Actually, I had one just last night. I was starting an anthology on Buddhist philosophy (Empty Words) which I had downloaded from library.nu, and the very first essay was arguing that Nagarjuna’s Verses on the Heart of the Middle Way and Sextus Empiricus’s Against books espoused a similar skeptical approach to metaphysical commitments (drawing on Kripke & Wittgenstein) - the exact approach I had mused upon at length before, with some of the same passages I would have chosen.
‘Huh’, I thought, ‘I really should have expected someone to have thought that before, but I guess I didn’t because I was surprised and angered (since “my” idea had been stolen) to realize where this essay was going.’
Fortunately, I hadn’t gotten around to carefully studying and making notes towards an essay, so I didn’t lose too much time to my failure to check whether the idea had already been done. (Unlike the time I re-invented longevity insurance, eg.)
I was surprised and angered (since “my” idea had been stolen)
My feelings are the opposite. I become exceedingly pleased and amused to find that someone else did it first. Aside from it being instant vindication, it just makes me happy. I feel a sense of kinship knowing that someone, somewhere, had the same data I had and came to the same exact logical leap that I did. It’s like we’re research buddies across time.
Though I do feel silly and a little mad at myself when I’ve wasted a lot of time synthesizing something could have just researched instead.
That’s what I figured, but I hoped I was wrong, and there’s still a super-secret beer-lovers’ club which opens if you say “iftahh ya simsim” thrice or something. Assuming you would let me in on a secret, of course.
Unfortunately, if there was such a secret beer-lovers’ club, I couldn’t tell a relative stranger like you about it. (Ironically, this is also what I would say if there was no such thing.)
Me too. Without library.nu, research is significantly harder. If any LWer has an invite to a private repository/tracker for scholarly books/textbooks, please share with me.
Actually, I had one just last night. I was starting an anthology on Buddhist philosophy (Empty Words) which I had downloaded from library.nu, and the very first essay was arguing that Nagarjuna’s Verses on the Heart of the Middle Way and Sextus Empiricus’s Against books espoused a similar skeptical approach to metaphysical commitments (drawing on Kripke & Wittgenstein) - the exact approach I had mused upon at length before, with some of the same passages I would have chosen.
‘Huh’, I thought, ‘I really should have expected someone to have thought that before, but I guess I didn’t because I was surprised and angered (since “my” idea had been stolen) to realize where this essay was going.’
Fortunately, I hadn’t gotten around to carefully studying and making notes towards an essay, so I didn’t lose too much time to my failure to check whether the idea had already been done. (Unlike the time I re-invented longevity insurance, eg.)
My feelings are the opposite. I become exceedingly pleased and amused to find that someone else did it first. Aside from it being instant vindication, it just makes me happy. I feel a sense of kinship knowing that someone, somewhere, had the same data I had and came to the same exact logical leap that I did. It’s like we’re research buddies across time.
Though I do feel silly and a little mad at myself when I’ve wasted a lot of time synthesizing something could have just researched instead.
Thanks for the examples! And also for the footnote about Feynman and Hillis reinventing Kimura’s work on population genetics.
Wait, I thought that library.nu was shut down back in the spring. What am I missing?
I never said when I downloaded it.
That’s what I figured, but I hoped I was wrong, and there’s still a super-secret beer-lovers’ club which opens if you say “iftahh ya simsim” thrice or something. Assuming you would let me in on a secret, of course.
Unfortunately, if there was such a secret beer-lovers’ club, I couldn’t tell a relative stranger like you about it. (Ironically, this is also what I would say if there was no such thing.)
Me too. Without library.nu, research is significantly harder. If any LWer has an invite to a private repository/tracker for scholarly books/textbooks, please share with me.
Library Genesis.