Dave,
Re your question on "Sturgeon's Law" that "98% of everything
is crap."
> On what basis would you justify this
statement?
I don't really justify it, because I don't really think it's
true.
The story goes that Sturgeon was at a sci-fi con, and some
kid got on the elevator with him, his arms filled with sci-fi
books he'd bought. He turned to Sturgeon and said, "i've been
looking at this stuff, and 98% of it is crap."
Sturgeon, probably just to avoid an argument, is said to have
replied, "Well, 98% of everything is crap."
As an editor, you must know that an awful lot of the stuff
that gets submitted is unpublishable for one reason or
another. And of the things that do get published, some are
inevitably better than others. An uncharitable way of looking
at the disparity in quality is "Sturgeon's Law."
I was, perhaps, too dismissive, but I didn't really mean it
*that* seriously.
JIM DOHERTY
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