>I have heard several on this list talk positively about Robert Anton Wilson,
>I confess I've never read anything by him and always considered that a lack
>in my education. Recent events have made me feel less guilty about it.
>
>While poking around in the Science section of my local bookstore today I ran
>across a misfiled book that belonged in the "new age" section next to the
UFO
>and Bigfoot books, it was called "Carl Sagan and Immanuel Velikousky" by
>Charles Ginenthal. I didn't read it, but after thumbing through it for
>5 minutes I could see it was a revolting attack on the life of Sagan and a
>deification of Velikousky. On the back of the book was a blurb by Robert
>Anton Wilson, he said this trash was "an excellent and erudite destruction
>of Saganism".
Well, don't jump *too* hard on RAW. He's an an entertaining read, good at
poking holes in silly conceits, and an eloquent advocate for open-mindedness.
As you point out, he is indeed an object example that it's possible to be
*too* open-minded.
One interesting thing about RAW is that sometimes, his positions are jokes,
and he doesn't really mean them. Apparently this is part of a "question
authority and think for yourself message." I sure hope that's the case with
his support of Velikovsky.