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> “… it is oddly fitting that a man best known for creating a device to move around small volumes of liquid died unable to manage large ones.“ Ouch. This felt…

> “… it is oddly fitting that a man best known for creating a device to move around small volumes of liquid died unable to manage large ones.“ Ouch. This felt… a bit unnecessary and out of place.

bschne 3y ago
yeah they missed the tone a bit there, tripped over it too
op00to 3y ago
I came here to post that. Totally uncalled for and not funny in the least. It is also not fitting at all.
- stronglikedan 3y ago
  It was funny and an appropriate levity break. I laughed out loud. I hope they leave it in, despite the author's request to have it removed. The editors knew best in this case.
  - op00to 3y ago
    Can you explain what you found funny? Everyone is entitled to their own sense of humor, but I don't see how a drowning death is funny because it happened to a scientist that invented a tool.
    - riversflow 3y ago
      Not OP, but I’ll take a stab. > funny because it happened to a scientist that invented a tool. ..for transferring fluids. I don’t think much of Freudian psychology as a whole, but he’s got a relevant quote that is pretty good on Gallows humor, from Der Humor 1927: > "The ego refuses to be distressed by the provocations of reality, to let itself be compelled to suffer. It insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world; it shows, in fact, that such traumas are no more than occasions for it to gain pleasure." The comedy, in this light, is a result of the dissonance that someone smart and savvy enough to invent an extremely useful tool for moving liquids died in a large body of liquids not long after said invention. My guess is that people who find the humor here relate more to the drowning scientist directly. Dying from drowning in an Alpine lake, or just drowning, isn’t that common of a risk, but if it is a risk you are familiar with you’re more likely to find the humor. At least thats the case for me.
      - op00to 3y ago
        Just so I follow, if the inventor of the ez bake oven died in a home gas explosion, that’s sort of the same concept at play? Thank you for the explanation.
Metacelsus 3y ago
You're right, this was rather tone-deaf. It wasn't in my original draft and was added by an Asimov editor in an attempt to make the piece more interesting. Although I did review the final article proof, so it's my responsibility too. I've made a request for Asimov to edit it.
- BiteCode_dev 3y ago
  For the record, I find it achieves the editor's goal for me. A bit of dark humor can be a nice touch. The problem is rather if you are ok with the fact a part of your audience will be offended with it.
  - Metacelsus 3y ago
    You know, this might be a classic case of "Your Incentives Are Not The Same As Media Companies'" https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-incentives-are-not-the-same https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-incentives-are-not-the...
  - _ea1k 3y ago
    It seems like slightly different wording would have fixed it. "Oddly fitting"? We don't usually describe untimely deaths as "fitting". Perhaps "ironic" or something along those lines would fit the tone better.
    - op00to 3y ago
      If the pipette dude would have died of drowning by pipetting, that would be ironic. If he drowned from a microlitre of water, that'd be ironic. But saying he couldn't handle large amounts of water is weird. The dude's unfortunate drowning death really doesn't add much to the story.

bschne 3y ago

yeah they missed the tone a bit there, tripped over it too

op00to 3y ago

I came here to post that. Totally uncalled for and not funny in the least. It is also not fitting at all.

stronglikedan 3y ago
It was funny and an appropriate levity break. I laughed out loud. I hope they leave it in, despite the author's request to have it removed. The editors knew best in this case.
- op00to 3y ago
  Can you explain what you found funny? Everyone is entitled to their own sense of humor, but I don't see how a drowning death is funny because it happened to a scientist that invented a tool.
  - riversflow 3y ago
    Not OP, but I’ll take a stab. > funny because it happened to a scientist that invented a tool. ..for transferring fluids. I don’t think much of Freudian psychology as a whole, but he’s got a relevant quote that is pretty good on Gallows humor, from Der Humor 1927: > "The ego refuses to be distressed by the provocations of reality, to let itself be compelled to suffer. It insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world; it shows, in fact, that such traumas are no more than occasions for it to gain pleasure." The comedy, in this light, is a result of the dissonance that someone smart and savvy enough to invent an extremely useful tool for moving liquids died in a large body of liquids not long after said invention. My guess is that people who find the humor here relate more to the drowning scientist directly. Dying from drowning in an Alpine lake, or just drowning, isn’t that common of a risk, but if it is a risk you are familiar with you’re more likely to find the humor. At least thats the case for me.
    - op00to 3y ago
      Just so I follow, if the inventor of the ez bake oven died in a home gas explosion, that’s sort of the same concept at play? Thank you for the explanation.

Metacelsus 3y ago

You're right, this was rather tone-deaf. It wasn't in my original draft and was added by an Asimov editor in an attempt to make the piece more interesting. Although I did review the final article proof, so it's my responsibility too. I've made a request for Asimov to edit it.

BiteCode_dev 3y ago
For the record, I find it achieves the editor's goal for me. A bit of dark humor can be a nice touch. The problem is rather if you are ok with the fact a part of your audience will be offended with it.
- Metacelsus 3y ago
  You know, this might be a classic case of "Your Incentives Are Not The Same As Media Companies'" https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-incentives-are-not-the-same https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-incentives-are-not-the...
- _ea1k 3y ago
  It seems like slightly different wording would have fixed it. "Oddly fitting"? We don't usually describe untimely deaths as "fitting". Perhaps "ironic" or something along those lines would fit the tone better.
  - op00to 3y ago
    If the pipette dude would have died of drowning by pipetting, that would be ironic. If he drowned from a microlitre of water, that'd be ironic. But saying he couldn't handle large amounts of water is weird. The dude's unfortunate drowning death really doesn't add much to the story.