William Burroughs photos at Dangerous Minds

Dangerous Minds,  the pop culture and lefty blog, has posted a series of photographs of William Burroughs with a variety of other folks.  Some of the pictures surprised me. Kurt Cobain? Hüsker Dü?

I asked for a Robert Anton Wilson picture in the comments, and someone known only to me as "Effy" (no link for more information) obligingly posted a link to the above photograph. (Click on it for a bigger picture.) Thank you, Effy!

Brion Gysin, sitting next to RAW, invented the cut-up technique for rearranging prose. Burroughs popularized it, and then Wilson used it for ILLUMINATUS! and other works. I hope I have that right, this time.

Eric Wagner on RAW and Burroughs is here.

A meeting with RAW, colorized

I often drop by the "Manic Doodlings" cartoon site from artist Steve Bellitt. (For those of you who don't know Mr. Bellitt, he describes himself as a "self-unemployed-indolent-amateur-cartoonist-chronic malcontent and all-around good egg.") Here is his cartoon about meeting RAW, updated and colorized for 2012.

Celebrating Robert Anton Wilson

The blogger FeralTech celebrates Robert Anton Wilson Day (which was Monday) with an essay explaining the origins of the day. 

Excerpt:

July 23rd coincides with the rising of “the Dog Star”, Sirius (the root of the term “Dog Days”) which has mystical significance for ancient cultures from the Egyptians to the Romans, to the African Dogon tribe. For me, it is has always been time for the greatest interaction with the “the cosmos”. The night skies are spectacular. The days are long, but getting shorter- garden and outdoor projects take on a greater urgency. At the same time, the heat, and all of the related malfunctions both personally and technologically that come along with it, tend to add to the “weirdness” factor. Cell phones, computers, cars etc. tend to go “on the fritz”. Animals act strangely. Insects are in full assault on all fronts. This year, the Midwestern drought adds to the biblical (or Mayan) “end times” vibe, while the skies around our little organic compound are abuzz with crop dusters bombarding the corporate monocrop corn/bean fields with pesticides, hoping to rescue what they can from the parched genetically-modified franken-plants.

Quantum Psychology, Chapter Five

[The exercizes for Chapter 5 work fine for an online group, so I've made no changes -- Tom]

1. Let the group look back at Exercize 1 at the end of Chapter Two. Try to decide how many of the propositions there, which I then asked you to force into the two categories "meaningful" and "meaningless" might fit just as well into the category of Game Rules or the resultants of tacit (unstated) Game Rules.

2. Meditate upon the following quote from Lord Russell's Our Knowledge of the External World (page 24):

The belief or unconscious conviction that all propositions are of some subject-predicate form -- in other words, that every fact consists of some thing having some quality -- has rendered most philosophers incapable of giving any account of science and daily life.


Consider the subject-predicate form as a Game Rule.

3. Contemplate the following typical subject-predicate sentences: "The lightning flashed suddenly." "It is now raining out." "I have an uncontrollable temper."

Try to identify the subject, "it" in  the sentence: "It is now raining out."

See how subject-predicate Game Rules influence the other two sentences. Can any of you restate them in  more phenomenological language?

Does any of this help you see the trick in the two-heads (or infinite heads) argument?

Also, we are supposed to give each member of the group a chance to think of a new dualism for dividing up the 13 objects listed in Chapter Four. (The list, with links to photos, is  here.) Mike Smith, a prolific recent commentator, has suggested dividing them into objects that can be used by themselves vs. ones that require something else for use.

Alexander Cockburn, RIP

The often iconoclastic and often funny leftist writer Alexander Cockburn has died; Jesse Walker has a good appreciation up at Reason's Hit and Run blog.

I'm guessing that RAW might have enjoyed some of Cockburn's writings, but can't think of a reference to Cockburn in any of RAW's books, except for this passage, from Chaos and Beyond, written by contributor Timothy Leary. In "How to Publish Heresy in Mainstream Publications," a guide to writing satirical letters to the editor under phony names, Leary writes, "If somebody like me -- or Alex Cockburn, or Noam Chomsky or even Gore Vidal -- were to submit a truly dissident essay, no matter how convincing the facts or witheringly brilliant the logic, there is very little chance that it would be published."

Beethoven -- two quotes and two links

"Anyone who understands my music will never been unhappy again," Ludwig is alleged to have said. Some biographers doubt the source from which we get this; but it doesn't matter. If he didn't say it, he might as well have; the music certainly says it for him. -- Robert Anton Wilson (from "Beethoven As Information" in The Illuminati Papers.

Beethoven's String Quartet No. 16 was the last major work he composed. It contains all the wisdom I'll ever need. -- Roman Tsivkin

Legal download (from Borromeo String Quartet) of Beethoven's 16th String Quartet. Lots more free, legal downloads of Beethoven, Mozart and other RAW favorites here.

No more acceleration of knowledge?

At Reason magazine's "Hit and Run" blog, Brian Doherty writes about Peter Thiel's recent public debate with Google's Eric Schmidt, and about how Thiel repeated his thesis that there has been a slowdown of development of new ideas in many areas of the economy. (This is also the thesis of Tyler Cowen's book, The Great Stagnation.) Writes Doherty, "Especially grim for those of who read too much Robert Anton Wilson in the early 1980s and began beliving in a "jumping Jesus" phenomenon in which our knowledge and mastery of the world would begin doubling in quicker and shorter increments, and whose retirement plans thus depended on the allegedly around-the-corner world of endless techno-wizardry that make energy production and matter manipulation as cheap as a value meal."

Obviously, some of RAW's short term technological prophecies have not panned out; we aren't migrating to space yet, or on the threshold for physical immortality. Perhaps RAW's thesis needs to be amended to note that the acceleration of knowledge doesn't apply to all fields of endeavor. (Cowen argues that the undoubted rapid development of computer technology and the Internet masks a slowdown of innovation in other areas, such as transportation.) Science fiction writer Neal Stephenson (another favorite of mine) has argued that we've failed to "think big" in recent decades; we could go into space now and do wonderful things, but we've become too risk averse.

Then again, perhaps RAW's point remains valid, even if the timetable should not be taken too literally; I  would think that advances in private space exploration such as the SpaceX company, continued developments in the Internet, biotechnology, green energy research, nanotechnology and other fields should be produce something interesting in the next decade or two. Could Thiel, Cowen, et al. be exaggerating the problem because policies that promote innovation are the most promising way to aid the economy?

Last year, I wrote a post noting that Thiel and RAW appear to have many similar interests.

Also at Hit and Run, Jesse Walker writes about the history of anti-Mormon paranoia,  noting that it has largely receded.

Synthetic drug ban already not working

Wired magazine reports that a new federal ban on synthetic drugs is already failing, because the ban can't keep up with the new formulations coming onto the market.

The obvious solution to all of the dodgy new chemical formulations — legalizing marijuana and regulating it — of course isn't on the table. RAW's Guns and Dope Party still seems a long way away. (My regular drug of choice these days is coffee -- I  do drink one beer every few days -- and I own no firearms. I am endorsing freedom, not any particular substances or weapons.)

Hat tip, Supergee.

Maybe Logic Academy news

I noticed when I looked at the Maybe Logic site that the "RAW Retrospective, live symposium, free as can be," previously scheduled for July 23, is now scheduled for Sept. 3. I don't have any other details on what's planned. Eric Wagner's Schroedinger's Cat course is now scheduled for Nov. 19. See the site for details on other events and courses; I noticed an apparently new listing for Sept. 24, "Political Wilson, online seminar with Prop Anon." The Maybe Logic blog still has the earlier dates; perhaps it could be updated with more information?

Oz on RAW on reality

Oz Fritz posts a particularly good RAW video (about seven minutes) and offers useful comments. He also has been writing about E.J. Gold. Readers of a certain age will appreciate his tribute to Jon Lord of Deep Purple.

Quantum Psychology, Chapter Four

With apologies to the ghost of Robert Anton Wilson and to Eric Wagner, this is another chapter in which it is difficult to follow the exercizes as written. So I will post one, and pose a question of my own. The first is from the book (I've adapted it slightly and linked to a Picasso)

1. Let every member of the book mentally "acquire" the following 13 items:

a toy fire truck
a Barbie doll
a reproduction of a Picasso painting
a brick
a screw-driver
a hammer
a turkey feather
a piece of balsa wood
a rubber ball
a piece of hard wood, such as birch
a "ghetto blaster" (portable stereo)
a pornographic novel
a philosophical treatise by Bishop George Berkeley

Place these items on the floor and let everyone sit around them. First divide them into two groups: Red things and not-red things. See how many times ambiguous cases arise (e.g., should a book with a red-and-white cover go in the red pile or the not-red pile?

Let the 13 objects be divided  into another two groups -- useful objects and toys. See how many ambiguities arise. (Does art belong among toys? Does pornography?)

Each week, as long as the group continues, let somebody think of another dualism and divided the 13 items into two piles according to that new dichotomy. [Each week, I will ask one person who had been participating to do this -- Tom.]


Note each case where two things fall into different groups according to one dualist system fall into the same group according to another dualist system. (E.g., balsa wood and hard wood will fall into the same group if one divides "wooden things" from "non-wooden things" but will fall into different groups if one divides "things that float" from "things that do not float").

Note how the Aristotelian argument "It 'is' either an A or a not-A" appears after you have found several things that belong on the same side of one dualism but on opposite sides of other dualisms.


Some suggestions for other dualisms: "educational things" and "entertaining things," "scientific things" and "non-scientific things," "good" things and "bad" things, "organic things" and "inorganic things."

See how many odd and imaginative  dualisms the group can create.

At this point, an obvious fact seems worthy of special emphasis. Actually doing these exercizes  in a group, as suggested, teaches more than actually reading about them.


2. Robert Anton Wilson writes, "Joyce's Ulysses mutated the novel by describing one ordinary day, not as an "objective reality" in the Aristotelian sense, but as a labyrinth in which nearly a hundred narrators (or "narrative voices") all report different versions of what happened. Different reality-tunnels." Please give another example of a novel that uses this strategy.

Herbert Hoover's secret history of World War II

Robert Anton Wilson was interested in revisionist views on World War II, but here's a secret history he never got to read: The one by Herbert Hoover.

Freedom Betrayed: Herbert Hoover's Secret History of World War II and Its Aftermath argues that the U.S. should have stayed out of World War II, and that Franklin Roosevelt maneuvered to get the U.S. into it. It's been ignored by mainstream book review outlets since it came out last year, and I only finally stumbled on to a review a couple of weeks ago.

Here is a review from The American Spectator. Here is a discussion on a Lew Rockwell radio show.

Prometheus Award winners announced

The Libertarian Futurist Society has announced the winners of the Prometheus Award, and I'm pleased to report that the award was a tie, and is being to given to two really good books: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (which I nominated, as one of the nominating judges) and The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman.

The Hall of Fame award went to E.M. Forster for his long short story, "The Machine Stops." Not a bad name to set up alongside Wilson and Shea. (When I told my wife about the awards yesterday, she commented that we should have given a Hall of Fame award to Ray Bradbury. He died after the awards process had been pretty much wrapped up, but in fact the LFS gave a Hall of Fame Award to Fahrenheit 451 back in 1984.)

Official press release follows:

* The Libertarian Futurist Society will hold its annual awards ceremony for the Prometheus Award during Chicon, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held August 30-September 3 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

* For the second time in its history, there's a tie for the Best Novel award. The two winners are The Freedom Maze (Small Beer Press) by Delia Sherman and Ready Player One (Random House) by Ernest Cline.

The award for Best Classic Fiction (the "Hall of Fame" award) goes to "The Machine Stops", a short story by E. M. Forster, written in 1909.

* At its award ceremony to be held at the WorldCon in Chicago, the Libertarian Futurist Society will present plaques and one-ounce gold coins to Delia Sherman and Ernest Cline. A smaller gold coin and a plaque will be presented to "The Machine Stops". The specific time and location will be available in the convention program.

This was the first Prometheus nomination for both Sherman and Cline. Sherman's credits include five fantasy novels and editing two collections. Ready Player One is Cline's first novel; his official bio includes a variety of odd jobs, poetry slams and writing screenplays.

Delia Sherman's young-adult fantasy novel focuses on an adolescent girl of 1960 who is magically sent back in time to 1860 when her family owned slaves on a Louisiana plantation. She's mistaken for a light-skinned slave fathered by a plantation owner. She endures great hardships, commiserates with others suffering worse, works in the household and the fields, and sees the other slaves demonstrating their humanity in the face of incredible adversity. In the process, she comes to appreciate the values of honor, respect, courage, and personal responsibility.

Ernest Cline's genre-busting blend of science fiction, romance, suspense, and adventure describes a virtual world that has managed to evolve an order without a state in which entrepreneurial gamers must solve virtual puzzles and battle real-life enemies to save their virtual world from domination and corruption. The main characters work together without meeting in the real world until near the end of the story. The novel stresses the importance of allowing open access to the Internet for everyone.

"The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster was published in 1909. Forster described it as a reaction to H.G. Wells's fiction. The story describes a future in which most people never leave their rooms and interact only through the Machine's video and text facilities. People in this dystopia depend on the Machine for all their needs. When the Machine falls into disrepair and fails, the people are isolated from one another and many die, though Forster depicts it as a hopeful ending with a few wild humans on the surface likely to carry on and learn to be self-sufficient again.

The other finalists for the Best Novel award were The Children of the Sky (TOR Books) by Vernor Vinge, In the Shadow of Ares (Amazon Kindle edition) by Thomas L. James and Carl C. Carlsson, The Restoration Game (Pyr Books) by Ken MacLeod, and Snuff (Harper Collins) by Terry Pratchett. MacLeod has won three Best Novel awards, Vinge has won twice, and Pratchett has one previous winner.

The other finalists for the Hall of Fame award were "As Easy as A.B.C.," a story by Rudyard Kipling (1912); "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman," a story by Harlan Ellison (1965); and Falling Free, a novel by Lois McMaster Bujold (1988).

The LFS is announcing the winning works so that fans of the works and the writers can begin to make plans for attending the awards ceremonies. Anyone interested in more information about the awards ceremony or other LFS activities at ChiCon can send email to programming@lfs.org.

The Prometheus awards for Best Novel, Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame), and (occasional) Special Awards honor outstanding science fiction and fantasy that explores the possibilities of a free future, champions human rights (including personal and economic liberty), dramatizes the perennial conflict between individuals and coercive governments, or critiques the tragic consequences of abuse of power--especially by the State.

The Prometheus Award, sponsored by the Libertarian Futurist Society (lfs.org), was established in 1979, making it one of the most enduring awards after the Nebula and Hugo awards, and one of the oldest fan-based awards currently in sf. Presented annually since 1982 at the World Science Fiction Convention, the Prometheus Awards include a gold coin and plaque for each of the winners.

Publishers who wish to submit novels published in 2011 for the 2012 Best Novel award should contact Michael Grossberg, Chair of the LFS Prometheus Awards Best Novel Finalist judging committee online at BestNovelChair@lfs.org domain or via postal mail at 3164 Plymouth Place, Columbus OH 43213.

The Hall of Fame, established in 1983, focuses on older classic fiction, including novels, novellas, short stories, poems and plays. Past Hall of Fame award winners range from Robert Heinlein and Ayn Rand to Ray Bradbury and Ursula LeGuin.

Founded in 1982, the Libertarian Futurist Society sponsors the annual Prometheus Award and Prometheus Hall of Fame; publishes reviews, news and columns in the quarterly "Prometheus"; arranges annual awards ceremonies at the WorldCon; debates libertarian futurist issues (such as private space exploration); and provides fun and fellowship for libertarian SF fans. All members of the LFS are eligible to nominate eligible works for its awards, and to vote on the Hall of Fame. Full members are eligible to vote on the Best Novel.

A list of past winners of LFS awards can be found on the LFS web site at www.lfs.org