[analphilosopher] Keith Burgess-Jackson: Twenty Years Ago

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Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson:
Twenty Years Ago
http://www.analphilosopher.com/posts/1160361213.shtml


   10-8-86 Wednesday. You wonât believe this. Ten days ago my tort-reform
   manuscript was published in The Arizona Republic. I had no expectation
   whatsoever of being paid for it. But this afternoon I got a
   [telephone] call from a man who identified himself as Bill Carlile,
   editor of the section in which my article appeared. âSorry I didnât
   reach you before we published the piece,â he said, âand I hope you
   donât mind the few additions that we made. Is $250 OK?â I was
   flabbergasted. I didnât want to give the impression that I was naive
   [even though I was], so I said calmly âSure; thatâs fine.â He got my
   social security number, confirmed my address, and told me that the
   check would be mailed immediately. I hung up the telephone and stared
   at the wall for a few minutes. Could it be a prank? I thought. Naw.
   Who knows about the article besides a couple of friends? So it must be
   legitimate. Imagine: Iâm going to get paid for something that I wrote.
   As I told Mom tonight, itâs ironic that the best things that I write
   (academic papers) pay nothing, while the least rigorous things that I
   write (newspaper articles) pay well. Itâs a strange world. [You get
   paid in a different way for scholarly publications.]

   Boston [the Red Sox] got even with California [the Angels] this
   afternoon, while Houston [the Astros] won the first game of the
   National League playoffs on a brilliant shutout (1-0) by Mike Scott. I
   got home in time to watch both games. Thatâs whatâs nice about
   teaching early. Iâm done for the day by 8:50 A.M. on Monday,
   Wednesday, and Friday. Today I lectured on Venn diagrams, explaining
   to the students that even these tools may have practical importance
   for them. As I explained, there are questions on the LSAT [Law School
   Admission Test] and other standardized tests which require knowledge
   of Venn diagrams for their answers. While they can be answered without
   such diagrams, it takes much more time to do so, and time is of the
   essence. I enjoyed todayâs lecture a great deal. Teaching is the best
   job that Iâve ever had.