He can have a large language model generate one. Feed it the Wikipedia articles on how the government is supposed to work, pepper it with Robin’s speech mannerisms, and it might be passable enough. She probably won’t even bother to read the thing.
“Class, to do politics, you need money. How do you get money? Well, you’re gonna buy my new textbook, comin’ out next week, and I’ll get money from that. Also I get free labor from my teacher assistant here. ‘Kay, see you next week.”
I’m both surprised and not surprised that Robin managed to make Jason that weary in just one class period. He seemed pretty good at the start of class.
You know how extroverts get energy from interacting with other people? In Robin case is more like she suck the energy of anyone that is in too close proximity like a black and add it to her own.
The new edition with like a paragraph of added material they won’t even be tested on and the rest are slightly relevant stock photos to fill out the chapter. That will be 200 bucks.
other than a specific prof’s theories and such, and college credit, i’m sure there are ppl who would record and upload lectures for free, if not by the teacher themselves so there’d at least ppl getting knowledge for free (tho i guess other than discussion/clarification comments on a place like YT would have to be disabled lol)
Then again these days i’m sure ‘educational podcasts’ are a thing lol
(consideirng history was just memorization i’m sure listening to a podcast on facts/dates 20 times prolly would’ve helped me more than skimming a text book. well, i suppose in high school we weren’t allowed earphones during tests but that was always more to not disturb other students while we were doing it, versus someone actually bothering to actually have a ‘helpful’ recording where they could cheat with it)
Nowadays the best money-making trick is to sell the subscription to the students. It’s online in separate segments, it can’t be easily dowloaded, and the questions and answers are randomized from a bank. More evil, yet, is it’s a yearly subscription, not a semesterly one.
I once had a man try to hire me to ghost write a book about the stock market. He gave me three pages of material to work with. Oh, and he wanted me to write it on spec. Which he had no intention of paying if I did create a publishable work.
Yeah, I feel like this is a pretty normal grad student assignment. Maybe not rhe deadline, but it really depends on the prof. I know people who have been kicked out of their programs for not conforming to expectations at least as ridiculous as this.
Brilliantly opportunistic, avaricious, morally bankrupt, and with little to no apparent understanding of the means or difficulty regarding the labor and projects she demands from subordinates. No wonder Robin was a successful politician before she had that fleeting and fatal moment of empathy.
Robin is awful. I hope Jason stands up to her, eventually. Also, how does she think her class will respond if they need to purchase another expensive (and shoddily written) textbook?
seriously this is exactly how she ran her campaign
clif
No-one said she realized it was a joke.
HueSatLight
She knows she’s making a joke.
clif
And now someone has.
HueSatLight
She’s asking the TA who doesn’t know anything about the subject to write a textbook in under a day. I don’t know how so many people are reading that as 100% serious, and not her having fun at his expense.
Are all of you pretending not to understand that she’s joking, as a joke?
Mturtle7
Yes, that’s EXACTLY what we’re all doing (/jk)
(I wonder how many more layers we can put on this…)
thejeff
Yes. Because it’s Robin. It’s practically impossible to tell where her boundaries are or how her perception of reality works.
She hired a homeless kid who’d “hacked” her phone to run her campaign and it worked for her. Why doesn’t ordering her intern to write a textbook for tomorrow make just as much sense?
HueSatLight
gonna go see how many folks thought Walky really couldn’t tell the difference between Jason and Rhys Darby.
Arillius
You’re joking, right? This is a very delusional person we’re talking about here. So yes, I totally believe that Robin, an adult who barely understands anything but the art of fucking people over, believes a textbook can be written in a day. Either a.) she has a plan to plagiarize it or b.) she doesn’t understand how difficult it is to write.
But if you’re taking it as a joke, you’re the one whose not paying attention or reading the comic. Because Robin does this shit all the time and usually totally believes it.
Jason stands up to her: “And, class, this is an example of what? That’s right – a COUP!” *hands the chalk to Jason, falls dramatically sideways off the chair, and sprawls across the floor under that side of the blackboard* “Now we’ll see how well-prepared he was to take over the reins of control!”
–Dave, *props her arm under her head and stares interestedly at Jason*
Th things is, in a few years with AI, this won’t actually be at all difficult for Jason. I mean, it’s not like the textbook has to be accurate, after all…
i mean, unless it’d be considered extortion i’m surprised they wouldn’t be like “Venmo me 50 bucks if you want 5 extra points on your gpa for my class” or so XP
We’re already pretty much there, people in law already use AI to write for them. In a few years with AI, the machines will hopefully keep a few breeding pairs of us in some kind of human zoo.
Considering how AI scientific work can often be summed up as “I’m pulling this out of my ass” we shouldn’t worry about AI revolution… AI-enhanced human incompetence on the other hand…
David DeLaney
both of these are correct. A”I” at this point contains 0 non-stolen IQ points, and can best be described as “Markov-chained MadLibs”, filling each new word or pixel on the basis of the previous several, and ONLY those, as compared to the giant digested database of copied data
131 thoughts on “Textbook”
Ana Chronistic
is it ghostwriting if everyone can literally see him doing it
reminds me of SmugAlana and chat making a billion-dollar game together
APW
Judging by the eye bags, it would be zombie writing
Needfuldoer
He can have a large language model generate one. Feed it the Wikipedia articles on how the government is supposed to work, pepper it with Robin’s speech mannerisms, and it might be passable enough. She probably won’t even bother to read the thing.
clif
I wonder if there’s enough data in Shortpacked and DOA to create a Robin chatbot.
Mark
I wonder if there’s enough money in the universe to pay me to talk with a Robin chatbot.
David DeLaney
at least it would be quick
Sirksome
The grift never ends is the real takeaway from this class.
clif
Well, it is a class on how politics works.
Steamweed
“Class, to do politics, you need money. How do you get money? Well, you’re gonna buy my new textbook, comin’ out next week, and I’ll get money from that. Also I get free labor from my teacher assistant here. ‘Kay, see you next week.”
Schpoonman
I’m both surprised and not surprised that Robin managed to make Jason that weary in just one class period. He seemed pretty good at the start of class.
Doctor_Who
At least now he can go home to Ruth and relax.
Jeremiah
You know how extroverts get energy from interacting with other people? In Robin case is more like she suck the energy of anyone that is in too close proximity like a black and add it to her own.
Jeremiah
*like a block hole
milu
*lice a black hole
Sillygoose
*like a black hope
thejeff
*like a bleak house.
Daibhid C
So what you’re saying is that being Robin’s TA is as exhausting as being involved in the Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce case?
Yeah, I can see that.
David DeLaney
oh _deep_ cut
The Chosen One
Like a bloke howl
Needfuldoer
The laws of physics say that energy has to come from somewhere.
Schpoonman
How much of that five gallon bag of soda syrup do you think she drank already?
Azhrei Vep
You’re coming at this all wrong.
How many of those has Jason had to fetch for her during this period?
Firseal
The laws of Robin say that it has to come from somewhere else.
Schpoonman
I’ve dealt with energy vampires before. It’s super fun when you room with one and work under another.
Thag Simmons
He’ll be dead in a week
Schpoonman
RIP in pepperonis, Jean Luc.
Nono
I’m surprised she remembered his name.
Dean
The trick is to write a new edition each year, so the
suckersstudents can’t buy them secondhand.True Survivor
That insight reminds me of this comic by the illustrious Mr. Weinersmith (also in the hive network): https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3621#comic
Rabid Rabbit
Uncle Randy has one as well: https://somethingpositive.net/comic/price-point/
Sirksome
The new edition with like a paragraph of added material they won’t even be tested on and the rest are slightly relevant stock photos to fill out the chapter. That will be 200 bucks.
Bittersweet
A new edition with nothing changed but rearranged questions so they can’t buy an older edition or else they won’t be able to use it for homework.
Needfuldoer
And the professor will know you didn’t buy the latest edition of their textbook because your answers will be correct but in the wrong order!
anon
other than a specific prof’s theories and such, and college credit, i’m sure there are ppl who would record and upload lectures for free, if not by the teacher themselves so there’d at least ppl getting knowledge for free (tho i guess other than discussion/clarification comments on a place like YT would have to be disabled lol)
Then again these days i’m sure ‘educational podcasts’ are a thing lol
(consideirng history was just memorization i’m sure listening to a podcast on facts/dates 20 times prolly would’ve helped me more than skimming a text book. well, i suppose in high school we weren’t allowed earphones during tests but that was always more to not disturb other students while we were doing it, versus someone actually bothering to actually have a ‘helpful’ recording where they could cheat with it)
Tan
Harvard has a bunch of online courses for free (to audit)
Steamweed
Nowadays the best money-making trick is to sell the subscription to the students. It’s online in separate segments, it can’t be easily dowloaded, and the questions and answers are randomized from a bank. More evil, yet, is it’s a yearly subscription, not a semesterly one.
M!a
My prof made copies of the relevant bits and diatributed them as study material to the students for like ten bucks.
That’s right, fuck The Man.
M!a
*distributed, obvs.
Rocketboy1313
Speaking as a TA I have had supervising Professors that felt this demanding. At least she is giving him a clear deadline.
BarerMender
I once had a man try to hire me to ghost write a book about the stock market. He gave me three pages of material to work with. Oh, and he wanted me to write it on spec. Which he had no intention of paying if I did create a publishable work.
DinaJoyce
Yeah, I feel like this is a pretty normal grad student assignment. Maybe not rhe deadline, but it really depends on the prof. I know people who have been kicked out of their programs for not conforming to expectations at least as ridiculous as this.
thejeff
Though it’s usually at least in their field.
True Survivor
Brilliantly opportunistic, avaricious, morally bankrupt, and with little to no apparent understanding of the means or difficulty regarding the labor and projects she demands from subordinates. No wonder Robin was a successful politician before she had that fleeting and fatal moment of empathy.
Thag Simmons
Hey, it took multiple fleeting moments of empathy to bring her down
Thomas
You mean like that unpleasant man who hired someone else to write “The Art of the Deal”?
BBCC
I remember when my politics professor found out other profs did this.
She said professors that did that should be drawn and quartered.
Thag Simmons
good policy
True Survivor
She sounds like a good person and a cool professor, though I would hate to see what she does to any students she catches cheating on her exams.
Thomas
Robin is awful. I hope Jason stands up to her, eventually. Also, how does she think her class will respond if they need to purchase another expensive (and shoddily written) textbook?
HueSatLight
she’s making a joke.
BarerMender
Has she ever shown any ability or inclination to crack a joke?
Dara
seriously this is exactly how she ran her campaign
clif
No-one said she realized it was a joke.
HueSatLight
She knows she’s making a joke.
clif
And now someone has.
HueSatLight
She’s asking the TA who doesn’t know anything about the subject to write a textbook in under a day. I don’t know how so many people are reading that as 100% serious, and not her having fun at his expense.
Are all of you pretending not to understand that she’s joking, as a joke?
Mturtle7
Yes, that’s EXACTLY what we’re all doing (/jk)
(I wonder how many more layers we can put on this…)
thejeff
Yes. Because it’s Robin. It’s practically impossible to tell where her boundaries are or how her perception of reality works.
She hired a homeless kid who’d “hacked” her phone to run her campaign and it worked for her. Why doesn’t ordering her intern to write a textbook for tomorrow make just as much sense?
HueSatLight
gonna go see how many folks thought Walky really couldn’t tell the difference between Jason and Rhys Darby.
Arillius
You’re joking, right? This is a very delusional person we’re talking about here. So yes, I totally believe that Robin, an adult who barely understands anything but the art of fucking people over, believes a textbook can be written in a day. Either a.) she has a plan to plagiarize it or b.) she doesn’t understand how difficult it is to write.
But if you’re taking it as a joke, you’re the one whose not paying attention or reading the comic. Because Robin does this shit all the time and usually totally believes it.
HueSatLight
lol, fuck off.
anon
at this point i’d just expect robin to print out like 500 selfies and sell versions of it with her signature on it
David DeLaney
Jason stands up to her: “And, class, this is an example of what? That’s right – a COUP!” *hands the chalk to Jason, falls dramatically sideways off the chair, and sprawls across the floor under that side of the blackboard* “Now we’ll see how well-prepared he was to take over the reins of control!”
–Dave, *props her arm under her head and stares interestedly at Jason*
M!a
Do you live in Chile, by any chance? More or less what’s going on there right now.
HueSatLight
i had a professor who handed out copies of the new chapter that would be in the next edition.
M!a
Go Go Gadget Prof! ❤️❤️❤️
Slartibeast Button, BIA
Th things is, in a few years with AI, this won’t actually be at all difficult for Jason. I mean, it’s not like the textbook has to be accurate, after all…
anon
i mean, unless it’d be considered extortion i’m surprised they wouldn’t be like “Venmo me 50 bucks if you want 5 extra points on your gpa for my class” or so XP
Dday
We’re already pretty much there, people in law already use AI to write for them. In a few years with AI, the machines will hopefully keep a few breeding pairs of us in some kind of human zoo.
Da Boy
Considering how AI scientific work can often be summed up as “I’m pulling this out of my ass” we shouldn’t worry about AI revolution… AI-enhanced human incompetence on the other hand…
David DeLaney
both of these are correct. A”I” at this point contains 0 non-stolen IQ points, and can best be described as “Markov-chained MadLibs”, filling each new word or pixel on the basis of the previous several, and ONLY those, as compared to the giant digested database of copied data