Re: Fiction Books

From: Charles Hixson (charleshixsn@earthlink.net)
Date: Tue Apr 22 2003 - 12:06:28 MDT

  • Next message: Charles Hixson: "Re: Fiction Books"

    cryofan@mylinuxisp.com wrote:

    >Charles Hixson <charleshixsn@earthlink.net> said:
    >
    >
    >
    >>Damien Broderick wrote:
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >>>>>Well, I don't know about Shea or Robert A Wilson (though I know Wilson is
    >>>>>supposed to have cryonics sympathies), but Castenda is strictly a bogus
    >>>>>mysticist. I read about all his books when I was much younger, but I
    >>>>>cannot even imagine finding any of his ideas reasonable today.
    >>>>>
    >>>>>
    >>>>>
    >>>Quite so.
    >>>
    >>>
    >>>
    >>Not exactly. He's an anthropologist using a fictional form for
    >>reporting on field studies.
    >>
    >>
    >Not exactly: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020621.html
    >
    That's why I mentioned Garfinkle. I believe that the group he was
    reporting on was UCLA students. But I'm not sure. And if I understand
    things correctly, not being sure was part of what Garfinkle was trying
    to achieve in many of his endeavors. (OTOH, I've never followed that
    thing at all carefully, so I may be believing reports that, themselves
    are unreliable. If that *isn't* was Garfinkle was attempting to achieve.)
    In my understanding, it seems more appropriate to Surrealist art, or
    possibly to psychology or even sociology, than to anthropology, but it
    came out of anthropology. And it seems, to me, quite plausible that a
    part of Castenada's original reason for the heavy disguise was to
    sidestep legal repercussions.

    OTOH, this is third hand information. (A friend knew someone who...)
    So you are getting it fourth hand. After decades have passed. Not
    exactly high in trustworthyness. (But then where did that web page get
    it's info? It doesn't say.)

    -- 
    -- Charles Hixson
    Gnu software that is free,
    The best is yet to be.
    


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