Human Error: Or, the most meta thing about The Unseen World
Dear all:
One of the themes of The Unseen World is the idea of human error. I've always been puzzled by films and literature that treat intelligent machines as an inevitable evil that's headed our way....I have no reason to think that truly intelligent machines, when they finally arrive, won't be either neutral or benevolent. And that, as I wrote in the book, it's actually human beings who "hurt one another...only humans [who] falter and betray one another with a stunning, fearsome frequency."
Well, what follows is a good example of a human being faltering. (Read: me.)
Shortly after The Unseen World was published, a reader wrote to me to ask about the riddle that ends the first chapter. She couldn't figure it out--she thought the answer Liston gave was incorrect. With a sinking feeling, I opened the book, and I found that she was correct. Throughout the entire answer Liston gives, the words "East" and "West" should be swapped.
Here's what I wrote in response to her: "I thought about coming up with an answer to this question that made it seem as if I'd done that on purpose...something along the lines of testing the reader...but that would be dishonest! The truth is that, yes, it's a mix-up. The riddle is actually one my family has always told, but we've always told it using 'red tribe' and 'green tribe' rather than 'the village of East' and "the village of West.' Therefore, the answer to the riddle didn't roll quite as effortlessly off my tongue (or onto the page) as it otherwise might have. And I didn't check myself carefully enough, clearly. There you go--you win the prize!
What do you think I should do about this conundrum? Maybe a real prize would be in order....hmmm...."
Since that first e-mail, I've received several more...and then several more...and now I receive them regularly. (I see there are many of you who have asked the question on the Goodreads page for the book, too.)
So I thought I'd answer the question in one central location--here. That way I'll have someplace to refer people when they ask.
I'm upset about this error, of course. It's fixed in the paperback, which will be available on June 13.
The one positive? If you can get your hands on a hardcover before the paperback comes out, maybe it will be worth something someday...a first-edition with a glaring error included. (In my dreams.)
Hope this clears a few things up. And thank you, as always, for your wonderful support and readership.
Liz
One of the themes of The Unseen World is the idea of human error. I've always been puzzled by films and literature that treat intelligent machines as an inevitable evil that's headed our way....I have no reason to think that truly intelligent machines, when they finally arrive, won't be either neutral or benevolent. And that, as I wrote in the book, it's actually human beings who "hurt one another...only humans [who] falter and betray one another with a stunning, fearsome frequency."
Well, what follows is a good example of a human being faltering. (Read: me.)
Shortly after The Unseen World was published, a reader wrote to me to ask about the riddle that ends the first chapter. She couldn't figure it out--she thought the answer Liston gave was incorrect. With a sinking feeling, I opened the book, and I found that she was correct. Throughout the entire answer Liston gives, the words "East" and "West" should be swapped.
Here's what I wrote in response to her: "I thought about coming up with an answer to this question that made it seem as if I'd done that on purpose...something along the lines of testing the reader...but that would be dishonest! The truth is that, yes, it's a mix-up. The riddle is actually one my family has always told, but we've always told it using 'red tribe' and 'green tribe' rather than 'the village of East' and "the village of West.' Therefore, the answer to the riddle didn't roll quite as effortlessly off my tongue (or onto the page) as it otherwise might have. And I didn't check myself carefully enough, clearly. There you go--you win the prize!
What do you think I should do about this conundrum? Maybe a real prize would be in order....hmmm...."
Since that first e-mail, I've received several more...and then several more...and now I receive them regularly. (I see there are many of you who have asked the question on the Goodreads page for the book, too.)
So I thought I'd answer the question in one central location--here. That way I'll have someplace to refer people when they ask.
I'm upset about this error, of course. It's fixed in the paperback, which will be available on June 13.
The one positive? If you can get your hands on a hardcover before the paperback comes out, maybe it will be worth something someday...a first-edition with a glaring error included. (In my dreams.)
Hope this clears a few things up. And thank you, as always, for your wonderful support and readership.
Liz
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by
Joyce
(new)
Mar 01, 2017 08:51PM
Thanks for this post. Now I can sleep in peace. :)
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I didn't even notice this when I read the book. It wasn't until this posting that I knew anything about it. We all read in different ways, and I guess this issue was one that didn't come across my radar. I find it interesting how people see books in so many different ways, picking up on things that others don't see. I went through a time in my life that Ada went through, that's seen in the pages from about 130-180, almost word for word. It was like I was reading about my own experience with a loved one of mine from 6 years ago. So i guess the riddle took a back seat to these other elements in the story which were more important to me, and drifted away into the unseen world.
I was familiar with the riddle because of the movie
Labyrinth
, which was released in 1986. If I recall correctly, the scene in the book takes place in 1984, so if David sprang the riddle just two years later, there is a much better chance more guests would have known the solution. For those who haven't seen the movie, the version used in the movie has two doors, one guarded by a truth-teller, and the other by a liar. The movie's protagonist Sarah is familiar with the riddle and correctly solves it by asking one of the guards what the other would say if asked which door is correct--and going through the opposite.Incidentally, I mostly listened to the audiobook and missed the error until after I posted my review and found the question on the Goodreads book page... Then I checked the text version, and went, "Oh, yes..."
Oh good! I just assumed I was still crazy.
Hi Liz, thank you for clearing that up. Can I ask you about the limes in the same chapter? Why did Ada get out eight highball glasses and only six limes? I can’t tell whether she put a whole lime or a half lime in each glass, but she’d either be two limes short or have four extra halves.
Just started and there’s been a couple of instances I have wondered whether I’m reading an earlier copy that needed some editing — the limes threw me off as well. Also, I believe after the party David is in his office and then “goes to his office” the next paragraph. And then Ada takes out her toothbrush at Liston’s, but then uses her finger and toothpaste to brush her teeth. Curious if I was the only one noticing these things.
