Quotes from Robert Anton Wilson

The word "psychosomatic" has been around long enough to be generally understood; unfortunately, it is another semantic spook. The concept of "psyche" or "soul" was borrowed from the theologians, who, being bankrupt, are in no position to lend anything.

It is not nonsense. We are merely confronting infinity where we least expected to encounter it — in our own lonely selves.

Instrumentalism a la John Dewey follows pragmatism in general, but especially emphasizes that the validity or utility of an idea — we have gotten rid of truth, remember? — derives from the instruments used in testing the idea, and will change as instruments improve. Like the other theories discussed thus far, Instrumentalism has had more direct influence on social science (and educational theory) than on physical science, although vastly influenced by physical science.

Physics joined linguistics, mathematics and psychology in this metaprogramming hall of mirrors when Schrödinger demonstrated that quantum events are not objective" in the Newtonian sense. For fifty years since then, physicists have been struggling to build a system that will get them out of this Strange Loop. The results have been as funny as a Zen koan.

Operationalism, created by Nobel physicist Percy W. Bridgman, attempts to deal with the common sense objections to Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, and owes a great deal to pragmatism and instrumentalism. Bridgman explicitly pointed out that common sense derives unknowingly from some tenets of ancient philosophy and speculation — particularly Platonic Idealism and Aristotelian essentialism — and that this philosophy assumes many axioms that now appear either untrue or unprovable.

Well, at that point, the only thing to do is relax and enjoy the show.

The only sensible goal, then, is to try to build a reality-tunnel for next week that is bigger, funnier, sexier, more optimistic and generally less boring than any previous reality-tunnel.

Like marijuana, a Wellesian long shot creates an information overload and provokes you to enlarge your reality-tunnel to accommodate it.

Einstein's favorite line of criticism revolved around his claim that Quantum Mechanics, as known then (and as still known) may not constitute a complete theory of the subatomic realm. In ordinary language, this means that the Uncertainty and Indeterminacy of quantum equations — however useful these equations prove every day in technology — contains a possible hole through which an entirely new Quantum Theory may someday march.

Most shamans, and many mystics, have been through similar negative-to-positive neurosomatic sensitization. Christian Scientists call it "chemicalization. " St. John of the Cross called it, poetically, the Dark Night of the Soul. Cabalists call it "crossing the Abyss.

And once you have built that bigger, funnier, happier universe of thought, build a bigger and better one, for next month.

In short, we are living in a mental transform space--Tielhard de Chardin's noösphere--that is, an omnidimensional halo expanding towards infinity in all directions. And the electronic center of this halo of mentation, this noösphere, is poentially everywhere. It is all available to you right where you are sitting now. Just plug in a terminal. The machine doesn't care who or what you are.

The Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum physics, created by Niels Bohr (another Nobel winner), says much the same as operationalism, in even more radical language. According to Bohr, common sense and traditional philosophy both have failed to account for the data of Quantum Mechanics (and of Relativity) and we need to speak a new language to understand what physics has discovered.

Boredom is mostly caused by not doing what you want to do which is caused by not knowing what to do or not knowing how to get out of a situation that you are in.

It now appears that we may have a more complete quantum theory at hand, one that includes Hidden Variables. However, at this point, that does not mean we have found deep reality and can junk the Copenhagen Interpretation. It simply means that we have another new model — which implies, for most physicists, another argument for model agnosticism or zeteticism.

Obviously, an ideally "balanced" person — that is, one not robotized and able to adjust to circumstances as they arise — would not be so off-centered. Such a person would be able to move a little bit into each quadrant "according to the times and seasons" as the Chinese say, but would basically maintain a centered detachment between all of them. She or he could be graphed as a circle:

Some lucky souls jump to Circuit V bliss without passing through the horrors of "chemicalization" and the "Dark Night of the Soul.

Medieval Idolatry consisted of metaphors that were called Revealed Truth. Modern Idolatry consists of metaphors that are called Objective Truth. In both cases human linguistic structures — complicated primate chatterings — have, in effect, become Gods, and whoever questions them is considered a blasphemer and the priests seek to destroy the impiety. That's how books get burned, in Florence in 1300 (or in New York in 1956, as we shall see).

If you believe in it, you can almost see it. Or, at least, you can convince yourself that anything else is mere appearance or hallucination.

The dark inner circle would represent the adamantine individuality of this ideally detached person — detached from robot imprints. The grey circle would represent the ability to move out into each quadrant in times when that was necessary.

The problem seems to lie in different concepts of what we mean by a Hidden Variable. Dr. Bohm, the man who suggested the design of the Aspect experiments, means something that Einstein and other proto-Hidden Variable theorists had not conceived. From Bohm's point of view, the Aspect experiments weaken the case for local hidden variables, but they tend to support the concept of non-local hidden variables.

Circles of this sort, called mandalas, are widely used for meditation in the Buddhist tradition. Often they are cornered by four demons who evidently, like the Occidental lion, bull, angel and eagle, represent the extremes to be avoided.

REALITY" IS THE TEMPORARY RESULTANT OF CONTINUOUS STRUGGLES BETWEEN RIVAL GANGS OF PROGRAMMERS.

The Old Agnosticism defined itself chiefly by its opposition to the dogmas of religious Fundamentalism. The New Agnosticism of this book seems to define itself by its opposition to the dogmas of materialist/rationalist Fundamentalism. Yet the agnostic attitude — which I keep gently hinting is also the creative attitude, the Po attitude — remains similar. The agnostic does not want to be bulldozed into joining a stampede of any sort, or bowing to any Idol.