tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post9142984568172674615..comments2024-03-28T01:17:42.336-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: DOWN MEMORY LANERobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-66174033217941189432013-04-08T08:31:49.729-04:002013-04-08T08:31:49.729-04:00Breaking news: Thatcher is deadBreaking news: Thatcher is deadNotHobbeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09443644930695303411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-32478213796303559142013-04-07T12:51:09.382-04:002013-04-07T12:51:09.382-04:00Boy, I don't know. His science fiction writin...Boy, I don't know. His science fiction writing suggested that he had a certain intelligence, and it sure sounded like a spoof. Lord, do you suppose he started it as a satire and suddenly realized he could cash in on it? That would be so awful! But the switch to Scientology was so manifestly a dodge that maybe he was kidding all along. Thank heavens we don't have more information about Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammed! Maybe they were all con artists, although Jesus certainly paid a heavy price for telling a joke, if that was the case.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-40853011362943014192013-04-07T12:25:35.196-04:002013-04-07T12:25:35.196-04:00"When I read the first part of the Dianetics ..."When I read the first part of the Dianetics article, I thought it was a brilliant satirical send-up, but the second part made it clear that Hubbard was deadly serious."<br /><br />Do you think so? I've never been sure. I mean, it's clear that he wanted enough other people to take it seriously to make him rich-- but as to whether he was in on the joke or not isn't obvious to me.<br /><br />"No one, he said, is ever a real fan of both science fiction and detective fiction at the same time."<br /><br />An interesting thought, and I can see why it could be true. As it happens, though, I started with Asimov's Elijah Baley/ Daneel Olivaw robot-detective novels and Sherlock Holmes at just the same time. Followed the science fiction path rather than the detective path thenceforth, but at the time it didn't seem odd to me to enjoy them both. (Yes, I know that "fan" is a qualitatively different thing from "person who enjoys.")Jacob T. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02575549001627195334noreply@blogger.com