a review and analysis on a weird book and further investigation of an emergent phenomenon on Amazon with a multitude of suspicious books being sold with the word "bible" in the title
Although the entire AI thing mixed with the rest of internet ridiculousness is plowing the way for me to smash all my tech and go back to Real Life with Real People in Real Time. At what point is it "enough is enough"?
Other special interest groups have noticed these 'bible's' starting to appear in online book stores. It seems that all new 'bibles' are junk. There will be other trigger words that will be used to hook uncritical people, cover art will be optimised, as you have found handsome or beautiful portraits in the Bios.
I think checking to see if the publisher has any real books will be a clue as well, these may turn out to be self published by a disposable shell company in the event that they get too much bad press.
One thing is certain, no typesetter or editor has been consulted.
Nursery and Kindergarten are similar words in many languages, a simple translation glitch could have resulted in the crazy subsection. The Eggplant drinking disclosure is probably a result of the same.
Remember AI gives you output it THINKS you WANT to get, it is not too focussed on facts and details though for some reason, perhaps the users are generally uncritical and if an answer satisfies the user the AI thinks that is the kind of output to focus on.
Thanks for this post. It makes sense that there are already and there will be far too many more of these terrible-grammar "books" on the market. I see lots of ads in SM for becoming an "author" and selling books without any prior experience. I would guess the result would often be something similar to the "seed saving bible" you reviewed.
A formula that works for legit authors is to research what is trending on Amazon, and read reviews to find out what the market likes and doesn't like about a particular book or topic. Then the author can write a book with their personal spin or flavor that seeks to capitalize on the strengths and weaknesses already identified.
I am guessing that formula in the hands of someone looking to make a quick buck and without any real interest in or knowledge about a given topic is what produces such drivel as the seed saving bible and others like it. No actual writing or research needed, AI and plagiarism and bad translations can all be combined in the end result.
And because so many "consumers" these days are not great readers they won't care about the quality. Thank god for exceptions like you and others of us who still value quality writing and real wisdom shared through the written sord, as it has been for hundreds of years. The poor quality writing and snake oil salesmen have of course been around just as long, but the mass marketing and reach available these days takes it to a whole new level. Not to mention the increasingly poor education of the masses.
One more thought on AI: As with most technology, AI will be as helpful, creative, constructive and beneficial as the user(s).
The atrocious use of language makes me think this is not AI-generated, unless maybe it's AI programmed in a language other than English. I'm under the impression that AI is very adept at imitating good writing. I think the copy-paste analysis is probably more accurate, and copy-pasted from text written by people whose English is sketchy.
It appears that calling something a "bible" is supposed to give it credibility. And I think you've hit the nail on the head in suspecting that most of us have a tendency to judge a book by its cover or title, and not look deeper. Object lesson.
I thought the author was Benjamin JOHSON, not Johnson - it says so on the cover! I hope you gave the "book" a suitably bad review. I never buy books (or anything else) from Amazon, unless there is absolutely no other way of getting a product I want, but I do go on there to look at the reviews.
Wow... what a mess that book is. Reminds me of the assembly instructions that accompany "Made in China" items, only WORSE and LONGER. I appreciate your giving us the heads-up that this garbage is out there; I'll be on the lookout now!
P.S. I'm now super-intrigued by the Benjamin Johnson alias dude... who is he, really, and does he know what's going on with his photo? Is he even a real person, or did AI cough up his image like a hairball when asked to generate a ruggedly handsome middle-aged semi-sincere guy in a Stetson? 🤔
I notice this about a year ago with fairy poetry books. yep. we gotta write out own now. there will be not many, reliable human made books published for a while.
Only thing I think most older seed saving books are lacking (from what I have seen) is an exploration of the positive roles of microorganisms and their interactions with seeds. Most of the conventional agricultural/horticultural thinking (stemming from mainstream academic institutions) with regards to seeds saving appears to involve an attitude that is sort of reminiscent of Louis Pasteur's "Germ Theory" in that they only talk about microorganisms as potential "pathogens" with regards to their potential relationships with seeds.
Seeds, being living embryos, have their own microbiome just like we humans. Many ancient ecologically literate and spiritually/intuitively attuned cultures understood that taking the roots of a healthy mature plant, dipping them in water and soaking the seeds in that water, imbued the seeds with benefits. These ancient horticultural experts may not have had the same words we have for things like Mycorrhizae, Purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and perhaps referred to the essence that they were imbuing the seeds with as "spirits" but they accomplished the same thing that university experts studying "Seed Bio-Priming by Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria (PNSB)" are engaging in via root soaks or mixing some Terra Preta in water for inoculating the seeds before planting (and without all the expensive lab equipment).
Hopefully I can attempt to remedy that in my own small way when I publish my next book. I would like to explore intentionally stimulating beneficial seed microbiomes ("probiotics" for seeds if you will) both in the context of seed storage outside of the soil, and storing seeds inside the living soil as part of a "soil seed bank" (like I sometimes do with my self-sowing veggie/herb beds like this): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJPdCrVqMVQ&t=1s
What a great concept, and it seems so very true: seeds have their own microbiome just like humans do. Of course. And all of our individual microbiomes are intertwined as well.
I see a lot of reels in IG on how to create a DIY rooting agent. Do you have any tips or recipes to share for us?
Thanks! Yes it has been known to some botanically/ecologically literate/intuitive cultures for centuries - millennia, but modern science is now starting to catch up as well.
Here is some pertinent data on the subject incase you want to do a deep dive into the science side of this:
DIY rooting agent, sounds like something I should devote an entire chapter to in my next book, thanks for the inspiration.
I have used a combination of homemade rooting agents such as 'willow water', diluted liquid seaweed and EM1. It depends on if one is trying to root cuttings or encourage healthy germination /rooting of seeds for what combination would work best.
Diluted EM1 and/or actively aerated compost tea can make for an excellent conditioner for seeds to optimize their microbiome while also simulating scarification mechanisms (such as how seeds often go through the digestive tract of animals in the wild which helps them germinate) resulting in better germination rates and healthier/more resilient seedlings. Stubborn to germinate seed varieties also benefit from a diluted bamboo ("wood") vinegar soak (for more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFhWpQw7juA ) as this offers a stronger simulating effect of the scarification mechanisms (such as how seeds often go through the digestive tract of animals in the wild which helps them germinate).
I also suggest coating seeds and cuttings in powderized biochar as it is a substance that allows beneficial microorganisms to set up shop and become permanent allies to plants more effectively.
Great observation. I usually dip my plants (sometimes in soil blocks, sometimes bare root), before planting in compost tea (drips from my own compost container) or "liquid fish" concentrate.
You are 100% correct in your assessment of what's happening to books Gavin. I return them when they are so obviously shills. It may be, in addition to A.I., actual people scanning in old books whose first language isn't English, the old book they are scanning not being of good quality and then coming up with symbols, instead of letters, non-existent words and no one is capable of Proof Reading. One Book I sent back had all the errors highlighted. I don't know if anyone corrected the publication or just went on selling the book as is. You should send this book back with your highlights and demand your money back. I avoid purchasing anything off Amazon, but some things can only be bought there. When it comes to Gardening, Permaculture, Composting, Seed Saving, Fermenting, food preserving - YOU ARE NOW MY GO TO!
I've been buying tons of books lately, but lately they are all books recommended, physics, homeopathy, philosophy, chemistry, agriculture, religion... etc.
That and Z-library, been downloading tons of books from there too.
Getting quite a library. If they take down the Internet I won't skip a beat.
I always look at the 1 star reviews first and see if there's a pattern.
Then I look at the ratio of bad to good in order to make a choice.
There are a lot of older books on alternative treatments that have low page counts, so I don't automatically discount them for that, though it certainly counts as a red flag.
As does the presence of weird, twisty sentences, like you highlighted here.
Good point regarding page counts, yes, it was especially a red flag in this case as these books were claiming to be "7 books in 1" etc. I mean if it really was 7 books in one and less than a hundred pages, that would mean that the author condensed down entire books into approximately 14 pages a piece. That in itself is suspicious in this context, but ya your right one should not dismiss a book purely based on page count.
I know all too well how financially challenging self-publishing a 400 plus page book (with good quality pictures and binding) can be. Sometimes authors that are not willing to kowtow to the fiat currency driven whims of publishers (that want author's content to conform to "market trends") cannot afford to self-publish a longer page count book (even if they wanted to). I had to cut out about a hundred pages from my book due to printing budget constraints and it took me about 5 years to make it happen financially and logistically.
Yes and the relentless inclusion of the word "bible" seems to me like some kind of algorithm was used to analyze statistics or perhaps even psychological tendencies/data sets and it determined that using the word "bible" in the title was more likely to get people to engage in impulse purchases.
Good point. Creepy get rich insider values are seeping into everyone or a lot of people.
I am gullible and will buy stupidly in response to emotional pitches. But that trend is capitalizing on anti Left type groups. Survivalist homesteader religious types.
Yes. I have even seen an ad in a YouTube video embed for an AI that will write an ebook for you. All you have to do is buy the product and from it pick an Amazon book genre and sub niche. Then the AI will write a book for you to publish in that sub niche. I have been testing an AI set up to write online courses for you and it is a lot of gluff sales pitch language with a bit of content.
"Why is kindergarten necessary?” 😂
Although the entire AI thing mixed with the rest of internet ridiculousness is plowing the way for me to smash all my tech and go back to Real Life with Real People in Real Time. At what point is it "enough is enough"?
Other special interest groups have noticed these 'bible's' starting to appear in online book stores. It seems that all new 'bibles' are junk. There will be other trigger words that will be used to hook uncritical people, cover art will be optimised, as you have found handsome or beautiful portraits in the Bios.
I think checking to see if the publisher has any real books will be a clue as well, these may turn out to be self published by a disposable shell company in the event that they get too much bad press.
One thing is certain, no typesetter or editor has been consulted.
Nursery and Kindergarten are similar words in many languages, a simple translation glitch could have resulted in the crazy subsection. The Eggplant drinking disclosure is probably a result of the same.
Remember AI gives you output it THINKS you WANT to get, it is not too focussed on facts and details though for some reason, perhaps the users are generally uncritical and if an answer satisfies the user the AI thinks that is the kind of output to focus on.
Thanks for this post. It makes sense that there are already and there will be far too many more of these terrible-grammar "books" on the market. I see lots of ads in SM for becoming an "author" and selling books without any prior experience. I would guess the result would often be something similar to the "seed saving bible" you reviewed.
A formula that works for legit authors is to research what is trending on Amazon, and read reviews to find out what the market likes and doesn't like about a particular book or topic. Then the author can write a book with their personal spin or flavor that seeks to capitalize on the strengths and weaknesses already identified.
I am guessing that formula in the hands of someone looking to make a quick buck and without any real interest in or knowledge about a given topic is what produces such drivel as the seed saving bible and others like it. No actual writing or research needed, AI and plagiarism and bad translations can all be combined in the end result.
And because so many "consumers" these days are not great readers they won't care about the quality. Thank god for exceptions like you and others of us who still value quality writing and real wisdom shared through the written sord, as it has been for hundreds of years. The poor quality writing and snake oil salesmen have of course been around just as long, but the mass marketing and reach available these days takes it to a whole new level. Not to mention the increasingly poor education of the masses.
One more thought on AI: As with most technology, AI will be as helpful, creative, constructive and beneficial as the user(s).
The atrocious use of language makes me think this is not AI-generated, unless maybe it's AI programmed in a language other than English. I'm under the impression that AI is very adept at imitating good writing. I think the copy-paste analysis is probably more accurate, and copy-pasted from text written by people whose English is sketchy.
It appears that calling something a "bible" is supposed to give it credibility. And I think you've hit the nail on the head in suspecting that most of us have a tendency to judge a book by its cover or title, and not look deeper. Object lesson.
I thought the author was Benjamin JOHSON, not Johnson - it says so on the cover! I hope you gave the "book" a suitably bad review. I never buy books (or anything else) from Amazon, unless there is absolutely no other way of getting a product I want, but I do go on there to look at the reviews.
Wow... what a mess that book is. Reminds me of the assembly instructions that accompany "Made in China" items, only WORSE and LONGER. I appreciate your giving us the heads-up that this garbage is out there; I'll be on the lookout now!
P.S. I'm now super-intrigued by the Benjamin Johnson alias dude... who is he, really, and does he know what's going on with his photo? Is he even a real person, or did AI cough up his image like a hairball when asked to generate a ruggedly handsome middle-aged semi-sincere guy in a Stetson? 🤔
Forager expert Sam Thayer is struggling with this topic right now. He calls chat GPT plagiarism software. He comments on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100075865725320&name=xhp_nt__fb__action__open_user
I notice this about a year ago with fairy poetry books. yep. we gotta write out own now. there will be not many, reliable human made books published for a while.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100075865725320&name=xhp_nt__fb__action__open_user
My reference for seed saving info is “Seed to Seed” by Suzanne Ashworth.
I own that one, it is great.
Only thing I think most older seed saving books are lacking (from what I have seen) is an exploration of the positive roles of microorganisms and their interactions with seeds. Most of the conventional agricultural/horticultural thinking (stemming from mainstream academic institutions) with regards to seeds saving appears to involve an attitude that is sort of reminiscent of Louis Pasteur's "Germ Theory" in that they only talk about microorganisms as potential "pathogens" with regards to their potential relationships with seeds.
Seeds, being living embryos, have their own microbiome just like we humans. Many ancient ecologically literate and spiritually/intuitively attuned cultures understood that taking the roots of a healthy mature plant, dipping them in water and soaking the seeds in that water, imbued the seeds with benefits. These ancient horticultural experts may not have had the same words we have for things like Mycorrhizae, Purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and perhaps referred to the essence that they were imbuing the seeds with as "spirits" but they accomplished the same thing that university experts studying "Seed Bio-Priming by Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria (PNSB)" are engaging in via root soaks or mixing some Terra Preta in water for inoculating the seeds before planting (and without all the expensive lab equipment).
Hopefully I can attempt to remedy that in my own small way when I publish my next book. I would like to explore intentionally stimulating beneficial seed microbiomes ("probiotics" for seeds if you will) both in the context of seed storage outside of the soil, and storing seeds inside the living soil as part of a "soil seed bank" (like I sometimes do with my self-sowing veggie/herb beds like this): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJPdCrVqMVQ&t=1s
Thanks for the comment.
What a great concept, and it seems so very true: seeds have their own microbiome just like humans do. Of course. And all of our individual microbiomes are intertwined as well.
I see a lot of reels in IG on how to create a DIY rooting agent. Do you have any tips or recipes to share for us?
Thanks! Yes it has been known to some botanically/ecologically literate/intuitive cultures for centuries - millennia, but modern science is now starting to catch up as well.
Here is some pertinent data on the subject incase you want to do a deep dive into the science side of this:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9698004/#:~:text=Purple%20non%2Dsulfur%20bacteria%20(PNSB)%20are%20phototrophic%20microorganisms.,into%20chemical%20energy%20(ATP).
- https://www.cell.com/trends/microbiology/fulltext/S0966-842X(22)00292-X
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0944501323000198#:~:text=Seed%20microbiome%20represents%20a%20reservoir,pathway%20(iii)%20external%20pathway.
-https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.943329/full
DIY rooting agent, sounds like something I should devote an entire chapter to in my next book, thanks for the inspiration.
I have used a combination of homemade rooting agents such as 'willow water', diluted liquid seaweed and EM1. It depends on if one is trying to root cuttings or encourage healthy germination /rooting of seeds for what combination would work best.
Diluted EM1 and/or actively aerated compost tea can make for an excellent conditioner for seeds to optimize their microbiome while also simulating scarification mechanisms (such as how seeds often go through the digestive tract of animals in the wild which helps them germinate) resulting in better germination rates and healthier/more resilient seedlings. Stubborn to germinate seed varieties also benefit from a diluted bamboo ("wood") vinegar soak (for more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFhWpQw7juA ) as this offers a stronger simulating effect of the scarification mechanisms (such as how seeds often go through the digestive tract of animals in the wild which helps them germinate).
I also suggest coating seeds and cuttings in powderized biochar as it is a substance that allows beneficial microorganisms to set up shop and become permanent allies to plants more effectively.
Compost tea info:
- https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/compost-tea-a-how-to-guide/
- https://homesteadandchill.com/actively-aerated-compost-tea/
EM1 info:
- https://www.ijcmas.com/8-3-2019/Himangini%20Joshi,%20et%20al.pdf
- https://www.gardenerspantry.ca/product/effective-microorganisms/
Great observation. I usually dip my plants (sometimes in soil blocks, sometimes bare root), before planting in compost tea (drips from my own compost container) or "liquid fish" concentrate.
I look forward to your book.
Excellent!
There are a plethora of beneficial organisms in there.
Have you ever made actively aerated compost tea before?
No. I am guessing it involves running an aerator through the tea?
Actively Aerated Compost tea info:
- https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/compost-tea-a-how-to-guide/
- https://homesteadandchill.com/actively-aerated-compost-tea/
With all that blank space it is reminiscent of the Pfizer COVID vaccine inserts!
Good one!
I'm really glad this isn't April's book review, because it's not April yet. 😉😊😂
haha :) thanks for that
Perhaps it’s an April Fool’s day preview!
You are 100% correct in your assessment of what's happening to books Gavin. I return them when they are so obviously shills. It may be, in addition to A.I., actual people scanning in old books whose first language isn't English, the old book they are scanning not being of good quality and then coming up with symbols, instead of letters, non-existent words and no one is capable of Proof Reading. One Book I sent back had all the errors highlighted. I don't know if anyone corrected the publication or just went on selling the book as is. You should send this book back with your highlights and demand your money back. I avoid purchasing anything off Amazon, but some things can only be bought there. When it comes to Gardening, Permaculture, Composting, Seed Saving, Fermenting, food preserving - YOU ARE NOW MY GO TO!
I've been buying tons of books lately, but lately they are all books recommended, physics, homeopathy, philosophy, chemistry, agriculture, religion... etc.
That and Z-library, been downloading tons of books from there too.
Getting quite a library. If they take down the Internet I won't skip a beat.
I always look at the 1 star reviews first and see if there's a pattern.
Then I look at the ratio of bad to good in order to make a choice.
There are a lot of older books on alternative treatments that have low page counts, so I don't automatically discount them for that, though it certainly counts as a red flag.
As does the presence of weird, twisty sentences, like you highlighted here.
Good point regarding page counts, yes, it was especially a red flag in this case as these books were claiming to be "7 books in 1" etc. I mean if it really was 7 books in one and less than a hundred pages, that would mean that the author condensed down entire books into approximately 14 pages a piece. That in itself is suspicious in this context, but ya your right one should not dismiss a book purely based on page count.
I know all too well how financially challenging self-publishing a 400 plus page book (with good quality pictures and binding) can be. Sometimes authors that are not willing to kowtow to the fiat currency driven whims of publishers (that want author's content to conform to "market trends") cannot afford to self-publish a longer page count book (even if they wanted to). I had to cut out about a hundred pages from my book due to printing budget constraints and it took me about 5 years to make it happen financially and logistically.
What the variety of suspicious titles suggests is that it is a trendy book niche so someone is trying to make money on the popular trend.
Yes and the relentless inclusion of the word "bible" seems to me like some kind of algorithm was used to analyze statistics or perhaps even psychological tendencies/data sets and it determined that using the word "bible" in the title was more likely to get people to engage in impulse purchases.
Good point. Creepy get rich insider values are seeping into everyone or a lot of people.
I am gullible and will buy stupidly in response to emotional pitches. But that trend is capitalizing on anti Left type groups. Survivalist homesteader religious types.
Yes. I have even seen an ad in a YouTube video embed for an AI that will write an ebook for you. All you have to do is buy the product and from it pick an Amazon book genre and sub niche. Then the AI will write a book for you to publish in that sub niche. I have been testing an AI set up to write online courses for you and it is a lot of gluff sales pitch language with a bit of content.
All AI is, is the best plagiarism algo you can get.
Yeah. I have double checked Bing AI references and it is mainly lifting text that is already in a bullet point list.
that was my assessment also.