Schiemann: The Theory of Backgammon

[Raymond Kershaw]

Has anyone read Dirk Schiemann's new book, The Theory of Backgammon?
Here are the contents:
https://dirk-schiemann.de/download/content.pdf?fbclid=IwAR06TSWaPxc1e98hkgjlT4sa20sy3mjc_3yHnIZsySDB9SwJ48hx6ngNnwo
If this has been done well, it will be a tremendous achievement.

[peps...@gmail.com]

On Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 9:04:17 PM UTC, ra...@clara.co.uk wrote:
> Has anyone read Dirk Schiemann's new book, The Theory of Backgammon?

...
Almost certainly, yes.
I think it's highly unlikely that no one has read it.
The author has presumably read it, and so has the publisher.

Paul

[peps...@gmail.com]

On a less flippant note, googling him reveals that he's absolutely a world-class player
with a PR of approx 3. That greatly piques my interest.
Too many bg books are written by terrible players.

Paul

[Timothy Chow]

Thanks for the pointer. I just attempted to order the book.
I don't know if it will work because I don't know how he wants
to be paid, and I don't want to sign up for some new method of
electronic payment just for the sake of buying this book.

---
Tim Chow

[peps...@gmail.com]

It might not be the worst idea in the history of our solar system to contact him at schi...@sciwie.de
If there is some secret non-obvious trick to buying his book (for example, maybe you need to find his mobile phone number
and leave a voice mail with him reciting the first 1000 digits of the decimal expansion of pi in reverse order), then it would be good for the rest
of us to know what to do.

Thanks,

Paul

[Timothy Chow]

On 12/12/2021 8:57 AM, peps...@gmail.com wrote:
> It might not be the worst idea in the history of our solar system to contact him at schi...@sciwie.de
> If there is some secret non-obvious trick to buying his book (for example, maybe you need to find his mobile phone number
> and leave a voice mail with him reciting the first 1000 digits of the decimal expansion of pi in reverse order), then it would be good for the rest
> of us to know what to do.

Well, as I said, I attempted to order his book, meaning I
filled out the form on his website, which presumably sends him
an email and will prompt him to tell me how he wants me to send
payment.

---
Tim Chow

[Timothy Chow]

On 12/12/2021 9:20 AM, I wrote:
> Well, as I said, I attempted to order his book, meaning I
> filled out the form on his website, which presumably sends him
> an email and will prompt him to tell me how he wants me to send
> payment.

He emailed back promptly, saying that he accepts PayPal.
Or if you prefer, you can wire the money directly to his
bank account (which I guess is pretty standard in Europe).
The book isn't cheap (99 Euros plus shipping, which works
out to about US$140), but if you want to order it, his
website URL is:

https://dirk-schiemann.de/

---
Tim Chow

[peps...@gmail.com]

Ok, so the number of decimal places to which you should recite pi in reverse order in order to obtain the book is zero.
Thanks for letting me know.
I'll quite likely ask for it as a Christmas present, actually.

Paul

[peps...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 2:44:48 PM UTC, Tim Chow wrote:
...

> The book isn't cheap (99 Euros plus shipping, which works
> out to about US$140)

...
According to my research on the exchange rate, this puts the shipping at US$28
Hopefully, it's less for Europeans.

To say that something's expensive (or "isn't cheap), we need to have a ready basis for comparison.
This book is a) Hardback, b) Written by an absolutely world-class player and c) Has 374 pages.

But I would agree that it could be much cheaper if a publisher could be found.

Paul

[Frank Berger]

I guess the production cost is not that high. And compared to the books of Michi, paperback and less than half the stuff I feel the price is ok.

And I assume that there is a terrible lot of work in it. It lies just behind me, but I have to finish the Zizka book first ( and ignore the Stick book and the 3rd Michi book and the recent Robertie book...) but I glanced over it and I had read / gave feedback to the bot chapter before publishing.

If you get an allergic shock, if you see a mathmatical formular prepare your oxygene tent already (Tim you'll probably love it) :)
I will carefully go through all the math to check my code and maybe get some new ideas. It might be the book for cube play what Magriel was for checker play.
And he is not only in the top ten of the bmab but studied Math before becoming a BG Pro. See him here at work: (UBC Final 2021) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIC4pvgyE4Q&t=4s
although he played beyond his usual level (*only* a 3.5 or so but he had a lot of diffcult decisions) Mochy played like a machine.

[Timothy Chow]

On 12/13/2021 5:07 PM, Frank Berger wrote:
> And I assume that there is a terrible lot of work in it. It lies just behind me, but I have to finish the Zizka book first ( and ignore the Stick book and the 3rd Michi book and the recent Robertie book...) but I glanced over it and I had read / gave feedback to the bot chapter before publishing.

I didn't know about these books (except the Robertie book...I won his
quiz competition and got a free copy). Thanks for mentioning them.
I see that they all seem to be available here:

http://flintbg.org/boutique.html

---
Tim Chow

[MK]

On December 11, 2021 at 2:04:17 PM UTC-7, ra...@clara.co.uk wrote:

> Has anyone read Dirk Schiemann's new book,

> The Theory of Backgammon? .... If this has been

> done well, it will be a tremendous achievement.

Ignoring that you must be his advertising agent
here, my first reaction was "Oh, no! Not another
BG book by another mathematician gambler!" :(

This one only half qualifies though, because he
is not a math PHD but just studied math (took
101 and 102??)... I don't know which ones are
actually more destructive?

This reminds me of my long time wondering what
attracts "mathematicians" to gambling, whether
playing poker, backgammon, etc...??

Except for a few who actually make "a good living"
by beeing "professional gamblers", most whos see
themselves as such never make more money per
hour of their lives spent on it than teenagers who
mow lawns and deliver newspapers for minimum
wage.

Surely they can make more money and live as more
respectable people using their "math skills" in other
ways. So, why?

There are numerous novels, movies about "scientists"
who ruined their lives by being addcited gamblers. A
few years ago, I had seen a sad one about a math PHD
who. His mother was disgusted with him but supported
his addiction, as mothers love their childrens even if
they murder their wives and sell their daughters for
gamling money... :(

Anyway, any statistics on what percentage of gamblers
are mayhematician in all games? Just in backgammon?
Among all gamblegammon player of all levels? Among
just the "giants" of gamblegammon? Among bg book
or bot peddlers??

Would anyone in the circuits be willing to help tabulate
this kind of info?

I would expect that "mathematician gamblers" should do
this eagerly just to brag about themselves... ;)

Oh, BTW, the book you publish may be better if paperback.
Just in case it's shoved up your mathematician/amateur
gambles asses, hard-cover would hurt more... :))

MK

[MK]

On December 12, 2021 at 8:05:01 AM UTC-7, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

> Ok, so the number of decimal places to which you should
> recite pi in reverse order in order to obtain the book is zero.

But 99 Euros even, plus shipping, handling, fingering, etc.
with no specific decimal places, converted to US Dollars
in 6 decimal places comes out $143.4824

When ordering, in order to avoid further complications,
make sure you add the remark "Keep the change!"... ;)

WTF!? Horde of sick MFO's... :(

MK

[MK]

On December 11, 2021 at 2:37:29 PM UTC-7, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

> On a less flippant note, googling him reveals that he's
> absolutely a world-class player with a PR of approx 3.

> ... Too many bg books are written by terrible players.

You mean you wouln't buy/read it if Chow wrote a book?

So then, why do you give a fart about his opinion about
positions, etc.?

Sexual preference? Okay, well, I wouln't want to get into
that area. Math fuck and science suck as you please...
Here, for free or priceless, of course. Not prostituting
your mathematician selves for a petty 99 euros.

MK

[Timothy Chow]

Quoting this beautiful piece of prose just in case you
decide to delete it...

---
Tim Chow

[Timothy Chow]

According to https://www.angio.net/pi/ the string 1434824 occurs
at position 428253 (counting from the first digit after the decimal
point), which is unusually early for a random 7-digit number. But
there's a typo somewhere because $143.4824 has only 4 decimal places
and not 6.

---
Tim Chow

[Timothy Chow]

On 12/11/2021 4:04 PM, Raymond Kershaw wrote:

Just received the book today. Haven't looked inside it yet,
but wanted to say that I was surprised at how quickly the book
arrived. It was shipped "UPS Expedited." I have no complaints,
but if cost is an issue for you, you might ask Schiemann if you
can save a bit of money by choosing a slower shipping option.

---
Tim Chow

[MK]

On December 13, 2021 at 3:07:26 PM UTC-7, Frank Berger wrote:

> I guess the production cost is not that high. And compared
> to the books of Michi, paperback and less than half the stuff
> I feel the price is ok.

In this digital age of some people fighting to save trees by
going paperless, why are some people so willing to pay more
for some books just because they are "plywood-cover"..? Why
couldn't he publish it digitally for the same price and why
wouldn't you all pay the same price for a digital edition? Are
you paying for the content or for the paper by the weight?

> And I assume that there is a terrible lot of work in it.

I assume that the contents are "terrible" also. ;)

> .... but I glanced over it and I had read / gave feedback to the
> bot chapter before publishing.

Obviously he doesn't know whom to ask for feedback. Or else,
he would have done something more worthwhile than publishing
yet another conceited bg book title no less than using the words
"The Theory of Backgammon"...

> I will carefully go through all the math to check my code and
> maybe get some new ideas.

New ideas? Ha ha! I don't think you would be capable of such
thing. Since it was mentioned here lately, I took yet one more
look at your bot.

It offers nothing "different old" nor better than other top bots,
one of which is freeware. Regardless of how many hardcover
bg books you read, your bot will never amount to anything...

> And he is not only in the top ten of the bmab but studied Math
> before becoming a BG Pro.

BTW: I used one of your one million dice files claimedly produced
in some real hi-tech fancy way and XG complained that it was not
good enough, with especially the ratio of 33's being unacceptable.

Keep jerking off...

MK

[peps...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, December 19, 2021 at 10:14:00 AM UTC, MK wrote:
> On December 13, 2021 at 3:07:26 PM UTC-7, Frank Berger wrote:
>
> > I guess the production cost is not that high. And compared
> > to the books of Michi, paperback and less than half the stuff
> > I feel the price is ok.
> In this digital age of some people fighting to save trees by
> going paperless, why are some people so willing to pay more
> for some books just because they are "plywood-cover"..? Why
> couldn't he publish it digitally for the same price and why
> wouldn't you all pay the same price for a digital edition? Are
> you paying for the content or for the paper by the weight?

...
Authors run the risk of piracy. If it's paper only, a free unauthorised
online version is less likely to emerge.
Cracking the Coding Interview is paper only, for the same reason.

Paul

[Timothy Chow]

On 12/19/2021 5:13 AM, MK wrote:
> In this digital age of some people fighting to save trees by
> going paperless

Despite what one might naively think, going paperless doesn't
"save trees."

---
Tim Chow

[Bradley K. Sherman]

Paradoxically, going vegetarian does.

--bks

[peps...@gmail.com]

I'm a bit surprised by this response. Suppose a backgammon author wants their ideas
known, but has no interest in benefiting financially from the work, so piracy issues are irrelevant.
[For example, the writer might be wealthy from other means.]
If environmentalism is a concern, then I would have thought publishing digitally would be the way to go.

I thought the reason for paper as opposed to digital is the avoidance of piracy?
Are you saying that, even from a pure environmental perspective, paper is preferred over digital?

I find that surprising.

Paul

[peps...@gmail.com]

Are you vegetarian? (I'm not.)
The reason I'm not is just selfish hedonistic reasons.
I enjoy the taste of meat, and I'm not prepared to give it up.

If you are, congrats. I agree that it's a fine moral stance.

Paul

[Bradley K. Sherman]

It's not a religion, Paul. I eat meat occasionally.

--bks

[peps...@gmail.com]

It's part of a religion for Hindus, I think.

Paul

[Timothy Chow]

On 12/19/2021 10:04 AM, peps...@gmail.com wrote:
> If environmentalism is a concern, then I would have thought publishing digitally would be the way to go.

Just Google "does going paperless save trees" and you'll find
plenty of information about the topic.

It's not an entirely uncontroversial premise, but if you read up
on the topic, you'll see why it's complicated.

A related question is, which is more environmentally friendly in
public toilets, paper towels or electric hand dryers? Paper towels
are of course made from trees and electric dryers are not, but this
is far from the only relevant fact.

---
Tim Chow

[MK]

On December 19, 2021 at 8:04:59 AM UTC-7, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

> On December 19, 2021 at 1:52:32 PM UTC, Tim Chow wrote:

>> On 12/19/2021 5:13 AM, MK wrote:

>>> In this digital age of some people fighting to save trees by
>>> going paperless

>> Despite what one might naively think, going paperless doesn't
>> "save trees."

I used the term to generally mean environmentalists and as
my position on the subject. Personally I still and always opt
for paper mail and media if awailable, I don't recycle, I use a
wood stove in winter even if partially for the pleasure of it, I
open burn leaves, branches and other yard waste during the
allowed seasons in the year, I'm not vegetarian, in short, I
couldn't care less about the planet nor the people on it...

Even if I really don't care, I find what you said hard to believe.

> I'm a bit surprised by this response. Suppose a backgammon
> author wants their ideas known, but has no interest in benefiting
> financially from the work, so piracy issues are irrelevant.

I just clicked and searched "Cracking the Coding Interview"
that you mentioned in your other reply and it only took me
about 20 seconds to download a 54Mb PDF of it (just to see,
with no intentions of reading it). Obviously paper format isn't
a solution to piracy. In fact, people are more likely to pay for
books that they can afford like that $15 paperback and more
likely to look for a pirated version of $150 hardcover book as
the one discussed here, simply because they can't afford it.

Also, selling 100 copies of a $150 hardcover won't necessarily
result in more "net revenues" than selling 500 copies of a $15
paperback or 1000 copies of a $5 ebook.

> If environmentalism is a concern, then I would have thought
> publishing digitally would be the way to go.

I agree and moreover I think publishing digitally would be the
way to go for many other reasons as well.

MK