[ExI] another fun story, part four of two

[Keith Henson]

The other loss in recent years was John Walker.  He wrote a follow-up
chapter to one of Rudy's books

At the Artificial Life conference, Rudy was wearing a dead fish tie.

My daughter babysat Rudy's kids in the early 1990s

Keith

On Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 7:54 PM <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:
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> >...Damian and Vernor Vinge were both tragic losses.  Keith
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> Truly.
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> >... I don't look a Facebook that often, but Rudy was hawking a book there last week.
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> Good thx for that Keith.
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> I have half a mind to try to re-establish contact with him, for he might not have heard of Damien's passing.
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> If I manage to do so, I want to ask him a question about that last story in his anthology Mathenauts.  I figured out it was a parody of graduate school, and that the mad mathematician making money off of the students' research (his volunteer slaves (pretty much describes doctoral candidates doing their research projects, ja?)
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> The instance that might come to mind is William Shockley, but the way that story was written, the mad mathematician wasn't a bad guy.  It occurred to me that the most effective way to get a bunch of volunteer research labor is to be a really nice person, supportive, generous, kind, the sort of person you really want to work hard for.  Well, Rudy would be that with change left over.
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> So... if he had some doctoral students he was mentoring, and they were handing him stuff he could package up and sell for the popular price point of those days (about 50 bucks for software that really worked) the professor could mop up the profits, with the students' blessing.  So if I contact Rudy again, I shall dare to ask him if that last story, the math-fi parody is about HIM.  Rudy are you the mad mathematician sir?  And if so, did one of your own former students write it?  And if so, do you find this all as deeply amusing as I do?
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> I do hope Rudy Rucker is the mad mathematician, for if so, that sly professor set me up for two time-jokes, after I told him about that last story being the best time-joke I had ever had played upon me.  Then being at Rudy's house and describing a favored book that he himself created, then not letting on was a great time-joke.  Then later to really get pondering and realizing that story may have been about HIM.  Perhaps he carried on a straight-faced conversation without revealing either of those things, but rather choosing setting me up to find out later and laugh maniacally perhaps in public spaces, which is embarrassing, but in a way enhances the humor of it all because I am laughing simultaneously at the time-joke itself and at myself for being such a maniacal fool...  what a guy is Rudy Rucker.  I am so lucky to have met him.
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> spike
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> On Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM spike jones via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
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> > The pleasant memories of an evening with Damien Broderick and Rudy Rucker led me to discover that Damien had passed (damn.)  ...> spike
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> > _______________________________________________
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