Re: [Harp-L] Percentage of "crap" quote

[fjm <mktspot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon's_law

I want to thank Gary for this link.  I don't know if anyone else read it 
but it's thought provoking and sheds a lot of light on what up until now 
I'd thought was a pointless thread.  This 99.4% of blank is cr*p 
statement isn't a new idea.  The origin being that 90% of science 
fiction is crud.  Reading through the wiki I found an entertaining 
analysis of both the origins and the actual meaning of this thought.  If 
90% is crud then 10% is good.  It would appear that this is what 
Theodore Sturgeon the person originally attributed with the formulation 
of Surgeon's law and Sturgeon's Revelation meant.  Or 90% of of science 
fiction is crud to which he replied 90% of everything is crud.  Another 
version of Surgeon's law has it as "Nothing is always absolutely so".

What does any of this have to do with harmonica, nothing and everything. 
 Science fiction being a blighted genre often criticised for its lack 
of literary prowess.  Harmonica fits nicely into this same category but 
like science fiction it doesn't really apply any more so to us than it 
does to any other form of music.  See Sturgeon's law above.  I'm not 
quite sure this is where Chris was going with this and I'll guess he was 
completely unaware of this prior usage in the culture.  The similarities 
lead me to believe that while he was unaware of the usage specifically 
he was definitely  aware of it culturally.

So what it really comes down to is focus, 90% of everything is crud or 
that remaining 10% that gloriously isn't crud.  Not usually a wiki fan I 
was very entertained by this particular site and I'd definitely put it 
in the 10% category.  fjm