Intuition Pump n°7 bis - By Olivier5 (with a little help from Dennet)

Caldwell December 30, 2022 at 22:22 625 views 11 comments
Once upon a time there were two coffee tasters, Mr. Hunt and Mr. Samson, working for Minwell House. Their job was to ensure that the taste of the coffee stayed constant, year after year. One day, Mr. Hunt confessed to Mr. Samson:

"I'm not enjoying this work anymore. When I came to Minwell House, I thought our coffee was the best in the world, and that upholding this exact, perfect taste forever was a worthy life goal. But now, I no longer like it! I find it mediocre compared to any decent espresso."

"Same here," Samson replied. "Do you think maybe something has gone wrong with our taste buds? That what this shrink, Professor Donut, says about mine."

"No way," said Hunt. "Our taste buds have stayed the same, while our aesthetic judgment has evolved. We have become more... sophisticated."

Within the brutalist walls of Minwell Inc., these words sounded like a verdict, or a curse.

Samson lowered his head, then hissed:

"Let's face it. Our job is to tame coffee, to domesticate it into some predictable and profitable boredom. We pay our producers a miser and promote pesticides... I can't take it anymore. Let's quit and apply to Sturback."

Comments (11)

hypericin December 30, 2022 at 22:51 #767836
I've read this thought experiment somewhere, I can't place it right now.

Amusing and well written. The ironic twist at the end was nice. Sturback! :vomit: :vomit: :scream:
Nils Loc December 30, 2022 at 23:14 #767851
Funny and enjoyable but don't understand the title. My coffee/addict neurons are firing. I imagine these tasters dress like those in elite architectural firms, speaking industry jargon.

Sturback's still better than Tea and Beans. Long ago I found an espresso that had a roachy profile. Reminded me of that strong smell of roaches but it was delicious.

Likely the flavormeisters of Minwell would have the greatest coffee profiles at their disposal. They just don't sell it in mass to the public.

fdrake December 31, 2022 at 02:12 #767902
This is from Quining Qualia right?
Caldwell December 31, 2022 at 19:39 #768021
As of right now, this story got 100% like, with 7 votes.
Nils Loc December 31, 2022 at 19:40 #768025
Uh oh, sounds like a case of plagiarism.
Olivier5 December 31, 2022 at 20:00 #768033
Reply to Nils Loc It's not plagia when you make it obvious. The title is (almost) a direct quote from Quining Qualia. The names are changed but transparently so: Maxwell --> Minwell, Chase --> Hunt, etc. The very first commentator, @hypericin, noticed that the story had come up on TPF.

Only the ending is mine. To @Caldwell, the title should rightly read: by Dennet and Olivier5, or by Olivier5 with a little help from Dennet. Kindly change it. (On the fashion of AI stories volunteered by some)

I was reading that old thread about QQ and just wrote a prank about it. That's all there is to it.
Caldwell December 31, 2022 at 20:07 #768036
Fixed. :up:
Caldwell December 31, 2022 at 20:09 #768037
This is a parody of Dennet's work. As such, when the author of this parody makes it obvious, he expects the readers to be aware of the original work. As readers ourselves, we have a task of knowing that.

A parody is not considered plagiarism.
Olivier5 December 31, 2022 at 22:28 #768080
Quoting Caldwell
A parody is not considered plagiarism.


Thanks. I even called up the ghost of Dennet:

Quoting Caldwell
Professor Donut


Nils Loc December 31, 2022 at 23:12 #768102
Quoting Caldwell
A parody is not considered plagiarism.


:up:

Ok, @Olivier5, you're vindicated.


Olivier5 December 31, 2022 at 23:54 #768115
Reply to Nils Loc :sweat: