Here's a quote that an old friend of mine used to like to cite from time to time:

"Life is very strange" said Jeremy. "Compared with what?" replied
the spider.

A little googling tells me that this comes from a book called Men Who
Play God, by Norman Moss (1968).

My questions:

1.  What can you tell me about the context of this quote?--that is,
what's the rest of the story?  Who's Jeremy, and why is he conversing
with a talking spider?

2.  What can you tell me about the book and its place in things?  Is
it important?  Was it influential?  Should I read it?

Thank you,
Apteryx

---

Clarification of Question by apteryx-ga on 10 May 2004 12:48 PDT

I'm going to recast this in the light of PinkFreud's find.  It seems
that this dialogue may have been quoted in the Moss book, but chances
are good that the source is elsewhere.  I am really interested in the
source, the story, and not the Moss book especially.

So let's rewrite it this way.  My questions:

1.  What can you tell me about the context of this quote?--that is,
what's the rest of the story?  Who's Jeremy, and why is he conversing
with a talking spider?

2.  What can you tell me about the source of this quote--the book or
story that it comes from and the author?  Simple identification, with
name, date, and place of publication would suffice.

Thank you,
Apteryx

Hi, Tryxie

As you may (or may not) know, the full title is:

Men Who Play God - The Story of the H-bomb and How the World Came to Live with It 

It's described as 'More than the scientific-military-political history
of the hydrogen bomb, this is the story of individuals known and
unknown..from Fermi, Teller, and Bertland Russell to the SAC crews and
the men in the missile silos'.

It doesn't seem to have much to do with spiders.

Knowing how your mind works, I am going to recommend that you give
this one a miss ...

But please do let us know what you think after you've read it.

Bryan

Here is a very similar quote that is attributed to a different source:

" Life is peculiar, said Jeremy. As compared with what? asked the spider. [15]...

15. Curtis, C. and Greenslet, F., 1945, The Practical Cogitator,
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, p. 277."

http://www.ws.binghamton.edu/pattee/aepistem.txt

Hmm, Pink, very interesting, and not a coincidence.  Sounds likely
that both are citing something from another source.  So, then, what's
the story of Jeremy and the spider, and where does it come from?  That
snippet of dialogue can't be all there is.

Bryan, I'm fascinated to learn that you know how my mind works.  What
a relief!  Now I know whom to consult when I am utterly perplexed
about it.

Tryxie

Yet another attribution. "Anonymous." Gathered by a MacKay, no less:

"Life is very strange" said Jeremy. "Compared with what?" replied the spider. 
Anonymous (from A. L. Mackay, The Harvest of a Quiet Eye)

http://www.snark.ca/physics2.htm

Spiders appear in many legends and several have been gifted with the
ability to talk. This is a useful whenever a human is otherwise alone.

Such was the case with Saint Jeremy, ?the Forgotten Saint?. He was the
least known of Jesus?s disciples because it was his job to accumulate
a huge stock of emergency rations in the event of the Nuclear War that
had been foretold by the Great Prophets.

Jeremy had the patience required for the job of lugging bread, water
and a pillar of salt up to a secret cave in Mount Ararat. (Don?t even
ask where he found the pillar of salt.)

But, when the Nuclear Holocaust arrived, there were no survivors,
except for Saint Jeremy and Inky Pinky Spider who were safe in the
secret cave with the huge stock of emergency rations comprising bread,
water and a pillar of salt.

After surveying the devastation surrounding them, Jeremy decided to
take Inky Pinky into his confidence.

"Life is very strange" said Jeremy. 

"Compared with what?" replied the spider.

?Compared with the elegance and simplicity of an atom, stupid. I don?t
know why I waste my time talking to you.?

?Be like that if you want? replied the spider. But I can spin a better
web than you.?

Search Strategy: Dead Sea Scrolls

Translation Engine: Rosetta Stone

I should have also said .. .

I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this Comment before you rubbish it.

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Oh, bravo, bravo, Bryan.  I am in awe of your talents.  That is a
marvelous story, and probably much more satisfying than the real
thing, even if it doesn't include the part about being motivated to go
back into battle one more time after so many defeats.  The pillar of
salt was an inspired touch.  Thank you.

Tryxie