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That rebuttal is about as strong as the original article (not very ). Aemon Send a noteboard - 11/08/2011 10:15:36 PM
The author does a good job of pointing out the weaknesses of the experiment in question, but provides no real arguments as to why its conclusions couldn't be true. In fact, this is all he really gives us:

"Here, I just flatly disagree with the implication that someone would enjoy this “kind” of story more if they already know the ending."

and:

"...the best way to enjoy the “Twilight Zone” episode “Time Enough at Last” is to have no knowledge of the ending."

In other words, "you're wrong." Flat out opinion with no supporting rationale. Furthermore, he accuses the study of only taking one kind of enjoyment into account, when it seems to me that he's the one guilty of that. He says:

"...but that enjoyment is simply not the same as the intended enjoyment."

It appears that he's saying, "there is a right way to experience a book." The study (as far as I can tell) just asked people which version of the story --spoiled, or unspoiled-- they preferred. People can prefer things for a thousand different reasons.

Anyway, I agree with the guy that this study should not by any means be regarded as the final word on spoilers (but it doesn't look like the researchers intended for that, either). I just don't think he should dismiss it out of hand without bothering to argue the other side. Is the study authoritative? No. But it does seem to hint that we may not mind spoilers as much as we think we do, and I think that's pretty interesting. :)
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Interesting article: "Spoilers don't spoil anything." - 11/08/2011 08:33:42 PM 1953 Views
It's probably one of those things that works "in general" - 11/08/2011 08:43:03 PM 1101 Views
Could be! - 11/08/2011 10:21:15 PM 1085 Views
Here's a rebuttal. - 11/08/2011 09:02:06 PM 1263 Views
That rebuttal is about as strong as the original article (not very ). - 11/08/2011 10:15:36 PM 1253 Views
The point I like in it ... - 11/08/2011 10:52:02 PM 990 Views
Tor.com has a vested interest in us not getting spoilers - 12/08/2011 03:24:20 AM 927 Views
I wouldn't call either of those spoilers ... - 12/08/2011 01:38:08 PM 814 Views
I agree it is case by case - 12/08/2011 09:08:25 PM 955 Views
I dunno. My personal experience leans the other way. - 12/08/2011 01:57:37 AM 911 Views
Yeah, I don't think it's for everyone. - 12/08/2011 02:51:19 AM 1211 Views
Not having read the article... - 12/08/2011 03:04:13 AM 986 Views
Spoilers don't spoil anything if the story is well-written. - 12/08/2011 04:25:44 AM 886 Views
And I agree with this too. - 12/08/2011 12:46:03 PM 967 Views
Interesting. - 12/08/2011 04:38:19 PM 933 Views
It depends on what you want to get out of a story - 19/08/2011 12:16:42 AM 941 Views
this brings a question to mind - 19/08/2011 03:25:31 AM 974 Views
If it were true that most stories have twist endings - 19/08/2011 07:53:42 AM 799 Views

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