"the apocryphal HDAS III"

[Sam Clements]

Where's the connection between "everything" and "Science Fiction?"

While it may be a truism, at least don't say that Sturgeon said it.


Sam Clements

----- Original Message -----
From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 23:24
Subject: Re: "the apocryphal HDAS III"


> At 11:12 PM -0400 8/4/10, Sam Clements wrote:
>>What Sturgeon actually said, accordint to Fred Shapiro's wonderful,
>>ground-breaking tome, is
>>
>>"Ninety percent of Science Fiction is Crud."
>
> But isn't that just a concession that leads up to the punchline which
> is indeed "Ninety percent of everything is crud" (standing in for
> "crap")?
>
> LH
>
>>Extrapolations invited.
>>
>>Sam Clements
>>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Mark Mandel" <thnidu at GMAIL.COM>
>>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 23:06
>>Subject: Re: "the apocryphal HDAS III"
>>
>>>Sturgeon's Law: 98% of everything is crap.
>>>
>>>m a m
>>>
>>>On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 9:23 PM, Alice Faber <faber at haskins.yale.edu>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>On 8/3/10 6:27 PM, Dave Wilton wrote:
>>>>>  There may be a sample bias here.
>>>>>
>>>>>  An American is more likely to encounter an English writer who makes
>>>>>  their
>>>>living off writing--novelists, essayists, etc., but will typically
>>>>encounter
>>>>a much broader range of American writers, including business people,
>>>>doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc. Creative and witty writing is not
>>>>necessarily rewarded in these other field. (Nor should it be,
>>>>especially;
>>>>I'd rather have an ironclad contract written in impenetrable jargon than
>>>>one
>>>>with clauses of dubious legality that is a wonder to read).
>>>>>
>>>>>  As to my experience in negotiations, I'd give my American colleagues
>>>>higher marks for wit, creativity, nonconformity, and argumentation any
>>>>day.
>>>>But then I only dealt with a single British diplomat on a regular basis,
>>>>so
>>>>I wouldn't judge the entire British diplomatic corps on that one
>>>>example.
>>>>(I'm not saying he wasn't competent, just not a sterling example of
>>>>rhetorical and literary expertise.) Plus, I knew a bunch of zeroes on
>>>>the
>>>>American side, too--including one who, in a very late night of
>>>>negotiations
>>>>lost it and called the Israeli delegate a "liar." (Not the most shining
>>>>moment of American diplomacy.)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Indeed. Back in the 80s, PBS stations in the US regularly aired various
>>>>British sitcoms. These were much wittier than the comparable American
>>>>comedies. In the winter of 1985 (or so), I went to England for a
>>>>conference at Oxford. One of the things I was looking forward to was a
>>>>chance to see more British sitcoms. Well...then I saw the ones that PBS
>>>>hadn't picked up...All I can say is ouch.
>>>>--
>>>>========================================================================
>>>>Alice Faber                                       faber at haskins.yale.edu
>>>>Haskins Laboratories                            tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
>>>>New Haven, CT 06511 USA                               fax (203) 865-8963
>>>>
>>>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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