RIP: Robert Anton Wilson
2007-01-11 20:14:49.103072+00 by Dan Lyke 2 comments
2007-01-11 20:14:49.103072+00 by Dan Lyke 2 comments
[ related topics: Robert Anton Wilson ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2007-01-11 21:39:09.106598+00 by: petronius
While I now disagree with a lot of Wilson's philosophies, I stumbled on the Illuminati Trilogy when it first came into the mass market in the 70s, and it was tremendously exciting, and opened a lot of mental doors for me. Even as my own opinions have evolved, I remain eternally grateful for the ontological kick in the pants those books gave me. I feel the same about Ayn Rand, but Wilson was a whole lot funnier.
I still marvel at the jacket blurb from the first book, "Is that really George Washington on the Dollar Bill?" Once you ask that question, anything can happen. He will be missed.
#Comment Re: made: 2007-01-11 21:47:38.215963+00 by: Dan Lyke
Well said. I'm not sure I ever figured out what Wilson's philosophies were, and he seemed quite content to let them stay pretty nebulous, but his work kicked my thinking loose a number of times, and enough others have given him similar credit that I believe the world to have been a better place for him.