Schryver in 2012 perhaps?

[_MrStakhanovite]

Okay…

So in Philosophy, it’s a custom for people to put out PDFs of articles under review, with a clear statement that this article is not to be quoted and or used until it’s publication. No one ever dismisses comments with a “Well you’ll just have to wait till publication.”

Why not simply do that? Why play that stupid game, Show your PDFs and be done with it.

[_Kishkumen]

Okay…

So in Philosophy, it’s a custom for people to put out PDFs of articles under review, with a clear statement that this article is not to be quoted and or used until it’s publication. No one ever dismisses comments with a “Well you’ll just have to wait till publication.”

Why not simply do that? Why play that stupid game, Show your PDFs and be done with it.

Yeah, but if you have some whacked fringe theory that you want to peddle for cash, you definitely don't want to release it for free.

My highest hope for Will is that his work lays the foundation for an entire cottage industry of fringe pseudo-scholarly writing on Mormonism. The problem with these guys is that they have been giving this stuff away for free. I think there is a real market for gonzo speculation in Mormonism. Something more along the lines of the North American geography theorists, but in the Book of Abraham realm. Will has just the sort of homespun intellectual cred to pull it off.

"I am a former elder's quorum instructor and a highly paid independent contractor in computer programing, and I have put my technical skills to work in solving one of Mormonism's greatest mysteries!"

This crap writes itself.

[_MrStakhanovite]

This crap writes itself.

Doesn’t it? I like it when they hover on the fringes of legitimate scholarship and take any criticism of their work as a personal insult. Almost always they get angry, kick up a fuss, and then write long tirades about the snotty academy.

[_Kishkumen]

This crap writes itself.

Doesn’t it? I like it when they hover on the fringes of legitimate scholarship and take any criticism of their work as a personal insult. Almost always they get angry, kick up a fuss, and then write long tirades about the snotty academy.

Exactly. And that just lends greater credibility to their work for their target audience/customers. They can bemoan the fact that the "establishment" persecutes them by deriding their work, but it is only prejudice against the real facts and truth that prevent them from admitting the persuasiveness of their evidence and arguments. If only the "academics" did not hate Mormons, then the whole world would know that Mormonism is true thanks to this groundbreaking research. But their hearts are hardened and their ears are made heavy by their love of the world and their thirst for the acclaim of men. It is all part of God's plan, because he wants his saints to exercise faith first before they read Schryver's "game-changer" explanation of the real skinny on the papyri.

It is a pretty standard narrative, and it is just waiting there for Will to pluck it and use it for his own purposes.

[_Carton]

Yeah, but if you have some whacked fringe theory that you want to peddle for cash, you definitely don't want to release it for free.

My highest hope for Will is that his work lays the foundation for an entire cottage industry of fringe pseudo-scholarly writing on Mormonism. The problem with these guys is that they have been giving this stuff away for free. I think there is a real market for gonzo speculation in Mormonism. Something more along the lines of the North American geography theorists, but in the Book of Abraham realm. Will has just the sort of homespun intellectual cred to pull it off.

"I am a former elder's quorum instructor and a highly paid independent contractor in computer programing, and I have put my technical skills to work in solving one of Mormonism's greatest mysteries!"

This crap writes itself.

There already is a cottage industry in place. Deseret Book is full of such books. To me, this is why I can see "The Brethren" getting behind Schryver's work. I'm sure they love stuff like The Work and the Glory. It sells the kind of Mormon history they want the membership to believe. "The Kolob Cipher" could be the next big hit at Deseret Book. Schryver pays his ten percent of earnings to help build the mall, and The Brethren get a solution to the Book of Abraham problem, all at the same time. It's a brilliant plan, when you think about it.

[_Kishkumen]

There already is a cottage industry in place. Deseret Book is full of such books. To me, this is why I can see "The Brethren" getting behind Schryver's work. I'm sure they love stuff like The Work and the Glory. It sells the kind of Mormon history they want the membership to believe. "The Kolob Cipher" could be the next big hit at Deseret Book. Schryver pays his ten percent of earnings to help build the mall, and The Brethren get a solution to the Book of Abraham problem, all at the same time. It's a brilliant plan, when you think about it.

Nice title. I hope Will is taking notes.

I get where you are coming from in your comment about Deseret Book, but I think there is a rung lower on the ladder than some of this material that is still pretty open for further exploitation. I am thinking of the Meldrum book. The tricky needle that Schryver is trying to thread here is that MI folks usually savage this kind of work in the Review. He has been carefully cultivating the apologetic establishment so that he can head off that kind of withering criticism.

[_Carton]

Nice title. I hope Will is taking notes.

I get where you are coming from in your comment about Deseret Book, but I think there is a rung lower on the ladder than some of this material that is still pretty open for further exploitation. I am thinking of the Meldrum book. The tricky needle that Schryver is trying to thread here is that MI folks usually savage this kind of work in the Review. He has been carefully cultivating the apologetic establishment so that he can head off that kind of withering criticism.

Yeah, but the fact is that something published by Deseret Book has the implied endorsement of "The Brethren" (at least in the eyes of the average member). The average member doesn't read the FARMS Review anyway. So even if FARMS savages the book, the average member isn't going to be aware of that. Besides, like you say, Schryver has been wise to cultivate relationships at the MI, so he might just be able to get glowing reviews from them and still stock books on the shelves at DB.

[_Kishkumen]

Yeah, but the fact is that something published by Deseret Book has the implied endorsement of "The Brethren" (at least in the eyes of the average member). The average member doesn't read the FARMS Review anyway. So even if FARMS savages the book, the average member isn't going to be aware of that. Besides, like you say, Schryver has been wise to cultivate relationships at the MI, so he might just be able to get glowing reviews from them and still stock books on the shelves at DB.

There is a difference between being stocked at DB and being published by DB. My guess is that Willard has no hope of the latter. He still may hope for the former, and, unlike Meldrum, he won't have some cranky old Midgleylike apologist fulminating about how "that book" should not be on the shelves, and shrieking that he will report it and so forth.

You know, I am genuinely excited about this. I want to purchase a copy of this book, as much as I dislike Will's online persona.

[_Carton]

Yeah, but the fact is that something published by Deseret Book has the implied endorsement of "The Brethren" (at least in the eyes of the average member). The average member doesn't read the FARMS Review anyway. So even if FARMS savages the book, the average member isn't going to be aware of that. Besides, like you say, Schryver has been wise to cultivate relationships at the MI, so he might just be able to get glowing reviews from them and still stock books on the shelves at DB.

There is a difference between being stocked at DB and being published by DB. My guess is that Willard has no hope of the latter. He still may hope for the former, and, unlike Meldrum, he won't have some cranky old Midgleylike apologist fulminating about how "that book" should not be on the shelves, and shrieking that he will report it and so forth.

You know, I am genuinely excited about this. I want to purchase a copy of this book, as much as I dislike Will's online persona.

I really wonder who would publish it.

[_Kishkumen]

I really wonder who would publish it.

Maybe I should publish it. Get into the business. Someone should publish it. It will sell some copies.