TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given books product reviews in English language. The goal is to classify the review as "POS" if the overall sentiment of the review is positive or as "NEG" if the overall sentiment of the review is negative.
PROBLEM: Pure Shlock . I generally don't enjoy reading books with teenaged legs and sunflowers on the cover.  I often read on the subway, and it can be a bit embarassing.  If I chose to weather the pornographic implications of such cover art, I expect to be rewarded for my sacrifice--with, say--A GOOD BOOK.  I'd even settle for full characters who change and grow.  I'd settle for dialogue that occasionally rose above tediousness and pointlessness--perhaps dialogue that, in fact, advanced the plot or advanced character development.  If I am going to sit on the L train with a book that slightly resembles a Baby-Sitters Club Epic, I would like for that book to be enriching/rewarding/entertaining/redeeming.  Why is this book 400 pages long??!!!!  Nothing happens.  The family has the same conversations over and over again, and nothing ever changes, and the father character is so irresponsibly designed that his dialogue is virtually identical to that of her 31-year-old boyfriend, Oliver.  No one comes alive, except maybe the mother.  I found almost nothing to hold on to in the entire novel.  The opening line was intriguing.  From there on out, it becomes progressively worse.  I felt only for one person: the mother.  Because she sat in the background, hands folded meekly, kind of depressed and annoyed, for the entire book.  Which was a lot like how RR made me feel, too

SOLUTION: NEG

PROBLEM: The Mystery of the Zombie Hunch . As the concept of the modular structure of the brain emerged, objections to the idea took the form of "Well, if my brain's made up of computers, somebody in there has to be in charge.  It had better be me!"   This comment, paraphrased from philosopher Jerry Fodor, typifies what Daniel Dennett has been contending with for many years.  Although the "Cartesian theatre" notion, that the body was one aspect of our being and the mind another - "dualism" -  has supposedly been supplanted, it has not lost its hold on our view of consciousness.  We continue to insist, in some form or other, that "somebody, and it better be me" is inside our minds looking out at the world.  Although we can't find that "self" in there, we have a hunch it's there.    When Dennett wrote "Consciousness Explained" in 1991, it seemed the "homunculus" representing our "self" had been laid to rest.  This excellent collection of essays and lectures, is an update on that earlier work.  As lectures, they have a conversational tone, yet impart many deep insights.  Addressing consciousness through four major themes, Dennett shows us the project of eradicating "dualism" remains incomplete.  Until that view of "self" is discarded, our understanding of consciousness will remain misleading.    The first theme he addresses is the "zombie".  Philosophers have posed the idea that a duplicate person, identical to you in every way but one, is logically possible.  The person would act as you act, talk as you do, have the same preferences and distastes.  But it would not be conscious.  This proposal presumes that something in you could be identified that is lacking in the zombie.  For most of us, who still feel our "self" remains somehow separate within us, the logic seems reasonable.  Dennett carefully examines the implications of the proposal, and dismisses it as modernised dualism.  If a region of the brain holds the key to "self" it remains out of sight and undetectable.    Perhaps the most challenging segment of the book deals with "heterophenomonology".  This tongue-twisting phrase refers to the methods used in cognitive science.  Because consciousness is "often celebrated as a mystery beyond science" Dennett challenges researchers to take a step back from commonly accepted techniques.  Become a "Martian" cognitive scientist to broaden the scope of the work.  One facet of this approach relies on understanding what "folk psychology" is, then building from there.  We prefer to believe that what we believe is entirely private and unaccessible.  Heterophenomonolgy, he contends, will expose aspects of our consciousness we view as a "mystery".      One of those "mysteries" has been wrapped in the idea of "qualia".  Probably one of the poorest concepts in philosophy, "qualia" are things said to possess "intrinsic qualities".  When you carefully examine those "intrinsic" properties, they begin to fade and vanish.  If "qualia" is in an object we see, such as colour, how can it change without our noticing?  Tests of "change blindness" indicate we can miss much concerning "qualia".  Even the philosophic community, Dennett notes, cannot agree on a definition of "qualia".  Yet, like the homunculus in the mind viewing the world, it steadfastly remains in use.  The author examines this idea further in relating the story of "Mary", the colour-deprived scientist.    In "Consciousness Explained", Dennett proposed the Multiple Drafts Model of consciousness and cognition.  In this collection, he enhances the original concept.  With no centre in the brain, consciousness necessarily must be a distributed process.  The progress of imaging and other technologies have expanded our view of the brain's functions.  Dennett argues that the brain is "fame" not "television".  The process is one of competition for dominance, no matter how fleeting.  The mind is not a "top-down" or "bottom-up" process, but a "sideways" one.  Ideas, experiences and other informational bits jostle for "clout".  It's not easy to shed the idea of a special "self" in your mind, but all that's going on in there is still you.     As usual, Dennett has challenged successfully the "established" views of consciousness.  Clearly, he argues, consciousness is neither an arcane "mystery" nor beyond serious and definitive investigation.  The mind-set erecting barricades using the bricks of "qualia" and the mortar of the "Cartesian theatre" can, and must be, overcome for serious investigation to proceed.  Delicacy and care must be employed, but the prize is understanding.  [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada

SOLUTION: POS

PROBLEM: Starting to live again . I was recently diagnosed as having hepatitis c.  The immediate effect was shock and disbelief.  I was under the mistaken impression that the way a person contracted hep c was by IV drug abuse or a tainted blood transfusion.  This threw me for a loop since the only blood I had ever recieved was in 1950 and 1959 and I had never abused any drugs, I had no idea this virus existed back when I had recieved blood.  I was afraid to tell my family what I had and therefore had no support.  After reading this book not only did I have more information with which to approach my family but an idea of what to expect in my life from here on out.  It is seldom one finds an information type book that is written in a way that makes it an easy read but this one falls in that category.  Even those in the mid adolescent years would have no problem reading and understanding the information.  I have already purchased a copy of this book to give my daughter when I tell her that I have this disease

SOLUTION:
POS