packs of fans and futurists may
hound you in pursuit of your graciously-given
autograph -- which will command high sums on e-Bay.
You will be like the famous winner of a nationwide
Mega Millions lottery. You will get far more than
the fifteen minutes of fame promised to everybody
by what's-his-name -- yes, thank you, Andy Warhol.
You or your literary agent may find yourself
signing permission slips for famous scientists
to quote you in their scientific papers, books,
or Nobel acceptance speeches. You may be asked to
host the Academy Awards and to hand out statuettes
of somebody's Uncle Oscar. So remember one thing:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their
life is bound in shallows and in miseries."
today and I came across mentifex, a /prog/ celebrity
from what I recall. He posted a book and he wants
YOU to give it a good review on amazon:
--------
[excerpt from comp.lang.lisp]
As the author of the Singularity e-book,
I am already well-known on the Internet
as an independent scholar in artificial
intelligence (AI). Whether you praise my
first fiction or debunk my first fiction,
you will become even better known than
you already are because lots of people
are closely watching the Singularity e-book
to see if it sells and to observe how it
gets reviewed.
Singularity is actually a combination of
AI science-fiction and some pretty serious
ideas of how to build AI Minds from someone
who has programmed free, open-source AI to
think in English, in German and in Russian.
For me as an independent scholar, it has
been pretty much impossible to break into
the academic AI literature, so I have
decided to bypass the cloistered walls of
Academe by going directly to you, the savvy
readers and potential AI coders -- if you know
how to program computers -- and many of you do.
Your mission -- should you choose to accept it --
is to compose your well-thought-out review
off-line and then post it to Amazon. Please do
not misspell any words and please do not engage
in pointless vituperation or ranting. The whole
world of AI, robotics and neuroscience will be
watching what you write in your review and may
immediately take issue with any discrepancies
or deviations from verisimilitude. You will
become known as the sage, the maven, the savvy
reader who issued an early or first opinion on
the AI Singularity e-book. You may receive calls
from radio-stations asking you to comment on
new developments in science and robotics.
Authors of serious books may ask you to provide
jacket-blurbs for their forthcoming publications.
Wild frenzied packs of fans and futurists may
hound you in pursuit of your graciously-given
autograph -- which will command high sums on e-Bay.
You will be like the famous winner of a nationwide
Mega Millions lottery. You will get far more than
the fifteen minutes of fame promised to everybody
by what's-his-name -- yes, thank you, Andy Warhol.
You or your literary agent may find yourself
signing permission slips for famous scientists
to quote you in their scientific papers, books,
or Nobel acceptance speeches. You may be asked to
host the Academy Awards and to hand out statuettes
of somebody's Uncle Oscar. So remember one thing:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their
life is bound in shallows and in miseries."