It's amazing that a decade ago I'd have called you an exceptionally demented individual for doing this, but these days there's so much stupid unconscionable shit going on with AI that it hardly stands out.
floren: In epochs bygone, a mere decade hence, I would have proffered thee the epithet of an egregiously unhinged denizen, were thou to embark upon such an endeavor. However, in these current times, wherein the domain of artificial intelligence doth teem with preposterous and morally indefensible machinations, thy conduct emerges as naught but a faint ember in the vast tapestry of perplexities that now envelop us.
davidzweig: Hark! Methinks 'tis the act of rewriting, not the sifting, that doth wound thy pride most deeply, and affront thee grievously. Set thine eyes upon the instance presented hence, to glean a clearer understanding of our noble mission, one that doth strive to render these splendid volumes more reachable:
Original:
The other person was a man named O’Brien, a member of the Inner Party and holder of some post so important and remote that Winston had only a dim idea of its nature. A momentary hush passed over the group of people round the chairs as they saw the black overalls of an Inner Party member approaching.
O’Brien was a large, burly man with a thick neck and a coarse, humorous, brutal face. In spite of his formidable appearance he had a certain charm of manner. He had a trick of resettling his spectacles on his nose which was curiously disarming—in some indefinable way, curiously civilized. It was a gesture which, if anyone had still thought in such terms, might have recalled an eighteenth-century nobleman offering his snuffbox.
Winston had seen O’Brien perhaps a dozen times in almost as many years. He felt deeply drawn to him, and not solely because he was intrigued by the contrast between O’Brien’s urbane manner and his prize-fighter’s physique. Much more it was because of a secretly held belief—or perhaps not even a belief, merely a hope—that O’Brien’s political orthodoxy was not perfect. Something in his face suggested it irresistibly.
Rewritten:
The other person was a man named O'Brien. He belonged to a group called the Inner Party and had a very important job that Winston didn't fully understand. When people saw O'Brien, they became quiet, because he was a high-ranking member of the Inner Party.
O'Brien was a big, strong man with a thick neck and a rough, funny, and tough-looking face. Despite his intimidating appearance, he had a certain charm in the way he acted. He had a habit of adjusting his glasses on his nose, which was oddly disarming, and in some way, it seemed polite and refined, like an old-fashioned nobleman offering his snuffbox.
Winston had seen O'Brien about a dozen times over the past few years. He felt a strong connection to him, not just because he was curious about the difference between O'Brien's polite behavior and his tough appearance. It was more because Winston secretly hoped that O'Brien wasn't completely loyal to the government's beliefs. There was something about his face that made Winston believe this, even though it was just a feeling.
---> Orwell already has a clear style that I very much admire. The somewhat minor changes here would make for easier parsing by students, without changing the message much. I can't imagine Orwell would have objected.
I think your message is misplaced and pretty rude.
It throws away the flavor of the original text. Why reword the great works of literature into YA-level blandness? Might as well just read the Cliffs Notes at that point. 1984 isn't a particularly challenging work, either, and I think readers do themselves a disfavor if they don't read the original.
Edit: hey I do want to apologize my tone in the first comment though, it was too much. Sorry.
Our software is used by Koreans, Turks, Brazilians, Hungarians etc. that are trying to learn a foreign language (English). If importing (and rewriting some of) Gutenburg was the best use of time for them, well, I'm not sure. If you don't see a difference in difficulty in the two texts, then, I don't think you are able to appreciate the perspective of a language learner.
Well, the filtering prompt could have caused offense to someone that enjoys literature. It was the prompt I used after some iterations. If you go through gutenberg (~70,000 books), much of it is pretty undigestable to a modern reader, never mind a learner. Personally I'm finding a learning curve with chatGPT etc. where you have to relearn to directly ask for what you want.
I don't really understand the purpose here, given that literature is significantly aesthetic by nature. Can't students just read contemporary, accessible books if they want something easier?
Literature: "Anything written in print that's not Twilight." (urban dictionary) :)
Yes, they could.. but we can't put Harry Potter in the public library of texts for copyright reasons, and licensing material is difficult and not fun, I prefer to write software. Users can paste it in themselves, but then there's steps. The center of the project is still a browser extension that runs on Netflix and Youtube, we thus sidestep the copyright issue.
davidzweig: Hark! Methinks 'tis the act of rewriting, not the sifting, that doth wound thy pride most deeply, and affront thee grievously. Set thine eyes upon the instance presented hence, to glean a clearer understanding of our noble mission, one that doth strive to render these splendid volumes more reachable:
Original:
The other person was a man named O’Brien, a member of the Inner Party and holder of some post so important and remote that Winston had only a dim idea of its nature. A momentary hush passed over the group of people round the chairs as they saw the black overalls of an Inner Party member approaching.
O’Brien was a large, burly man with a thick neck and a coarse, humorous, brutal face. In spite of his formidable appearance he had a certain charm of manner. He had a trick of resettling his spectacles on his nose which was curiously disarming—in some indefinable way, curiously civilized. It was a gesture which, if anyone had still thought in such terms, might have recalled an eighteenth-century nobleman offering his snuffbox.
Winston had seen O’Brien perhaps a dozen times in almost as many years. He felt deeply drawn to him, and not solely because he was intrigued by the contrast between O’Brien’s urbane manner and his prize-fighter’s physique. Much more it was because of a secretly held belief—or perhaps not even a belief, merely a hope—that O’Brien’s political orthodoxy was not perfect. Something in his face suggested it irresistibly.
Rewritten:
The other person was a man named O'Brien. He belonged to a group called the Inner Party and had a very important job that Winston didn't fully understand. When people saw O'Brien, they became quiet, because he was a high-ranking member of the Inner Party.
O'Brien was a big, strong man with a thick neck and a rough, funny, and tough-looking face. Despite his intimidating appearance, he had a certain charm in the way he acted. He had a habit of adjusting his glasses on his nose, which was oddly disarming, and in some way, it seemed polite and refined, like an old-fashioned nobleman offering his snuffbox.
Winston had seen O'Brien about a dozen times over the past few years. He felt a strong connection to him, not just because he was curious about the difference between O'Brien's polite behavior and his tough appearance. It was more because Winston secretly hoped that O'Brien wasn't completely loyal to the government's beliefs. There was something about his face that made Winston believe this, even though it was just a feeling.
---> Orwell already has a clear style that I very much admire. The somewhat minor changes here would make for easier parsing by students, without changing the message much. I can't imagine Orwell would have objected.
I think your message is misplaced and pretty rude.