Pimp My Brainiac

[Ken Jennings]

In case anyone has some comments or questions on the soon-to-be-megaselling subject of today's blog post.

[Robert K S]

Which cities will you be pimping Brainiacs in with your Sharpie, preferably with flames on the sides and a single stripe up the middle?

[davebug]

Ah, it's great that you were able to get a Fatsis quote for your book backcover. You're mentioning that Word Freak was some level of inspiration for this book makes me certain I'll pick it up.

I have to say, while I understand the marketing approach to using your Jeopardy shot on the cover, it does go some ways towards ruining the otherwise quite pleasant aesthetic of the rest of the layout. It's too bad there wasn't room for some level of compromise, like, say, using the profile brain diagram pic you've got on this site.

[Ken Jennings]

Ah, it's great that you were able to get a Fatsis quote for your book backcover. You're mentioning that Word Freak was some level of inspiration for this book makes me certain I'll pick it up.

I have to say, while I understand the marketing approach to using your Jeopardy shot on the cover, it does go some ways towards ruining the otherwise quite pleasant aesthetic of the rest of the layout. It's too bad there wasn't room for some level of compromise, like, say, using the profile brain diagram pic you've got on this site.

From your mouth the Random House's ear. There was, no lie, more than eight months of back-and-forth on the cover. The original version had no podium photo, and it was good. Then marketing came back with a new version, where the J! photo was shoehorned into a thought balloon, which I hated. So I suggested a version where the podium photo was inside the phrenological head, which they hated. This current version made the cut because we both hated it equally.

In hindsight, yeah, I would have liked to see a workup where they used my head for the phrenological skull, like the site. Oh well.

[Ken Jennings]

Which cities will you be pimping Brainiacs in with your Sharpie, preferably with flames on the sides and a single stripe up the middle?

I have yet to see a list, but the number is somewhere between 10 and 15 cities. I know it includes a full week in New York (for TV and other media in addition to appearances) and then points westward. Cities that I've heard mentioned include DC, Atlanta, St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and possibly LA.) And probably others I've forgotten. But none of that is written in stone yet.

[themanwho]

Which cities will you be pimping Brainiacs in with your Sharpie, preferably with flames on the sides and a single stripe up the middle?

I have yet to see a list, but the number is somewhere between 10 and 15 cities. I know it includes a full week in New York (for TV and other media in addition to appearances) and then points westward. Cities that I've heard mentioned include DC, Atlanta, St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and possibly LA.) And probably others I've forgotten. But none of that is written in stone yet.

I've moved from Mankato, so you can cross the B. Dalton and Barnes & Noble there off your list. But if you wanted to make a stop at the only Barnes & Noble in South Dakota, I think my sister would let you sleep on the couch.

-M
Still kicking himself for not getting up to the Face Off Minnestoa taping.

[Lilly]

I'm reviving this thread so I don't have to start a new one...Ken, I read the excerpts from Brainiac, and I CAN'T WAIT for September 12th. I am definitely pre-ordering your book from Amazon, and it makes me wish that my birthday were September 12th. (It's also the release date for The Office Season 2.)

[captainjaneway]

It would be so cool if you came to Houston and/or Bellaire! Man, I would drag my friend over. He says that he shook your hand at AC [Academic Challenge] nationals.

Of course, the heat might ruin your hair, the sun might give you sunburn, and if it rains the whole week you might see people braving the wind and rain and hail just to see you.

[Oh, if you come to Houston, stop by the Borders in Bellaire.]

[ajsnavely]

A friend of mine works for the book store you will be at in Milwauke (Mequon actually), and she told me about it a few days ago. It is in my calender and I intend to be there with bells on. I am going to have a busy week that week. John Hodgman will be at another store in the chain the day before, and I think I have a conference to go to as well.

[Robert Hutchinson]

I was already going to buy the book, but you really have a terrific writing style, Ken, and I am now actively looking forward to reading Brainiac.

Now that I've got the effusive praise out of the way, an error I saw in an excerpt! Maybe if I turn it into an additional trivia question, Ken will not be too wrathful:

Near the bottom of "excerpt one", there is discussion of "sum-product numbers". Three such numbers are presented, and it is stated that these are the only three.

I see a fourth. Anyone else?

[Ken Jennings]

John Hodgman will be at another store in the chain the day before, and I think I have a conference to go to as well.

John Hodgman is great. For signings, do you think they ship him around in that PC box?

[Ken Jennings]

I see a fourth. Anyone else?

When I wrote this, I was under the impression that only natural numbers could be sum-product numbers, as here. But, in hindsight, that does seem sort of arbitrary. I don't see why the domain shouldn't be all integers, which is how Wikipedia has it.

I'll take a look at it.

[slam]

I see a fourth. Anyone else?

When I wrote this, I was under the impression that only natural numbers could be sum-product numbers, as here. But, in hindsight, that does seem sort of arbitrary. I don't see why the domain shouldn't be all integers, which is how Wikipedia has it.

I'll take a look at it.

Another nit-picky thing is the nomenclature in the footnote. You say, "144 is also perfect". Well, a perfect number has a different, though vaguely related definition. To remind everyone, a perfect number is a number which is equal to the sum of its factors other than itself. For example, 6 = 1 + 2 + 3. The next is 28 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14. There are infinite such numbers.

[gvonk]

I saw someone on the interwebs complaining about this blog because all I ever do is

1. “Proselytize” (for my church, I assume he means?) and
2. Pimp the book.

Heh, I just did a Blog Search. You've used the word church three times. Twice in this post, and once to say that you skipped church. You're not exactly the Kirk Cameron of Jeopardy! .

Anyway, keep us posted. I'll be eagerly awaiting your Atlanta visit.

[Ken Jennings]

Another nit-picky thing is the nomenclature in the footnote. You say, "144 is also perfect".

Oops. That was my mistake in posting the excerpt; it's right in the book. Fixed.

[Homo Duplex]

I too read the excerpts, and I have to say I never expected a former computer geek to write so well! It's got this nice fluid conversational style that keeps your attention. For that reason alone I think you'll reach alot of would-not-be readers out there. I hope it sells well.

[ajsnavely]

John Hodgman will be at another store in the chain the day before, and I think I have a conference to go to as well.

John Hodgman is great. For signings, do you think they ship him around in that PC box?

I don't know, but I will ask my friend tonight though.

He was supposed to be there in February but it snowed, so they cancelled. But it did give me the chance to stand on my porch and scream "DAMN YOU SNOWWWWWWWWW!!!!"

[Robert Hutchinson]

When I wrote this, I was under the impression that only natural numbers could be sum-product numbers, as here. But, in hindsight, that does seem sort of arbitrary.

I was being intentionally vague in calling it "an error". If you limit it to natural numbers, that's fine--but the excerpt (cough cough) didn't say that.

If any of my high school math teachers stumble across this post, they will most likely know who wrote it even before they see my name.

[ModernMinerva]

Loved the excerpts, especially the quirky math stuff that I just enjoy, no matter its degree of correctness. Very much looking forward to reading the rest.

If you do come to Detroit, depending on the area, you may want to splurge and buy some kevlar. May I advise sticking to the suburbs instead?

[rkd]

I guess I'll resurrect this one again. If you haven't looked the main page of the site in a couple of days, it now features more prominent mention of Brainiac, and it has a few excerpts of the book, beginning with Ken and his friend Earl in Chapter 1.

And FWIW, on the one occasion when we met, Earl did indeed fool me into thinking he was around 6'4". Six-nine?!?? Jeez.