# My Awesome New Robot Book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569 "2019-07-24T20:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/21 "2019-07-29T22:32:43Z")
In the OP I mentioned a Background Mode podcast with The Mac Observer’s John Martellaro. It just went live. We had a wide-ranging discussion about robots in the past and what robots represent in today’s culture. John called it fun; I called it nerve-wracking. It’s available on the Mac Observer site, but will eventually sink below newer podcasts there. A more permanent, direct link is below. > **[Future Historian Steve Carper - TMO Background Mode Interview](https://www.macobserver.com/podcasts/background-mode-steve-carper/)** > > On his Background Mode podcast, the Mac Observer's John Martellaro interviews Future Historian Steve Carper. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/22 "2019-07-30T00:55:03Z")
Congrats and good luck. One thing though: your book is pure text and all pictures have to be viewed online? That is going to cut down on coffee table style buyers. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/23 "2019-07-30T01:20:46Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Congrats and good luck. > > One thing though: your book is pure text and all pictures have to be viewed online? That is going to cut down on coffee table style buyers. But think of the money that Dell and Apple are paying me. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/24 "2019-08-01T20:01:40Z")
I found my copy on the doorstep this morning. (I presume UPS rang the doorbell yesterday, but I must have slept through it.) Just finished the first chapter. So far, I am enjoying it. I am contemplating getting a copy of Capek’s _R.U.R._ Any opinions as to the best translation? Claudia Novak-Jones’ version is relatively cheap. Majer and Porter’s version is more expensive, but comes with three other plays as well. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/25 "2019-08-01T22:51:58Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I found my copy on the doorstep this morning. (I presume UPS rang the doorbell yesterday, but I must have slept through it.) Just finished the first chapter. So far, I am enjoying it. > > I am contemplating getting a copy of Capek’s _R.U.R._ Any opinions as to the best translation? Claudia Novak-Jones’ version is relatively cheap. Majer and Porter’s version is more expensive, but comes with three other plays as well. I’m afraid I don’t have an opinion on this. I looked at more than one, but I focused solely on content rather than enjoyment. Turns out that there are many small differences, down to the names of the characters and how many years pass during the play, that are far more annoying to someone trying to describe it accurately. But a big thank you for buying it. Here’s hoping you’ll enjoy it all the way through. ---
**Author:** ![Just1Lurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@Just1Lurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just1Lurk)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/26 "2019-08-01T23:48:30Z")
Bought the e-version for my kindle. About a third of the way through. Very well written, and a fascinating topic. I’d heard of the chess-playing Turk, but thought it was unique; I had no idea automatons were such a vaudeville staple. I hope, though, that you’ll be able to incorporate pictures and illustrations in future additions. I can’t get the companion website to work on my mobile devices, and it adds a lot to be able to see them as you’re discussing them. Congratulations and kudos! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/27 "2019-08-01T23:49:45Z")
Do you make more on the sale of a paper copy or a digital one? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/28 "2019-08-02T03:01:43Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Do you make more on the sale of a paper copy or a digital one? I get a percentage. A paper copy costs more than five times as much. The long term question then becomes whether the cheaper version sells more than five times as many. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/29 "2019-08-02T12:47:08Z")
But for those of us just buying one, a paper copy is more money in your pocket. Just checking. Thanks, and good luck. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/30 "2019-08-12T16:28:07Z")
I finished reading it this weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s strange how the human mind works. I had to force myself through the chapter on 19th Century automatons. Yet, in retrospect, I find myself thinking about that chapter a lot. I want to see a Steam Man in action! “Apologies to anyone whose favorite robot has been stinted or left out entirely.” Yup. No mention of one I would have thought was essential. (_The Runaway Robot_, by Lester del Rey, if you’re interested.) I wonder which omission will produce the most grumbling from its fanboys? There are a few typos to nag your editor about, before the 2nd edition. A couple of misspelled words. A couple of sentences that were missing an article or a preposition. Very tiny stuff. And one reference to “William Tiberius Kirk” that made my jaw drop. :eek: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/31 "2019-08-16T08:40:52Z")
Congrats **Exapno Mapcase**! I have no problem believing this is the best robot book ever! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/32 "2019-08-16T14:21:05Z")
**Exapno** , I’m about half way through the free sample Kindle provides, and I’m sure I’ll buy the whole thing once I finish it. I’m very impressed with the depth of your research and the quality of the writing, although the latter will be no surprise to any Dopers. It’s somewhat more academic than the prose with which you favor us here, but nevertheless familiar as our **Exapno**. I’ve spotted a few typos that I’ll try to track and forward to you. The most notable so far, in the first chapter, I think, was “Anthanæum,” which I assume should be “Athanæum.” I’ve noticed that in some Kindle editions when you highlight a word, in addition to showing a definition or translation, it allows you to report a typo. I don’t know if that’s an option for original works like yours, or mostly applied to books that have been scanned (many of which desperately need it). But if you have the ability to turn it on, it would allow you to crowdsource proofreading of your first edition, which might be helpful. Anyway, congrats on a masterful work. I wish you great success. Now excuse me while I get back to reading it. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/33 "2019-08-16T15:17:20Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I’ve spotted a few typos that I’ll try to track and forward to you. The most notable so far, in the first chapter, I think, was “Anthanæum,” which I assume should be “Athanæum.” Ouch. Typos are like the death of a thousand paper cuts. Oddly, it’s spelled correctly in the footnotes and bibliography. How that got past both me and the copyeditor is a mystery. However, it now goes into my errata folder. Thanks for the praise. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. ETA. eunoia, sorry I didn’t see this before. My jaw has dropped as well. _The Runaway Robot_ (actually ghosted by Paul Fairman) appeared in 1965, which would have put it into Part 2, a period with so many YA robot books that I wound up skipping almost all of them. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/34 "2019-08-19T23:35:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Ouch. Typos are like the death of a thousand paper cuts. Don’t I know it! I think I’ve mentioned here that I’m a newsletter publisher, and there’s nothing more frustrating than poring over proofs, thinking you’ve found every possible typo, only to get hundreds of copies back from the printer and find a **glaring** error you and the copy editor somehow missed. Usually it’s the very first thing you see when you pick up the first copy. :smack: > [@commasense](#): > > I’ve noticed that in some Kindle editions when you highlight a word, in addition to showing a definition or translation, it allows you to report a typo. I don’t know if that’s an option for original works like yours, or mostly applied to books that have been scanned (many of which desperately need it). But if you have the ability to turn it on, it would allow you to crowdsource proofreading of your first edition, which might be helpful. Okay, so that feature wasn’t active in the sample I was reading when I posted that, but it is in the full book. Question for you, **Exapno** : do you see those corrections, and should I just make them there, or would you like me to forward them to you separately by PM or e-mail? (I haven’t found a lot more, only a couple so far.) Here’s one I found on the website with the pictures: the caption for the image by Flammarion reads “Fammarion.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/35 "2019-08-20T01:06:02Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Okay, so that feature wasn’t active in the sample I was reading when I posted that, but it is in the full book. > > Question for you, **Exapno** : do you see those corrections, and should I just make them there, or would you like me to forward them to you separately by PM or e-mail? (I haven’t found a lot more, only a couple so far.) I never knew this feature existed, and I have no idea who gets the notifications or how they are passed on. Anyway, my email is is my profile so just send things there. Did you find having the website images to be useful? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/36 "2019-08-20T01:38:28Z")
…Wait. Was that the story where robots could be identified by an inability to bend their knees, and the human character deliberately mimics this to disguise himself as his robot, to foil some plan or another? Or (as I hope) was that a story that nobody but me ever read, and which got relegated to the dustbin of history for being too stupid? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/37 "2019-08-20T14:09:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I never knew this feature existed, and I have no idea who gets the notifications or how they are passed on. > > Anyway, my email is is my profile so just send things there. > > Did you find having the website images to be useful? When I’ve finished reading, I’ll collect all the typos I’ve found and e-mail them to you. And yes, the website with the pictures is great, although on my Samsung Android tablet it seems a bit sluggish and quirky: clicking on the arrows to change pictures can take a couple of seconds, and the floating menu across the top intrudes too much, and doesn’t seem to disappear when it should. But on my PC it seems to behave properly. Better optimizing the site for mobile viewing would be an improvement, although I understand if time or money makes that problematic. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/38 "2019-08-20T14:49:04Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > When I’ve finished reading, I’ll collect all the typos I’ve found and e-mail them to you. > > And yes, the website with the pictures is great, although on my Samsung Android tablet it seems a bit sluggish and quirky: clicking on the arrows to change pictures can take a couple of seconds, and the floating menu across the top intrudes too much, and doesn’t seem to disappear when it should. But on my PC it seems to behave properly. Better optimizing the site for mobile viewing would be an improvement, although I understand if time or money makes that problematic. I use Wix. That has limited adaptation for mobile view. Mostly I can only size or position text blocks or images. The menu shouldn’t be floating. I’ll look into it, but I’m not sure how much I can override what Wix does that is hidden from me. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/39 "2019-08-20T15:08:12Z")
Congratulations! I’ll have to put it on my list. I love McFarland Books; I haunt their booth at every year at Gen Con. They publish the most erudite books on the most geeky topics! Why weren’t you able to include images, if you don’t mind my asking? I own a number of McFarland’s books, and I know that at least some of them are illustrated. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569/40 "2019-08-20T15:33:48Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Why weren’t you able to include images, if you don’t mind my asking? I own a number of McFarland’s books, and I know that at least some of them are illustrated. **Exapno** can elaborate if he wishes, but [here’s his answer from the Marketplace thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21769606&postcount=7). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-robot-book/837569.md?page=3)