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Robert Anton Wilson dies

Mycroft

High Priest of Ed
Mycroft
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Sep 10, 2003
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Robert Anton Wilson, author of 'The Illuminatus! Trilogy,' dies at 74

CAPITOLA — Robert Anton Wilson, a 1960s counterculture icon and co-author of the cult classic "The Illuminatus! Trilogy," a science-fiction series about a secret global society, has died. He was 74.

Wilson died peacefully of natural causes at his home Thursday in Capitola, his daughter Christina Pearson said Saturday.

Post-polio syndrome had severely weakened Wilson's legs, leading to a fall seven months ago that left him bedridden until his death, Pearson said.

Wilson was a celebrated author of 35 novels, screenplays and philosophical tomes, all of which question the basic premises of reality. They covered subjects such as extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs and what he called quantum psychology.
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http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/January/14/local/stories/02local.htm

I read most of his works decades ago, a very entertaining and thought-provoking author. He will be missed.
 
Who gives a ***** about some has-been half-baked hippie? Myrtle Jolene Wilson, of Argonville, AZ died too. She leaves grieving relatives, sad cats, and she still owed 3 months back dues for refreshments for the Susanna Wesley Ladies Sunday School Class at Westbury United Methodist Church.

And I hear she made a mean dope-free brownie! Mourn away.
 
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Okay, you got me!

DanishDynamite said:
Never heard of him/her. From your excerpt, he was apparently a woo-woo?
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I've been laying low hoping somebody would tip me off, but I can't stand it any more. What's a woo-woo? Where I live, it's a reference to *ahem* a certain gender's *ahem* anatomical feature *ahem.* But it couldn't possibly be what you erudite, learned, above-the-waist oriented folks are referring to. Could it?:jaw-dropp
 
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FarmallMTA said:
I've been laying low hoping somebody would tip me off, but I can't stand it any more. What's a woo-woo? Where I live, it's a reference to *ahem* a certain gender's *ahem* anatomical feature *ahem.* But it couldn't possible be what you erudite, learned, above-the-waist oriented folks are referring to. Could it?:jaw-dropp
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Woo-woo
 
FarmallMTA said:
Oh. Like me still hoping every Christmas that there'll be a pony under the tree for me. Gotcha.

But I STILL say it could happen.

Thanks Dynomite!
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It is, on occasion, used as an acronym for waster of oxygen. But never by us:) !
 
DanishDynamite said:
Never heard of him/her. From your excerpt, he was apparently a woo-woo?
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He wrote fiction on those topics.

From wikipedia:

His writing, which often shows a sense of humor and optimism, is described by him as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations--to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models (maps) and no one model elevated to the Truth."[1] And: "My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone, but agnosticism about everything."[2]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson


He wrote uproariously funny yarns about people who faced a little bit of truth mixed with a little bit of bullsiht and a little bit of coincidence ended up believing in worldwide conspiracies spanning hundreds of years yet managing to influence very little except to encourage a small group of people to experiment with psychoactive drugs and some advanced sexual practices. He may well have been a woo, but what I took away from his writings was a better understanding of how people come to believe what they believe and how the most absurd beliefs can be founded on the thinnest of evidence.

Then again, I mostly ignored the drug parts of his writings. :)
 
I tried to get through the Illuminatus! books a few years ago, but got quickly lost and bored and gave up. I think you'd need to consume a fair amount of drugs before any of it would make sense.
 
JamesDillon said:
I tried to get through the Illuminatus! books a few years ago, but got quickly lost and bored and gave up. I think you'd need to consume a fair amount of drugs before any of it would make sense.
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The Schroedinger's Cat trilogy and RAW's other solo projects are a lot easier to read.
 
FarmallMTA said:
Who gives a ***** about some has-been half-baked hippie? Myrtle Jolene Wilson, of Argonville, AZ died too. She leaves grieving relatives, sad cats, and she still owed 3 months back dues for refreshments for the Susanna Wesley Ladies Sunday School Class at Westbury United Methodist Church.

And I hear she made a mean dope-free brownie! Mourn away.
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Anytime an AZ citizen dies is a horrendous tragedy, but where the hell is argonville???
 
Well, to be perfectly honest....

pipelineaudio said:
Anytime an AZ citizen dies is a horrendous tragedy, but where the hell is argonville???
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I kind of made up the part about Myrtle Jolene Wilson. And I sort of pulled Argonville, AZ out of my unsunny place. Okay, okay: the grieving relatives are slightly bogus as are the sad cats. But, knowing her type, it's NOT totally farfetched that she still owed 3 months back dues for refreshments for the Susanna Wesley Ladies Sunday School Class at Westbury United Methodist Church. Wherever that is.

What I MEANT was, mourn away that her brownies are dope-free. :D
 
I enjoyed "Schroedinger's Cat", "Quantum Psychology", and "Prometheus Rising".

He was definitely a funny and thought-provoking guy, though I can appreciate that a lot of people aren't able (or willing) to perform the mental gymnastics necessary to get the joke or take the point.

To each their own, etc.
 
Mycroft said:
He wrote uproariously funny yarns about people who faced a little bit of truth mixed with a little bit of bullsiht and a little bit of coincidence ended up believing in worldwide conspiracies spanning hundreds of years yet managing to influence very little except to encourage a small group of people to experiment with psychoactive drugs and some advanced sexual practices. He may well have been a woo, but what I took away from his writings was a better understanding of how people come to believe what they believe and how the most absurd beliefs can be founded on the thinnest of evidence.
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I encountered Illuminatus! while still fairly young, and credit it with being a major reason I'm such a nutjob. Probably my favorite bit of stream-of-consciousness and non-linear narrative.
Then again, I mostly ignored the drug parts of his writings. :)
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Yeah, I preferred the drugs themselves.
 
That's a pity. Illuminatus! was a fun book once you could get into it. I'd only read The Schroedinger's Cat Trilogy also.
 
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