That’s interesting. Do you have references and the time to post them?
r_claypool
Karma: 358
They can be a small, unnecessary barrier for newcomers to LW, LessWrong.
I added you in a “LessWrong” circle.
Add me at https://plus.google.com/111349944161241820589/posts
Yes, that’s one of the layout options on the Wordle website.
right
Rationalists here are not so cold-hearted after all. ;-)
Other questions to resolve:
Where should the files be hosted? (Does LW have the bandwidth)
Is LW exempt from MP3 licensing? (I hope so)
Where should the download links be placed? (A wiki page is fine, but it will be less discoverable.)
Which posts should be completed first?
I have price quotes for Acapela, Cepstral, Wizzard (AT&T Voices), Neospeech, and Nuance RealSpeak. The range is from $1,000 to $15,000 USD.
Open source options are eSpeak (robotic), Festival (robotic), FreeTTS (robotic), Pico and others.
Pico is part of Android and it sounds more natural than other open source options I tried. Pico is licensed under Apache 2.0. Here’s a demo.
The commercial voices are definately better; Loquendo is a good example.
So now I can start converting via Pico or try to get funding for a more natural voice. Thoughts?
I’m slowly working on the sequences in MP3 format. Commercial text-to-speech solutions start out at $1,000 USD, so I need to find funding or an open alternative.
I think How to Win Friends and Influence People is fantastic in this regard.
The 11 min version is online for $0.99 - it’s awesome.
A separate site should not be needed. LW could pull the browser’s preferred language from the http request and send content accordingly. Most localizable sites also have a language combobox to override browser settings.
I think this is already coded in LW-Reddit software, so the real challenge is translation itself.
It would be quite the coincidence if what you want to do because it’s fun also happens to be exactly what you ought to do to become a happier and more successful person? How convenient! No hard work necessary! The Answer is “Sit on your ass and read stuff on the internet” all along! If only I’d known that 5 years ago!
Seriously? Your rhetoric is thick and off the mark. There are lots of fun things we decide not to do because we see a problem with the ought of doing it. Having fun on this site is no barrier to the happiness or success I am seeking, even though I happen to be in front of a computer right now. That could change, but the same is true for any hobby that gets to be a problem.
Utterly, utterly, utterly delusional.
What is delusional? Thinking I can make better decisions and that LessWrong can actually help me do that? Please elaborate.
I don’t get the impression that when people are exposed to LessWrong that their life improves significantly.
LessWrong has been a steady stream of encouragement for me. I’m new around here, so maybe my shock and recoil from this statement is coming from a honeymoon mentality. Still, I’ll go on record to disagree and say that I expect significant improvements in my life. A better epistemology and knowledge of the world is bound to change me. I hope I’ll look back someday and judge those changes significant.
From my point of view it looks like the rational choice is not to study rationality. Instead learn to play the guitar …
I’m surprised by this too. Sinking time into this site has not been a chore. I listen to the sequences and visit here because I enjoy my time doing that. I might not stay around if the fun factor goes down, but I’m already looking for ways to keep this fun. I want to want to be rational, and LessWrong is the best resource I have found so far.
It’s fun to refer to rationality as the art of winning, but let’s not forget that we say this with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Why is that tongue in cheek? If I can avoid even a few poor decisions each week, that is a real win for me. If I give to the right charities, that is a win for the world.
Oh. I understand now. I’ve tried a few text-to-speech engines and AT&T Natural Voices sound the best to my ears. I will find the terms of use and pricing for that.
Converting is easy, but what’s the next best format?
WAV is going to need a lot of bandwidth and storage. Ogg Vorbis works fine on Android, but not for the iPhone.
MP3 will give the best user experience for the most users.
LessWrong might be exempt from these fees, but the exemption is unclear. Specifically, I don’t know how to interpret “other consideration of any kind”. I am not a lawyer.
From the license holder’s website:
5) Do I need a license to distribute mp3 or mp3surround encoded content?
Yes. A license is needed for commercial (i.e., revenue-generating) use of mp3/mp3PRO in broadcast systems (terrestrial, satellite, cable and/or other distribution channels), streaming applications (via Internet, intranets and/or other networks), other content distribution systems (pay-audio or audio-on-demand applications and the like) or for use of mp3/mp3PRO on physical media (compact discs, digital versatile discs, semiconductor chips, hard drives, memory cards and the like).
However, no license is needed for private, non-commercial activities (e.g., home-entertainment, receiving broadcasts and creating a personal music library), not generating revenue or other consideration of any kind or for entities with associated annual gross revenue less than US$ 100 000.00.
AT&T Mike meets LessWrong.com
Good point. changed.
The Bible was literally man-made. I really doubt that women had much to do with its original authorship or redaction history.
If by “high regard for the Bible” he means inerrancy, I recommend The Human Faces of God as a first step.
It covers disturbing passages that I believe damage the credibility of the Bible as a whole. Biblical genocide, slavery, propaganda, early Israelite polytheism, contradictions, and failed prophesies of Jesus are all discussed with footnotes to additional literature. Most of this material is “standard fare” among critical scholars—even the idea that Jesus was a failed prophet—but church-going people are still in the dark on most of these issues.
It might help that the author of this book is a professing Christian. Your friend will be more open to criticisms of the Bible coming from another person of faith. It will help him explore radically different versions of (liberal) Christianity, even as he considers atheism.