My book Unified Logic, which was a #1 New Release in the logic category on Amazon in 2018, has now been updated with a new revised version. This new version features hundreds of improvements to the text, such as some better phrasing of some parts to enhance clarity and tone, a fair number of hard-to-spot typo fixes, and various other editorial changes to improve the flow and overall feeling of some of the text. The preface has been especially highly edited, to help set the intended mood and audience better.
There are thus now three different versions of the book in existence: the 2018-07-01 version, the 2018-07-13 version, and the 2019-07-26 version. Only a single copy of the 2018-07-01 version exists though, as far as I’m aware, and it is in my possession. So really, in practice, this is the 2nd version of the book from the public’s perspective. I am quite happy with how it turned out. The changes in phrasing of many parts really help to soften some of the rougher edges in the text. The tone is now more nuanced and friendly, which helps to communicate my intent better.
When editing the book, I found that it was significantly easier to spot opportunities to improve the text now that a year has passed since the original release and my head is clearer. This book is the largest project I have ever completed so far, consuming 5 years of my life, and thereby entailing an enormous opportunity cost and personal cost compared to what I could have earned as a programmer in that same time etc, but I’m still glad I wrote it. Making a difference in the world requires a willingness to push boundaries and to take big risks. It takes time, patience, and sacrifice. That’s a price I’m willing to pay though. Making a lasting contribution to the world and adding value and joy to other people’s lives is very important to me.
Submissions of the new version of the book have been made to Amazon (for the ebook and paperback) and also to IngramSpark (for the hardcover) and I know that at least the Amazon ebook and paperback formats should be live now probably. The hardcover version appears to be only partially propagated so far, so if that’s the format you want then you might want to wait at least a few days or a week (or more) for that one. Some older copies of the book are undoubtably still in circulation. Be careful if you want the new version.
According to Amazon’s documentation, even the ebook version won’t necessarily automatically update. It depends on whether you have auto-update active in your settings. Users with the ebook must opt-in to the update to allow the new version to override the old one if they want access to it. Amazon’s help pages have more info on that if that applies to you. Hopefully the process will go smoothly for everyone. It should be free for existing owners, if I understand correctly.
To all my readers, thank you very much for buying my book and for helping to support these kinds of experimental works in exploring the boundaries of logic. Progress can only happen when people remain reasonably open to new ideas, and it’s good to see that there’s still plenty of people who are easy going and well-adjusted enough to be able to consider new ideas in a friendly and productive way.
I love to express myself creatively and intellectually and I look forward to what the future holds for me. Life is good. Intellectual honesty and creative expression is a beautiful thing. It opens up a whole new wonderful world of possibilities that nobody can ever take away from you. I love exploring those kinds of things. There is a special kind of tranquility and strength that only a combination of logic and creativity can give you. I’m glad that I’m able to experience that.