In normal colloquial English, which you and I speak, when somebody says that somebody who did something “might not have bothered” had something else not happened, they generally mean that had that other thing not happened, the person in question would not have done what he did.
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Replying to @JonWeichsel @JohnsonJeffro
ok, I don't think that's figurative or colloquial - I think that's the literal definition of the word. And it's that literal meaning that I am disagreeing with, based on my reading of his autobiography. For reasons I explained above.
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Replying to @MorlockP @JohnsonJeffro
ACE wouldn’t have been able to sell all those copies of the hobbit if other people hadn’t created the market and distribution model for paperbacks, just as I wouldn’t be typing this without Jack Dorsey, Steve Jobs, etc. Has nothing to do with Tolkien’s bio.
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Replying to @JonWeichsel @JohnsonJeffro
You've moved the goal posts. The claim was "Tolkien ...may not have bothered without him." It's made quite clear in his autobiography that his interest in writing LOTR had almost nothing to do w commercial gain. So argument about how many copies Ace would sell is irrelevant.
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Replying to @MorlockP @JohnsonJeffro
No I am not moving the goal posts. It is how I have always interpreted the figurative statement. You seem to think he meant Tolkien was sitting there, looked up from the book he was reading, and said, “By George, this American bloke has done it. Now I can write my masterpiece!”
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Replying to @JonWeichsel @JohnsonJeffro
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted J. Manfred Weichsel
The original discussion was "would he have done it or not". You are discussing "how many copies would he sell". Different topic.https://twitter.com/JonWeichsel/status/1149774699284619267 …
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,
J. Manfred Weichsel @JonWeichselReplying to @MorlockP @JohnsonJeffroACE wouldn’t have been able to sell all those copies of the hobbit if other people hadn’t created the market and distribution model for paperbacks, just as I wouldn’t be typing this without Jack Dorsey, Steve Jobs, etc. Has nothing to do with Tolkien’s bio.2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes -
Replying to @MorlockP @JohnsonJeffro
No. As I’ve explained exhaustively already, I interpret that line as a common figure of speech. You are still taking it literally. What the figure of speech means is that B would not have happened if A had not happened first.
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Replying to @JonWeichsel @JohnsonJeffro
and I agree with that. which is why when you then discuss what Tolkien's SALES FIGURES would have been, it is moving the goal post.
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I can't even untangle my own influences, let alone Tolkien's. Many times I've re-read an old favorite and said, "Oh, THAT'S where I got that idea from."
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Replying to @WoodFenton @MorlockP and
Yes, that's why I put "acknowledgements" to a number of writers at the end of my book. People seem to grok all of them except G. Gordon Liddy (any of youse guys read any of his books?)
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Yes, one
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