Over the last 2.5 years, my co-founder and I grew the Dev Shop we founded (Purple Bit) into a very profitable small company, employing 7 people.
Purple Bit has just been acquired by a former client of ours, Autodesk Inc. Autodesk are the makers of AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, Maya and many other professional 3d software products.
(Note: this didn't happen this month, but it wasn't public until now).
So, do you have a specific marketing plan for getting the word out there about these books?
More specifically, you have access to an entire community rooting for you... how can we help?
(Also, I've been convinced by other commenters here - I normally don't buy physical books anymore, but here I'll make an exception for '"fanboyism" and "gifting" purposes).
One of my favorite moments in Diaspora, or in any book ever, was when one character (Inoshira?) was trying to convince another (Yatima?) to do something. Yatima runs a nonsentient simulation of verself, and realizes that Inoshira has something like a 90% chance of convincing ver, and decides to save ver the trouble and goes along with it.
Except... I was searching for that passage for the recent quotes repository in /r/discussion, and I can't find it. The closest I've found is before the two of them visit the bridgers, but that's not how that scene goes.
I've spoken to someone else who read the book and didn't remember that part. Does anyone else remember it? Did I make it up?
(Precedent for me making it up: I remember Tyler Durden saying that the sixth rule of fight club is "there is no sixth rule". I remember the intonation of that line. That is not the sixth rule of fight club.)
I remembered it too. Found the quote you're referring to, I think:
"He ran a quick self-predictive model. There was a ninety-three per cent chance that he’d give in, after a kilotau spent agonising over the decision. It hardly seemed fair to keep Karpal waiting that long."
Egan, Greg (2010-12-30). Diaspora (Kindle Locations 3127-3129). Orion. Kindle Edition.
Have you read Firefight? It does a good job of pointing out why people with powers in Steelheart act how they do. (I haven't read Worm but it is on my reading list.)
It's less the "why do they act that way", more "if you had this superpower, what kind of really weird but powerful stuff could you do with it".
Worm is full of people using superpowers in really inventive ways, in a way that Steelheart/Firefight aren't.
Just read Brandon Sanderson's "Firefight" which is the sequel to Steelheart. Sanderson is as amazing as usual. The books are a very novel take on the idea of superpowers.
Tl;dr of my post: If you liked Steelheart, I heavily recommend reading Worm.
Long version: So, Sanderson is in my top 5 favorite authors, I think almost every book of his is amazing, and I loved Steelheart.
But shortly after reading it, I started reading the (now finished) online web serial Worm (from Yudkowsky's recommendation on HPMOR). It has a very similar premise to Steelheart, at least initially.
And let's just say, Worm makes Steelheart look terrible in comparison. Worm is just so much better.
Again, I'm a huge fan of Sanderson, and I still like the Steelheart series, but I now read it and think to myself that it's just not even close to realistic, Worm is how people with powers would actually behave.
Seriously, read Worm. And if you happen to read this comment and not have read Sanderson, read his books too (I would start with the Mistborn trilogy, possibly the best trilogy of all time).
Do you listen to Audiobooks at all? Are you only specifically against SF as an Audiobook?
I am against audiobooks in general for myself due to my particular circumstances so my direct experience is limited, but it seems to me that SF/fantasy may not work for most people as audiobooks since they trade so heavily on immersive flavor and world-building (particularly The Quantum Thief, which is in the 'explain nothing and make readers figure everything out from context' school of hard SF), which would be impeded by the slowness of audio and the intrusion of someone's voice.
FYI, you're mostly right, at least based on my experience. I tend to have a much harder time listening to Audiobooks of SF/fantasy, and a harder time listening to any fiction vs. non-fiction.
I also have a much easier time listening to SF/Fantasy when it's in a setting I already know (e.g. sequels, books I've read before, etc). Also easier to listen to books from authors I read a lot (but that may be true in general, come to think of it).
I still highly recommend anyone who can to listen to Audiobooks, at least of non-fiction, as one of the best and easiest hacks around.
I don't know why you would listen to a SF novel... I enjoyed The Quantum Thief a lot - the start in the Dilemma Prison was interesting, and I loved the worldbuilding of the Oubliette.
Do you listen to Audiobooks at all? Are you only specifically against SF as an Audiobook?
I ask because I'm a huge fan of Audiobooks, but I've long believed that SF (and fantasy) are both particularly hard to like in Audiobook format. Non-fiction is by far better.
(I do still listen to some SF/Fantasy on Audiobooks, but it's usually authors I already know, or in worlds I already know).
Thanks! Fixed in comment.
Ray Dalio. Businessman, founded Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. He is one of the richest people in the world.
From descriptions of Bridgewater, he seems to run it very much in line with most LessWrong principles.
In fact, if you want an instrumentally-rational and (slightly) business-oriented version of LessWrong, Ray Dalio's principles are it. You can read here, I highly recommend it: http://www.bwater.com/Uploads/FileManager/Principles/Bridgewater-Associates-Ray-Dalio-Principles.pdf .
He is also trying to spread his take on how the economy works, in his video The Economic Machine. See it here: www.economicprinciples.org.
All in all, a fascinating person.
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Why do you want to buy a hat?
Almost all "non-geeky" / "normal" people don't regularly wear hats. If you're trying to look "better" and "more fashionable", the best solution is to skip the hat, and get sunglasses to protect your eyes