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Transcripts of Dr. Peikoff's Podcasts

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My email to Dr. Peikoff:

Dear Mr. Peikoff,

I have asked once before about whether I have your full permission to

transcribe your podcasts. I have not distributed any that I have

composed, for the reason that I still await it.

Please let me (and us) know of your position on our transcribing them,

alongside a caveat that your original podcast audio is definitive with

a link to each.

We at the Objectivism Online forum (home of the index to which you

gave credence) would love to hear from you on this issue.

Sincerely,

Chris Huff

Dr. Peikoff's response email to me:

Dear Mr. Huff,

Thank you for your comment on the podcast, and for your idea of transcribing

the series. Unfortunately, I do not dare read your transcript, because I

will see a number of places where, if it were writing, I would have used

different words. I know that speaking extemporaneously can only be

approximate, but it is distasteful to see concretely how approximate, if you

know that this is what will be made public.

I think your idea of putting transcripts on the Objectivismonline website is

a good one, and I can approve, but only if you agree to several conditions:

1. A clear albeit amicable disclaimer would have to be available to readers

indicating that I have not read the transcripts and do not know much about

the website or individuals involved--that would go on to express

appreciation for your efforts.

2. I would have to make a pretty strong statement of the difference in

quality between speaking and writing.

3. I would want you to make clear to all readers--via a statement and

link--that the audio from which these were compiled is available on

www.peikoff.com.

4. And, so that I myself may have a complete file, I would like you to make

the transcripts available through our peikoff.com RSS feed in addition.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Leonard Peikoff

(Dictated but not read.)

So I propose we do as he asks. :)

I have finished six episodes of his podcast. I'll let a moderator or someone pin the thread or take the mantle on how to organize this, since it will be (as per request) in the site's name and not in mine.

Also, I'm not sure how to do #4.

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Chuff, You might be a miracle worker, so head to Vegas while you're on a roll smile.gif.

I suggest you create a thread where the first post contains the required caveats, and each subsequent post is a transcript of a single podcast. (Or, broken down further, if you think that's more appropriate.) We could then pin the thread.

In the case of the index, we use special log-ons "Forum Publisher", that are used exclusively for that, and which have the ability to edit old posts for corrections. It that's fine with you, I can set up a similar ID for you. If you prefer to post them under your regular ID, that is fine as well; but, the software will impose a (one hour?) limit after which one cannot go back and edit.

FYI the index to the podcasts is maintained by members Trebor and JASKN.

As for #4, I assume LP is saying to send him a file with the transcribed text. I reckon he will have his own webmaster make the content available on his RSS feed.

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This new index could easily replace the old one, if the ball gets rolling and all the podcasts are eventually caught up. All the questions from the old one can just be copied and pasted (more or less, sometimes depending).

Doing just the questions every week or so was easy for me to keep up with, as Dr. Peikoff usually speaks them clearly and slowly, and I could maintain a typing speed at about the rate that he read them.

However, I could not commit to doing the entire podcast every week, though maybe a podcast here or there. So, if the new index eventually replaces the old one, it's at a risk of the index not being updated weekly. In the meantime, I will continue posting the questions, since they are not transcribed directly as listed on his site, whereas I do transcribe directly.

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Chuff, You might be a miracle worker, so head to Vegas while you're on a roll smile.gif.

I suggest you create a thread where the first post contains the required caveats, and each subsequent post is a transcript of a single podcast. (Or, broken down further, if you think that's more appropriate.) We could then pin the thread.

In the case of the index, we use special log-ons "Forum Publisher", that are used exclusively for that, and which have the ability to edit old posts for corrections. It that's fine with you, I can set up a similar ID for you. If you prefer to post them under your regular ID, that is fine as well; but, the software will impose a (one hour?) limit after which one cannot go back and edit.

FYI the index to the podcasts is maintained by members Trebor and JASKN.

As for #4, I assume LP is saying to send him a file with the transcribed text. I reckon he will have his own webmaster make the content available on his RSS feed.

I have created such a thread. I foolishly went ahead and posted several without the new log-in that can edit old posts. If you would not mind setting such a one up, I would be grateful.

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FYI, I have on my hard drive copies of all the podcasts done by Dr. Peikoff. I see that you are missing the first five. If you have an email address I would be happy to send them to you. I also have copies of the the typed Q&A before Dr. Peikoff made the switch to podcasts in MS Office 2003 word files. I could convert it to rtf or txt.

David McBride

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FYI, I have on my hard drive copies of all the podcasts done by Dr. Peikoff. I see that you are missing the first five. If you have an email address I would be happy to send them to you. I also have copies of the the typed Q&A before Dr. Peikoff made the switch to podcasts in MS Office 2003 word files. I could convert it to rtf or txt.
Very cool! ... as long as these episodes (1 through 5) are part of what is available to the public via LP's site.

On the typed Q&A, are those something that is no longer available at LP's site?

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Very cool! ... as long as these episodes (1 through 5) are part of what is available to the public via LP's site.

On the typed Q&A, are those something that is no longer available at LP's site?

The podcast episodes 1 thru 5 disappeared (without explanation) some time ago on www.piekoff.com

I think it was right after the site was redesigned. I don't know if they were lost or not.

The typed Q&A also stopped showing up on the site some time ago.

I should contact the site webmaster and ask if they were lost and offer it to them first.

I'll go do that and get back to you after I get an answer.

David McBride

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If the new index is to replace the old one, I suggest adding the timestamps next to the questions in the new one as with the old, as they are useful and are already recorded in the old, anyway.

I'm not sure if anyone is "taking the mantle" on this, as chuff suggests, but if all of the 118 (to date) podcasts are to be transcribed, it will surely need to be a group effort to get the index caught up. This thread could serve as an announcement by individuals of podcasts they are working on, or intend to work on and complete in the very near future. That way, no two people are transcribing the same podcast. The transcription could then be emailed to a user who has access to the new index and can post the transcriptions in a common format.

To any who wish to transcribe: there is a disclaimer concerning errors and accuracy in the new index, but a single re-listen, perhaps a day after the initial transcription, should do the trick of eliminating nearly all errors.

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If the new index is to replace the old one, I suggest adding the timestamps next to the questions in the new one as with the old, as they are useful and are already recorded in the old, anyway.

I'm not sure if anyone is "taking the mantle" on this, as chuff suggests, but if all of the 118 (to date) podcasts are to be transcribed, it will surely need to be a group effort to get the index caught up. This thread could serve as an announcement by individuals of podcasts they are working on, or intend to work on and complete in the very near future. That way, no two people are transcribing the same podcast. The transcription could then be emailed to a user who has access to the new index and can post the transcriptions in a common format.

To any who wish to transcribe: there is a disclaimer concerning errors and accuracy in the new index, but a single re-listen, perhaps a day after the initial transcription, should do the trick of eliminating nearly all errors.

I second this idea, as it's a great one.

Also, this could be the thread for posting errors found in them that need editing.

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I've already done Episode 30 and Episode 112.

I've also done Episode 12. I asked a member who wanted to help in any way he could to do Episode 11.

I'll await both his Episode and the status on the first five episodes before continuing posting them, so that they aren't out of order and will force me to go back and edit each post to be the one before it, etc.

Edited by chuff
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IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Dear Mr. Huff,

Please do not post anything yet. I must write the disclaimers myself,

choosing each word carefully. No permission can be granted before then.

I cannot begin this task until after the Las Vegas conference. I will

contact you then, mid-July.

Best wishes,

Leonard Peikoff

Is there a way to hide the post with the transcripts in them?

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  • 1 month later...

I heard back from Dr. Peikoff a week ago:

Dear Mr. Huff,

Attached is the statement I want at the very beginning of the transcription, i.e., clearly visible to the reader before he begins to read. Please make the size of print easily readable, and show me the whole first.

And please let me know the resolution of the issue of making the transcripts available through our Peikoff.com RSS feed. Specifically, are there still any problems agreeing to or implementing this request? I am not sure whether this issue is or is not related to the emailing of the transcripts which you suggested. But if they are in fact two different things, I would like an email of the whole thing when convenient to you. In regard to the RSS, I would suggest that you email the people in charge of the website directly to find out technical difficulties. You can contact Carla Schmidt at _________________.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you again for your enthusiasm about the podcasts and for doing the work necessary to make them available in written form.

All best wishes,

Leonard Peikoff

(Dictated but not read.)

He attached a .doc file to this email.

And then again from him today:

Dear Chris Huff and Carla,

Chris, in order to conclude the legal aspects of the permission to transcribe, I would need to get a few things from you:

1) A statement that you agree to post the exact wording of my full disclaimer at the head of the material, with the degree of prominence I indicated earlier.

2) Regarding the RSS feed which we discussed, I would appreciate your taking it up directly with the Executive in charge of the website, and specifically of the podcast. As you will see below, Carla Schmidt has a number of questions in this regard, and I believe you indicated some technical problem here. So please contact her at her email _____________ to work this aspect out.

Thanks again for your interest,

Leonard

(Dictated but not read.)

I could use some help in answering his questions.

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And here is the disclaimer he wrote for us:

Disclaimer in re podcast transcripts

07-23-10

I learned recently that a full transcript of all my podcasts, both the questions and the answers, is available on the Objectivismonline website. I know little about this site or about the transcribers, nor have I read the transcripts. But the few samples I scanned were accurate and complete. On this basis, I have decided to offer a link for interested listeners, and to express my thanks to the individuals involved in this large task.

Writing is in essence a different language from speaking. Writing can and should be exact; speech can be only approximate. An unedited transcript of extemporaneous remarks, therefore, however excellent when heard, is almost always filled with defects of one sort or another—and so is frequently boring and even confusing. To turn extemporaneous speech into accurate and clear prose, a huge amount of time-consuming editing is required—which has not been done in the present case. Readers, therefore, are warned to judge accordingly, to focus on the gist of an answer and not on some specific word or phrase which may be inessential or misleading.

Those interested can hear the original audio from which these transcripts were compiled at my website www.peikoff.com.

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I could use some help in answering his questions.
The email you quoted said "As you will see below, Carla Schmidt has a number of questions", but I don't see any of those questions posted here. Are they all related to this "RSS feed" that is also mentioned? PM the questions to me. Edited by softwareNerd
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It seems to be that he thinks the full transcript is available already, but that is not so (right?). He may want to reword his disclaimer.

Only a few of them are ready.

@softwarenerd i pmed you

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