"and probably most people would agree with me about one of them—in each case"... So in what sense are these books overrated?https://twitter.com/prospect_uk/status/892419656455081984 …
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Okay, because I didn't spell this out... It's odd to say most people agree that the book you think is the most overrated is overrated.
Odd because usually something that is overrated isn't thought by most people to be overrated (because it wouldn't be overrated if it were!).
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I'm aware there is wriggle room here, but it's going to amount to the claim that x is overrated by those who rate it, and there are a lot...
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of those people. Well yes, but we're talking here about the *most* overrated books, and it remains implausible to suppose that the *most*...
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overrated books are thought by a majority to be overrated. What about bloody Harry Potter, for example!?
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Mainly, though, I'm not being entirely serious! This is Twitter. I'm only very very rarely being entirely serious. The end.
#deepbreath
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I think it may make sense, in the case of the two books he obviously has in mind.
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It only makes sense if you think that when assessing whether something is overrated you don't factor in the people who think it's crap.
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But he is factoring them in, isn't he? That's why he says most people agree with him about one of them.
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Yes, he is - which is why he's wrong. If you factor in, the balance comes out that most people don't like either book. So why overrated?
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I see what you mean. I suppose each book has an awful lot of fans who think it's just the best; whereas actually neither's all that good.
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Yes, that's what he means.
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