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Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You & Your World
Throughout human history, thoughts, values and behaviors have been colored by language and the prevailing view of the universe. With the advent of Quantum Mechanics, relativity, non-Euclidean geometries, non-Aristotelian logic and General Semantics, the scientific view of the world has changed dramatically from just a few decades ago. Nonetheless, human thinking is still deeply rooted in the cosmology of the Middle Ages. Quantum Psychology is the book to change your way of perceiving yourself—and the universe—for the 21st century. Some say it's materialistic, others call it scientific and still others insist it's mystical. It is all of these—and none.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Robert Anton Wilson
128 books1,585 followersRobert Anton Wilson became, at various times, an American novelist, essayist, philosopher, polymath, psychonaut, futurist, libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized as an Episkopos, Pope, and Saint of Discordianism by Discordians who care to label him as such, Wilson helped publicize the group/religion/melee through his writings, interviews, and strolls.
He described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth."
"My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything."
He described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth."
"My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
March 28, 2016
The War Against "is"
Drawing primarily from Quantum Mechanics, that elusive field loved by every esoteric gentleman, Wilson claims that most of the problems in the world result from "is" and "are", words that are deterministic, dangerously Aristotelian. The sureties of “is” and “as it is” are misleading. Quantum Psychology roots for “maybes”, but the “loss of certainty” here does not mean a descent into the void of solipsism. It is more like fuzzy logic. The problems of the world are created by the quest for certainty in an uncertain world. If everyone started thinking in Non-Aristotelian terms, the world, as Wilson claims, would radically change: "the intractable problems of war, poverty, and injustice might seem close to a solution".
An interesting case is made by Sartre, whose Existentialism Wilson includes in his doctrine: one can never attach an essence to a person. One can never say "A is a homosexual" or "B is a patriot". So long as a person has choice, so long as a person is alive, he is flux-like, defying any fixed tag. A Non-Aristotelian terminology would be "A had a homosexual encounter yesterday". Yes, it is the famous "existence precedes essence" being used here by Wilson to validate his theory.
It is obvious that we do not all live in the same universe. Millions live in a Muslim universe, some in a Christian or a Hindu universe. Others still live in a Marxist or a Communist universe. Wilson claims that unlike the Aristotelian “essential self” we have multiple selves in us, each acting as an observer who creates a reality tunnel that appears as a whole universe. Every time an internal or external trigger causes us to quantum jump from one self to another, the whole world around us appear to change also. That’s why Mira may say one day that “everyone bullies me” and on another day totally believes that “everyone loves me”. Quantum mechanics states that an electron has a different “essence” every time it is measured. Similarly, according to Wilson the Mary we meet on Tuesday has a different “self” than the Mary we meet on Friday. A Buddhist may say that Mary has no “essence” at all. This is what Sartre meant when he said that we have no “essence”. Like electrons we jump from one information system to another, and only those who have not looked closely believe that one “essence” remains constant through all transformations.
Major focus then shifts to E-prime, a language without “is” proposed by Korzybski, which rests on simple proposition that “is-ness” sets the brain into a medieval Aristotelian framework and makes it impossible to understand modern problems and opportunities. An example of E-prime would be as follows:
Normal English: The photon is a wave
E-Prime: The photon behaves as a wave when constrained by certain instruments
Normal English: John is unhappy and grouchy
E-Prime: John appears unhappy and grouchy in the office.
The above statements affirm the actual existential/phenomenological experiences in space-time. The Aristotelian universe is left far behind, and we enter a maturer scientific (or existentialist) universe which is a network of structural relationships, and not inbuilt “essences”.
Transactional Psychology states that, contrary to common sense and prejudices of centuries, our minds do not passively receive impressions from the “external world”. Rather we actively create our impressions: out of an ocean of possible signals that fit what we expect to see, and we organize these signals into a model, or reality tunnel, that marvelously matches our idea of what really is out there. A lot of our perception emerge from our preconception. So the book basically claims that learning to speak in E-Prime can vastly accelerate our progress in internalizing these concepts.
Later he ventures into psychosomatic disorders, and wonders whether thinking of body and mind as a unity rather than a dichotomy might help us gain a new understanding into placebo treatments, the way space-time emerged after Einstein and scientists dropped the idea of thinking of space and time as separate entities. Wilson is of the opinion that optimistic thinking might help patients cure incurable diseases. What is talked about here is already covered by Joseph Murphy, only that Wilson never uses the word “subconscious”. Wilson goes on to argue that those who respond well to placebos also register high on the awareness of synchronicities. Since synchronicity only makes sense in a holistic or synergetic model of the universe such people already have an intuitive sense of holism, which makes it easier for them to allow holistic processes to occur in brain/body system. If you think about it this is in line with his argument of going beyond "is".
So far so good, but what the book finally delves into is daringly preposterous. It talks about the possibility of multiple universes, drawn from the work done by Huge Everett; talks about Bell’s theorem: change in one particle affects another particle at a distance, what Einstein termed as “spooky action at a distance”, and the Anthropic universe. These are unproved, highly imaginative territories of science, abused by many modern day mystics, taken advantage of by self-styled new-age gurus. And I am unsure what Wilson is trying to suggest by introducing these in his singular argument, which earlier seemed about E-Prime and was more intriguing, but later lost its crispiness and was no more than an overused wet paper. I clearly didn't see the relevance of the later chapters that seemed to cover every prominent theory of the time.
What does it all mean? I think we, reading this book in 2015, almost two decades later, intuitively know some of the things talked about here. And I don't fully disagree with the idea that hard "is-ness", sureties backed by militant zeal, have caused more trouble in the world than anything else, and we can see the horrific results all around us. I am just not as optimistic as Wilson, thinking that a training to think beyond "is" (or whatever E-Prime means) might help. The idea is brave indeed, and can make a difference, but I think people need some certainties to claim as their own, to live by them, to defend them, to create a world around them. That's how we have been rolling since we were apes. And since when has everyone complied in unison on this sweet little world of ours!?
Drawing primarily from Quantum Mechanics, that elusive field loved by every esoteric gentleman, Wilson claims that most of the problems in the world result from "is" and "are", words that are deterministic, dangerously Aristotelian. The sureties of “is” and “as it is” are misleading. Quantum Psychology roots for “maybes”, but the “loss of certainty” here does not mean a descent into the void of solipsism. It is more like fuzzy logic. The problems of the world are created by the quest for certainty in an uncertain world. If everyone started thinking in Non-Aristotelian terms, the world, as Wilson claims, would radically change: "the intractable problems of war, poverty, and injustice might seem close to a solution".
An interesting case is made by Sartre, whose Existentialism Wilson includes in his doctrine: one can never attach an essence to a person. One can never say "A is a homosexual" or "B is a patriot". So long as a person has choice, so long as a person is alive, he is flux-like, defying any fixed tag. A Non-Aristotelian terminology would be "A had a homosexual encounter yesterday". Yes, it is the famous "existence precedes essence" being used here by Wilson to validate his theory.
It is obvious that we do not all live in the same universe. Millions live in a Muslim universe, some in a Christian or a Hindu universe. Others still live in a Marxist or a Communist universe. Wilson claims that unlike the Aristotelian “essential self” we have multiple selves in us, each acting as an observer who creates a reality tunnel that appears as a whole universe. Every time an internal or external trigger causes us to quantum jump from one self to another, the whole world around us appear to change also. That’s why Mira may say one day that “everyone bullies me” and on another day totally believes that “everyone loves me”. Quantum mechanics states that an electron has a different “essence” every time it is measured. Similarly, according to Wilson the Mary we meet on Tuesday has a different “self” than the Mary we meet on Friday. A Buddhist may say that Mary has no “essence” at all. This is what Sartre meant when he said that we have no “essence”. Like electrons we jump from one information system to another, and only those who have not looked closely believe that one “essence” remains constant through all transformations.
Major focus then shifts to E-prime, a language without “is” proposed by Korzybski, which rests on simple proposition that “is-ness” sets the brain into a medieval Aristotelian framework and makes it impossible to understand modern problems and opportunities. An example of E-prime would be as follows:
Normal English: The photon is a wave
E-Prime: The photon behaves as a wave when constrained by certain instruments
Normal English: John is unhappy and grouchy
E-Prime: John appears unhappy and grouchy in the office.
The above statements affirm the actual existential/phenomenological experiences in space-time. The Aristotelian universe is left far behind, and we enter a maturer scientific (or existentialist) universe which is a network of structural relationships, and not inbuilt “essences”.
Transactional Psychology states that, contrary to common sense and prejudices of centuries, our minds do not passively receive impressions from the “external world”. Rather we actively create our impressions: out of an ocean of possible signals that fit what we expect to see, and we organize these signals into a model, or reality tunnel, that marvelously matches our idea of what really is out there. A lot of our perception emerge from our preconception. So the book basically claims that learning to speak in E-Prime can vastly accelerate our progress in internalizing these concepts.
Later he ventures into psychosomatic disorders, and wonders whether thinking of body and mind as a unity rather than a dichotomy might help us gain a new understanding into placebo treatments, the way space-time emerged after Einstein and scientists dropped the idea of thinking of space and time as separate entities. Wilson is of the opinion that optimistic thinking might help patients cure incurable diseases. What is talked about here is already covered by Joseph Murphy, only that Wilson never uses the word “subconscious”. Wilson goes on to argue that those who respond well to placebos also register high on the awareness of synchronicities. Since synchronicity only makes sense in a holistic or synergetic model of the universe such people already have an intuitive sense of holism, which makes it easier for them to allow holistic processes to occur in brain/body system. If you think about it this is in line with his argument of going beyond "is".
So far so good, but what the book finally delves into is daringly preposterous. It talks about the possibility of multiple universes, drawn from the work done by Huge Everett; talks about Bell’s theorem: change in one particle affects another particle at a distance, what Einstein termed as “spooky action at a distance”, and the Anthropic universe. These are unproved, highly imaginative territories of science, abused by many modern day mystics, taken advantage of by self-styled new-age gurus. And I am unsure what Wilson is trying to suggest by introducing these in his singular argument, which earlier seemed about E-Prime and was more intriguing, but later lost its crispiness and was no more than an overused wet paper. I clearly didn't see the relevance of the later chapters that seemed to cover every prominent theory of the time.
What does it all mean? I think we, reading this book in 2015, almost two decades later, intuitively know some of the things talked about here. And I don't fully disagree with the idea that hard "is-ness", sureties backed by militant zeal, have caused more trouble in the world than anything else, and we can see the horrific results all around us. I am just not as optimistic as Wilson, thinking that a training to think beyond "is" (or whatever E-Prime means) might help. The idea is brave indeed, and can make a difference, but I think people need some certainties to claim as their own, to live by them, to defend them, to create a world around them. That's how we have been rolling since we were apes. And since when has everyone complied in unison on this sweet little world of ours!?
November 10, 2009
If you're debating making the commitment to reading this book: JUST READ IT. Take as long as you need (I read it 3x before it hit me with how powerful it can be if applied to my reality-tunnel.) And don't be deterred by how lame the cover looks, don't be 'intimidated' by the word "Quantum" in the title, and don't pre-decide that you couldn't enjoy it. Wilson is an excellent writer who will hold your attention through the very last page. Even when his deep well of a brain was going further than I could keep up with, he makes it a point to backtrack, reemphasize, and explain it all with wit, and in layman terms.
I've never enjoyed a book more- Wilson altered my way of thinking so profoundly, that even something as simple as describing my morning 'accurately' can't happen with ease anymore. People who read this book- who really, sincerely absorb this book, and allow themselves to be open to the idea of revamping their 'brain software'- will walk away with the potential to gain so much more from even the most mundane life routine.
In some ways, I'm just really frustrated now...frustrated because I suddenly see so much more around me than I did before, that it's actually a little overwhelming. ...But it's also freeing, because Wilson provides such an inspiration to avoid premature certainties, get rid of the nonsense of 'isness', beware of 'noise', and view 'reality' much more proactively.
I've never enjoyed a book more- Wilson altered my way of thinking so profoundly, that even something as simple as describing my morning 'accurately' can't happen with ease anymore. People who read this book- who really, sincerely absorb this book, and allow themselves to be open to the idea of revamping their 'brain software'- will walk away with the potential to gain so much more from even the most mundane life routine.
In some ways, I'm just really frustrated now...frustrated because I suddenly see so much more around me than I did before, that it's actually a little overwhelming. ...But it's also freeing, because Wilson provides such an inspiration to avoid premature certainties, get rid of the nonsense of 'isness', beware of 'noise', and view 'reality' much more proactively.
January 15, 2022
Enjoyable claptrap or a work of sublime genius - I have no idea, or in Wilson-speak 'in my current non-Aristotlean reality tunnel my neuro-neuro system perceived the measurements received about this book from my optical apparatus in a number of different ways, maybe'.
Wilson's style 'is' great fun - he applies physics theory to some absurdities of the way we think about things with great humour: the book had me laughing out loud lots of times, and he is not shy of sending up himself or physics itself.
But I couldn't make head-nor-tail of what he was trying to explain or to what ends. Maybe one to re-read and read again until I get it, or wait until my own personal universe collides with the version of me that exists in the multiverse who understood it and ask them what is was on about.
Wilson's style 'is' great fun - he applies physics theory to some absurdities of the way we think about things with great humour: the book had me laughing out loud lots of times, and he is not shy of sending up himself or physics itself.
But I couldn't make head-nor-tail of what he was trying to explain or to what ends. Maybe one to re-read and read again until I get it, or wait until my own personal universe collides with the version of me that exists in the multiverse who understood it and ask them what is was on about.
July 14, 2012
An excellent book! I highly recommend it. You should probably read "Prometheus Rising" first, though, as it's easier to read and comes first. But this book can still be read on its own.
Laced with Wilson's typical weird humor, this book is a mostly serious work explaining Wilson's proposed philosophy of quantum psychology. A complete rejection of Aristotle's either/or thinking, quantum psychology has much in common with Existentialism, Operationalism, and the Copenhagen interpretation, showing how the weirdness of quantum mechanics cannot be avoided in our daily lives (we just tend to not see it, or ignore it), but manages to NOT lapse into solipsism. Wilson posits that 1. There IS an Ultimate Reality beyond our perceptions, but 2. We humans will never be able to experience it directly, because our brains don't actually tell us what the world looks like: it makes a guesstimate based on a tiny portion of possible sensory data. Even with instruments to tell us things about the world our 5 senses can't, we still will always experience only the model of reality we have built in our head, not the real reality. The brain is a blind king that thinks the contour map his servants made of his kingdom really *is* the kingdom. We keep thinking the map is the territory, but it isn't. When you see, say, a book or a chair, you're only actually seeing your brain's best guess at what a book or a chair looks like.
Wilson manages to keep away from the treacherous waters of solipsism by occasionally reminding us that though we can only know the map, the territory is real. So we are not limited to either "all we see is real" or "nothing we see is real." There is still statistical probability on our side, and we can be as much as 99% sure of certain things... just never 100% sure.
What's best, in my opinion, is that in the foreword, Wilson gives us brief but complete summaries of philosophies and philosophers important to the rest of the book, for those of us who aren't philosophy majors. There are also exercises at the ends of each chapter, apparently for groups of people to read chapters and then do the exercises together.
This is one of those books that is a fascinating read every time, and I get something new out of it each time I re-read it.
Laced with Wilson's typical weird humor, this book is a mostly serious work explaining Wilson's proposed philosophy of quantum psychology. A complete rejection of Aristotle's either/or thinking, quantum psychology has much in common with Existentialism, Operationalism, and the Copenhagen interpretation, showing how the weirdness of quantum mechanics cannot be avoided in our daily lives (we just tend to not see it, or ignore it), but manages to NOT lapse into solipsism. Wilson posits that 1. There IS an Ultimate Reality beyond our perceptions, but 2. We humans will never be able to experience it directly, because our brains don't actually tell us what the world looks like: it makes a guesstimate based on a tiny portion of possible sensory data. Even with instruments to tell us things about the world our 5 senses can't, we still will always experience only the model of reality we have built in our head, not the real reality. The brain is a blind king that thinks the contour map his servants made of his kingdom really *is* the kingdom. We keep thinking the map is the territory, but it isn't. When you see, say, a book or a chair, you're only actually seeing your brain's best guess at what a book or a chair looks like.
Wilson manages to keep away from the treacherous waters of solipsism by occasionally reminding us that though we can only know the map, the territory is real. So we are not limited to either "all we see is real" or "nothing we see is real." There is still statistical probability on our side, and we can be as much as 99% sure of certain things... just never 100% sure.
What's best, in my opinion, is that in the foreword, Wilson gives us brief but complete summaries of philosophies and philosophers important to the rest of the book, for those of us who aren't philosophy majors. There are also exercises at the ends of each chapter, apparently for groups of people to read chapters and then do the exercises together.
This is one of those books that is a fascinating read every time, and I get something new out of it each time I re-read it.
January 8, 2009
Well, first of all, I've read it in Russian. But that doesn't matter. Book is still awesome. It's like a stone that you gotta chew on, to actually digest it. It's that hard. At least for me it was. It is so mind-boggling that I was very excited at the time I was reading it. It taught me how to look at things differently, how to deal with weirdness of reality. Basically, a very important book in my life. Definetly not for a casual "esoteric" reader. It requires some effort. Like a normal book should.
February 3, 2015
I'd encourage every single person on Earth to go down the Robert Anton Wilson rabbit hole.
September 2, 2010
This book opened up vast worlds of possibility and experience for me. I have since read most of RAW's books, and I consider him to be one of my two greatest teachers, the other being my chi gung instructor.
From where I was at the time, still mired in the reductionist materialist worldview and looking for a way to escape, this book was perfect. Chapter by chapter, it provides valuable tools to set your mind free(er). I have read it several times and was lucky enough to take a class on it as well.
I cannot recommend it highly enough. And DO THE EXERCIZES! They will take you into a world where things you never thought possible will happen.
OK then.
That said, I recently picked it up again and I found it a bit tame. The very fact that it is accessible to someone coming from a place of more mainstream thinking, as I was at the time, means that to someone who is now well out of the mainstream, the presentation of the ideas seems overly cautious.
So if you are already capable of entertaining multiple reality tunnels depending on your needs at any moment, then I would suggest his other most seminal work, Prometheus Rising.
From where I was at the time, still mired in the reductionist materialist worldview and looking for a way to escape, this book was perfect. Chapter by chapter, it provides valuable tools to set your mind free(er). I have read it several times and was lucky enough to take a class on it as well.
I cannot recommend it highly enough. And DO THE EXERCIZES! They will take you into a world where things you never thought possible will happen.
OK then.
That said, I recently picked it up again and I found it a bit tame. The very fact that it is accessible to someone coming from a place of more mainstream thinking, as I was at the time, means that to someone who is now well out of the mainstream, the presentation of the ideas seems overly cautious.
So if you are already capable of entertaining multiple reality tunnels depending on your needs at any moment, then I would suggest his other most seminal work, Prometheus Rising.
April 13, 2010
Probably the single most influential book in my life . I read it when i was 17 or so , still living in Kiev. I opened the first page as i sat down in the subway train on Politechnicheskaya and when I reached Hydropark my head exploded and nothing ever looked the same. A lot of it is maybe obvious now for folks who's into this kind of things, but back then...It's hard to believe that I can actually remember that day, that train, the everything.
February 17, 2014
A lot of rubbish out there.it is unstructured mix of quantum theory from non-scientist, without structure and purpose. High level overview of Shreadinger cat, that lasts on 150 pages.
It is not even fun. Go read more useful book
It is not even fun. Go read more useful book
October 12, 2016
I'd recommend this book to just about anyone. Rather than teaching you what to think, it tries to prod you in a new direction of how to think. It doesn't insist on the correctness of any particular world-view but rather tries to instruct on the possibilities of alternate view-points. It's genuinely insightful and, if you'll let it be, revelatory.
I'm not saying it's all wonderful. I consider myself to be a 'hard' scientist. I have little (i.e. no) tolerance for hand-waving mysticism or woolly 'explanations' of the "God Did It" type. And there's some of the former in this work, certainly. But if you approach this with a genuinely critical outlook and carefully scrutinize its statements you will, I absolutely guarantee, find much in its pages that will surprise, delight and maybe, just maybe, enlighten.
It's worth the price of admission for the section on E-prime, alone.
I'm not saying it's all wonderful. I consider myself to be a 'hard' scientist. I have little (i.e. no) tolerance for hand-waving mysticism or woolly 'explanations' of the "God Did It" type. And there's some of the former in this work, certainly. But if you approach this with a genuinely critical outlook and carefully scrutinize its statements you will, I absolutely guarantee, find much in its pages that will surprise, delight and maybe, just maybe, enlighten.
It's worth the price of admission for the section on E-prime, alone.
November 20, 2012
This one has been in my "to read" pile (pile #4 or #5, I can't remember which) for quite a while, and this online Quantum Psychology group reading finally moved it into the "currently reading" pile and from there into the "read." (The reading group's responses to the exercises in chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty one, twenty two, and twenty three are all on the RAWIllumination website.)
My answer to one of the last posted exercises also serves as decent summary of the book's thrust:
Unfortunately, there are several groups of people upon whom Wilson regularly heaps scorn throughout the book, undercutting to some degree the power of this book's thesis and reinforcing the same sense of territoriality that "quantum psychology" seeks to relax. For example, every snide comment about Catholicism (rather than about sombunall Catholics!), made me think of counter-examples in Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, the Rev. Jack Ditch, and others, and frankly it rankled a bit. That said, maybe RAW's apparent inconsistencies trigger my own sense of territoriality, and so the tingling means the book is working!
Many have noted this book's relationship to Prometheus Rising , one of his betters works of nonfiction. I plan to re-read this book again, as a whole this time, rather than in 23 small doses, and in tandem with Prometheus Rising to see if my overall estimation of this book changes.
My answer to one of the last posted exercises also serves as decent summary of the book's thrust:
Q. Explain the link between the "model agnosticism" that Wilson advocates here (and elsewhere) and quantum theory.
A. To me, these eight-plus different models/maps of what quantum mechanics means [detailed in Nick Herbert's Quantum Reality] provide an ideal demonstration of "model agnosticism." You have observations, and then you have the process of interpreting these observations to create their meaning. In psychological terms, each one of us inhabits a perspective from which we make observations and then we create the meaning, the "is" with which we explain those observations. "Model agnosticism" provides some breathing room, some space between the observation and the meaning-creation and can potentially reduce our territoriality and our fighting over the small mouth noises and ink squiggles we use to communicate the meanings we construct.
Unfortunately, there are several groups of people upon whom Wilson regularly heaps scorn throughout the book, undercutting to some degree the power of this book's thesis and reinforcing the same sense of territoriality that "quantum psychology" seeks to relax. For example, every snide comment about Catholicism (rather than about sombunall Catholics!), made me think of counter-examples in Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, the Rev. Jack Ditch, and others, and frankly it rankled a bit. That said, maybe RAW's apparent inconsistencies trigger my own sense of territoriality, and so the tingling means the book is working!
Many have noted this book's relationship to Prometheus Rising , one of his betters works of nonfiction. I plan to re-read this book again, as a whole this time, rather than in 23 small doses, and in tandem with Prometheus Rising to see if my overall estimation of this book changes.
August 5, 2011
Wilson might have gotten three stars instead of two if his arrogance and pettiness didn't make more than a token showing. Either he really didn't see how he was guilty of the same or worse absolute statements he pans from scientists, or he didn't care. Parts of this are lucid and thought-provoking - but not the parts he wants you to believe. A lot of nonsense interspersed with a little quantum mechanics, devolving into pseudoscience at the end. Too many logical fallacies, erroneous correlations, and outright snipes at people and groups he doesn't like for this text that is supposed to make you see things completely differently to be taken seriously. I made copious margin comments that I'll build into a full scale review as I researched some of his cites and name-drops. I am reading his Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy in parallel because it is supposed to be "the most scientific of science fiction" (It's not - by a LONG shot) and also his The New Inquisition, which was originally recommended. Unfortunately, while researching a lot found in this book, I found other references warning me that the book that is supposed to turn skepticism on its ear (The New Inquisition) is mostly a diatribe on the skeptics that either called out Wilson, or his pet interests, as well as a lengthy anecdotal and unsubstantiated tale of pseudo-science after pseudo-science.
Bottom line, this is nonsense with a little old school quantum mechanics. Don't waste your time unless your buy into post-modern mumbo-jumbo.
Bottom line, this is nonsense with a little old school quantum mechanics. Don't waste your time unless your buy into post-modern mumbo-jumbo.
August 24, 2011
I enjoy this book more than most. I'm not sure how to explain what this book "is". It seems to be a verb. For me, it serves as an exercise in removing nonsense from my thought process, and thinking about the universe in (what seems to me to be) a more sensible and logical way. It brings the lessons learned from the field of quantum physics into the realm of everyday experience, also incorporating elements of phenomenology, existentialism, and other philosophies to form a more lucid worldview (seemingly) free from assumptions, confusing contradictions, and meaningless thought-paradoxes.
For example, one of the practices outlined involves removing the word "is" from the english language, along with all its forms, "are", "was", "be", etc. Using this quantum language, called English Prime, forces you to focus on actual experience, revealing the roots of our assumptions. For example, instead of saying
"Osama Bin Laden is dead", you would have to say
"Most of the mainstream news sources in the United States and most representatives of the United States government claim that Osama Bin Laden has been killed, although I have not seen his body myself."
This seems much more realistic to me. Of course, it "is" very difficult to write in English Prime, and it "is" damn near impossible to speak it in everyday life, but if you train yourself to think it, it helps a great deal, or at least it has helped me. It results in a lot fewer arguments, for example if you're in an argument:
"That shirt is green!"
"No, dammit, the shirt is yellow!"
and you stop and think of English Prime, you can then re-formulate your statement:
"The shirt appears green to me."
"Oh. Well, the shirt looks yellow to me."
and the argument disappears.
Anyway, the point "is", I highly recommend this book.
For example, one of the practices outlined involves removing the word "is" from the english language, along with all its forms, "are", "was", "be", etc. Using this quantum language, called English Prime, forces you to focus on actual experience, revealing the roots of our assumptions. For example, instead of saying
"Osama Bin Laden is dead", you would have to say
"Most of the mainstream news sources in the United States and most representatives of the United States government claim that Osama Bin Laden has been killed, although I have not seen his body myself."
This seems much more realistic to me. Of course, it "is" very difficult to write in English Prime, and it "is" damn near impossible to speak it in everyday life, but if you train yourself to think it, it helps a great deal, or at least it has helped me. It results in a lot fewer arguments, for example if you're in an argument:
"That shirt is green!"
"No, dammit, the shirt is yellow!"
and you stop and think of English Prime, you can then re-formulate your statement:
"The shirt appears green to me."
"Oh. Well, the shirt looks yellow to me."
and the argument disappears.
Anyway, the point "is", I highly recommend this book.
May 11, 2017
I haven't been a big fan of the fiction based works of RAW. In my opinion, they seem to show a deep understanding of important things but bury it under a crazy story. There is also enough tangents including some that cause me to question the depth of RAW's knowledge (he sometimes rather negative for example).
This book was somewhat of a last ditch effort to try to understand RAW as he comes highly recommended and his nonfiction works, although frustrating for me to read, pointed to great depth.
This book was over my head and highlights that RAW was in most aspects way ahead of me.
Unlike his more popular books which veiled his knowledge in ways that I couldn't understand this book was straight forward. It was also a bit beyond me in terms of the physics involved (and even some of the language) but I think I got at least some of the main points. I gave up a hundred or two pages into the two fiction books I read, but didn't feel I understood at that point.
I think that my western overly ration mind might just have been better suited to this medium.
I probably will not revisit the Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy or The Illuminatus! Trilogy. However, I will try to get my hands on a couple of his other fiction books like Prometheus Rising.
This book was somewhat of a last ditch effort to try to understand RAW as he comes highly recommended and his nonfiction works, although frustrating for me to read, pointed to great depth.
This book was over my head and highlights that RAW was in most aspects way ahead of me.
Unlike his more popular books which veiled his knowledge in ways that I couldn't understand this book was straight forward. It was also a bit beyond me in terms of the physics involved (and even some of the language) but I think I got at least some of the main points. I gave up a hundred or two pages into the two fiction books I read, but didn't feel I understood at that point.
I think that my western overly ration mind might just have been better suited to this medium.
I probably will not revisit the Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy or The Illuminatus! Trilogy. However, I will try to get my hands on a couple of his other fiction books like Prometheus Rising.
June 18, 2013
Not being a huge fan of "absolutism", I found this a refreshing read. Nothing "is" as it appears to be, except on the personal level of perspective. There "are" things in common, but maliability seems to be the order of the day in our currently percieved address in spacetime. This can be changed as well, depending on your reality tunnel, as this book illustrates beautifully.
Another brilliant fusion of sciences, quantum theory, amounting to an almost magical interconnectivity to the universe. Avoiding the pitfalls of pure speculation, raw shows what can be "known" in this perspective of perspective itself, admitting that another model of the universe will arise after the presented one has been exhausted. And another after that.
Recommended.
Another brilliant fusion of sciences, quantum theory, amounting to an almost magical interconnectivity to the universe. Avoiding the pitfalls of pure speculation, raw shows what can be "known" in this perspective of perspective itself, admitting that another model of the universe will arise after the presented one has been exhausted. And another after that.
Recommended.
July 28, 2011
This is a great book lending understanding and basis of our societal conditioning and programming and how those confines and boundaries can limit our fundamental beliefs, wold view, universal constructs, thus from our language constraining us in understanding life and each other. By integrating quantum theory with our neurological brain patterns, Wilson deconstructs Aristotelian logic which places everything in concrete, binary thought (yes/no, black/white, et al) and compares and contrasts it by introducing general semantics that echoes the work of Einstein, Schroedinger, Heisenberg, Goedel, etc. By revealing the cracks in Aristotelian logic it opens one up to question with boldness as to get to the true heart of what it is we seek to understand.
September 29, 2016
RAW rarely disappoints and this is no exception. For the chaos magician, the Machiavellian, the psychologist, the therapist, the individual upon the left-hand path and damn near anyone who has an interest in defining, altering or creating their own reality -- RAW presents a guide as to how to do so. The implications for how we shape reality by the means in which we choose to view it, as well as the possible future development of the human consciousness is a textbook for self-deification. RAW avoids falling into solipsism, rather veering towards a well articulated discussion on the development of the mental circuits and their further potential beyond the limits of the physical body in an outstanding development of Timothy Leary's earlier work. This work is literally 'mind expanding'!
January 30, 2019
Another great attack on the conventional mode of thinking by RAW.
This book, sequel-like to 'Prometheus Rising', makes you think about and question everything you know (or think you know). It draws mainly from quantum mechanics, philosophy and transactional psychology and, combining all those fields, in great RAW fashion, shifts your paradigm (reality-tunnel) in remarkable ways.
If you take the time, and try to internalize everything you learn in this book, you will look at everything that has happened, happens, or will happen to you in a very different light. This book urges you to be a skeptic; to think for yourself; to not fall pray to faulty imprints, defective conditioning and third-rate learning.
Certainty is dead; embrace non-Aristotelian logic.
This book, sequel-like to 'Prometheus Rising', makes you think about and question everything you know (or think you know). It draws mainly from quantum mechanics, philosophy and transactional psychology and, combining all those fields, in great RAW fashion, shifts your paradigm (reality-tunnel) in remarkable ways.
If you take the time, and try to internalize everything you learn in this book, you will look at everything that has happened, happens, or will happen to you in a very different light. This book urges you to be a skeptic; to think for yourself; to not fall pray to faulty imprints, defective conditioning and third-rate learning.
Certainty is dead; embrace non-Aristotelian logic.
December 30, 2020
Along with Prometheus Rising, this “is” one of the most important books ever written. The twisted humor of Wilson attempts to make us understand how we paint the reality that we partake in everyday. Part workbook and part lecture, the book will make you stop multiple times each chapter to contemplate what you just read and how it may profoundly change your view of everything.
Read this book. Read Prometheus Rising first but then read this book. If we made it mandatory, the world might be a tad less angry with each other.
Read this book. Read Prometheus Rising first but then read this book. If we made it mandatory, the world might be a tad less angry with each other.
March 26, 2018
This is Prometheus Rising for groups.
While PR is thought to be a manual for the owner's brain, QP aims at group psychology. The exercises are all collective and so are the explanations.
There is nothing here that isn't on Prometheus Rising, though. Really reads like a magnified version of it, but honestly, slightly worse, since it's somewhat rehashed.
I recommend it only if you really want to get into the subject of consciousness reimprinting. Otherwise, no need to go further if you've read Prometheus Rising.
While PR is thought to be a manual for the owner's brain, QP aims at group psychology. The exercises are all collective and so are the explanations.
There is nothing here that isn't on Prometheus Rising, though. Really reads like a magnified version of it, but honestly, slightly worse, since it's somewhat rehashed.
I recommend it only if you really want to get into the subject of consciousness reimprinting. Otherwise, no need to go further if you've read Prometheus Rising.
December 18, 2012
Very very deep thoughts. Yet, the language is simple enough to make it a quick reading. Now, to digest it all will need some more time. The handy thought / discussion exercises help you tackle the profound realization that Wilson is trying to show you. Once you grasp it.... wow... You will never see the world in the same way again!
June 25, 2013
Read it twice. Hide it in your desk. Find it later, read it again. Then, just when you think you have it, hide it in the fridge for a few months. Don't question me, just do it. Change your worldview good.
March 5, 2008
Subjective relativity may be all we have left at the end of the day.
August 17, 2011
oh, robert anton wilson, i just can't quit you (even if your editors are piss poor at their jobs)
August 10, 2015
If you want to maintain what you think is your sanity don't READ IT :D
August 25, 2013
Studied rather than reading; The book is so full of definitions and history and it actually fulfilled all me needs in psychology in a rather simple funny way ! ... In short great and a funny book.
October 7, 2015
Fascinating, eclectic philosophical/scientific blend, with the strangeness of quantum mechanics as a focal point. Wilson has great insight. I learned a lot.
March 18, 2024
This books builds on prometheus rising and posits some really mind-bending ideas without backing them up, though. Still enjoyable
June 15, 2023
Brilliant book that digresses in academic research on occasion (but one can forgive an individual for reaching the same conclusions as another. We'll synthesise concurrent ideas into refined ones with time). The prose was sharp, witty, and as economic as possible (this is a rather succinct book for its content). Nonetheless, the formatting of this edition was atrocious, with non-justified text resulting in hanging letters and broken clauses. This isn't reflective of the work, however, which is as mind-whirling as this kind of book can get. For readers of Hofstadter, Rovelli, etc!
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The Introduction
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
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The Introduction
reeled me in with discussions of multi-verses, mind-body problem, and individuals with a predisposition towards synchronicity/placebo. Here, he suggests the phrase 'psychosomatic unity' as an alternative solution to the mind-body problem, with it operating like a 'spacetime continuum,' the divisions redundant. He then introduces 'The Law of Octaves' and the import of imprinting/conditioning/learning, before moving onto the 'knowledge doubling curve' and eventuality 'singularity' - most of this is known to me naturally; it's always reassuring to be told I'm not crazy. People like Wilson and Hofstadter (to speak nothing of the great philosophers) have made this life far more bearable.
Wilson then goes onto denote the concept of 'noise' in life - semantic, printed, psychomimetic, etc - instances where communication and connection is distorted; interference of perception.
Emic realities comprise the 'imagined realities' or 'social realities' that follow game theory rules, such as language games, communication, symbols, etc. Whereas the supposed 'etic reality' is the 'objective' singular reality most believe we live in. It's impossible to discuss, demonstrate an etic reality without using the emic reality. I feel this strongly.
Part I
1. Kafka 'Before the Law' parable and accompanying anecdote of a Zen Roshi and his beguiled disciple. Brilliant introduction to... A lot of things - Coppenhaganism, interpretation, futility, the veil, and even the impossibility of understanding an etic reality.
2. Deep reality, and how we cannot find one (which does not convey the same thing as 'there is no deep reality') in relativity to the Copenhagen interpretation of wave function collapse. Our nervous system operates as an instrumental sensor for reality, and obfuscates complete understanding. Makes me think of Metatron, the veil, and imagined realities. "A poet does not register the same spectrum as a banker," might be why I've spent a decade building my prism; a portfolio of paradigms to switch in-and-out of (with occasional distress). I likewise appreciate his deconstruction of 'meaninglessness' or 'noise.' What's amazing about Wilson's philosophy, so far, for me, is how it doesn't completely de-realise or de-stabilize for acceptance; on the contrary, it's rather liberating by way of limitation. But takes a lot of thought.
3. He opens by conferring that one would better learn neuroscience to understand quantum mechanics than basic physics, and I'm inclined to agree. Every page following is genius - how these perceptual gambles (Transactional Psychology) relate to Disinformation Systems, UFOs, Lepufology, and even Cryptozoology. I also appreciate his relaying of what a 'reality tunnel' comprises, though I assumed based on etymology. Fascinating stuff.
4. Briefly and (occasionally) succinctly delivers the idea of everything having deeper meanings depending on a point of view. Mental maps will always fail in certain areas unless they can map out every single aspect of the subject, and that's impossible, so we compartmentalize information. Likewise, our statements and symbols are only microcosmic abbreviations of the macrocosm that is reality and will never completely demonstrate true, chaotic, or nebulous meaning. I'm likely phrasing that poorly, but I understand what Wilson means.
5. This chapter concerns our having 'two heads' and touches on themes of self-referentiality and incompleteness, a'la Russel & Hofstadter (or my short story collection, Deliriums) in a way that makes me think of Zeno's paradoxes of motion.
6. How our tools of relative measurement (sensorium, nervous system, brain) are ordained by their own self-referentiality and therefore condemned to bias, or nicely: oriented/calibrated towards different ways of experiencing. This makes me wonder whether the influx and availability of art has altered the strange loop levels of contemporary human brains. This really amounts to: what appears self evident might not hold under scrutiny.
7. Concerns strange loops, infinite regression, and the applicability and viability of quantum psychology in day-to-day interaction. I particularly liked his dismantling of Aristotelian yes/no thinking into a more mathematic modus. I know sombunall of what he's discussed so far, but appreciate both the reaffirmation and his vocabulary and sources. Brilliant.
Part II
8. More or less builds on the previous concept of quantum logic - IE breaking the binary and recognising a continuum. "People ignore the quantum maybe because they have largely never heard of quantum logic or Transactional Psychology, but they also ignore it because traditional politics and religion have conditioned people for millenniums — and still train them today — to act with intolerance and premature certainty."
9. Concerns the 'Seven Forbidden Words' resulting from a causal spiral of self-referentiality wherein they're deemed indecent and then believed and supported as indecent by audiences that therein maintain the illusion of their indecency. Wheels within wheels. This is a metaphor for a lot more than seven naughty words, of course, but also political belief and identity persuasion.
10. Then he discusses how people act upon their interpretation of words (despite interpretation being governed by relativity and game language). For instance, the shooting of Rushdie, the Londonderry/Derry incident, and a circumstance involving a man overreacting to his dog being called a 'fussy mutt.'
11. Shortest yet, basically summarises how there is no equal to 'the universe' as everything comprised within it is, well, within it. Any abstraction, philosophy, religion, or concept, will be governed by being contained within the system it is trying to judge. It will be a neuro-ideology first and foremost, forever.
12."Because the snake's umwelt or reality-tunnel differs so fundamentally from mammalian reality tunnels, friendships between humans and snakes occur much less frequently than friendships between humans and mammals.
The belief that the human umwelt reveals "reality" or "deep reality" seems, in this perspective, as naive as the notion that a yardstick shows more "reality" than a voltmeter, or that "my religion 'is' better than your religion." Neurogenetic chauvinism has no more scientific justification than national or sexual chauvinisms," is pure goddamn genius. I'm learning quite a bit of trivia to help with projects down the line (while getting my head blown every few pages, as I'm sure he'd like to hear).
13. This lengthy chapter details E-Prime as a functional language, and I completely see the benefits. I've tried, throughout my life, to aim for that level of precision - but it's difficult to do that while permitting an un-obstructed stream of consciousness. "Even Aristotle, despite the abuse he has suffered in these pages, had enough common sense to point out, once, that "I see" always contains fallacy; we should say "I have seen." [...] Aristotle only noted that "I see" actually means "I have seen." Modern neuroscience reveals that "I see" (or "I perceive") actually means "I have made a bet." In the time between the arrival of signals at our eye or other receptor organ and the emergence of an image or idea in our brains, we have done a great deal of creative "artistic" work. We generally do that work so fast that we do not notice ourselves doing it. Thus, we forget the gamble in every perception and feel startled (or even annoyed) whenever we come up against evidence that others do not "see" what we "see.""
Part III
14. Concerns (though he doesn't list these people) the Rosenthal/Golem effect, performance anxiety, and self fulfilling prophecy, and how those symbiotic interactions can create a consequence via antecedent seeding (an ouroboros of causality, whereupon 'blame' is spiralled). Telling someone they are stupid can make them believe it can make them act it can make more people tell them they are stupid.
15. This part then follows on from that, discussing psychosomatic medications, placebos, and the self-fulfilling prophecy nature of them; and how these spontaneous remissions are hardly documented (as of 1900), despite their prevalence. There is also a huge amount of optimism required on behalf of the individual to overcome their malady. Ends with a brief introduction to metaprogramming.
16. How our supposed 'objective' (etic) realities are imposed upon by our imagined (emic) realities. How reality-tunnels differ across cultures, and how self-fulfilling prophecy can break from reason. Surety brings ruin.
17. The necessity of 'psychosomatic unity' is as necessary to the mind body division RE mental health, placebo, or existence, as 'spacetime' was to the dichotomy of space and time. Likewise, Neuropeptides operate both as hormones and neurotransmitters, acting somewhat like photons in quantum mechanics (waves and particles). "As O'Regan points out, op. cit., we now have reason to believe that almost all medical treatment throughout almost all history worked on placebo principles. In other words, modern biochemistry indicates that before the discovery of antibiotics, (i.e., before the 1930s) virtually all the medicines used by doctors had no actual effectiveness. The patients got better, when they did, because the doctors believed in their useless potions and the patients acquired the "faith" from the doctors.
This last paragraph has more than historical interest. According to the Office of Technology Assessment, only 20 percent of established medical procedure in the U.S. today has been validated in rigorous randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. 1 Thus, 80 percent of what our doctors do rests simply on precedent and high hopes. Since more than 20 percent of us survive American medicine, a great many placebo cures must still occur daily, as they did before the 1930s."
You are what you eat. Fake it till you make it. Be who you wanna be.
Part IV
18. How we all possess multiple personalities with their own intrinsic memory storage (I feel this emphatically but Wilson might be overapproximating others, or atleast their self-awareness, which isn't the same thing). He also discusses neophilia and neophilic imprinting within the Oral BioSurvival System of young age (quite like psychosexual development paired with Adorno ideas). The Anal Territorial System which is what it says on the tin and is expressed through dominance, in Wilson's eyes, among other things. The Semantic Time-Bending System is language and its interplay with spatiotemporal variables (and how we can learn this and even manipulate it, even subconsciously).
19."Every person lives in a different umwelt (emic reality) but every self within a person also lives in a different reality-tunnel.
The number of universes perceived by human beings does not equal the population of the planet, but several times the population of the planet. It thus appears some sort of miracle that we sometimes find it possible to communicate with each other at all, at all."
He ends the chapter by propounding the connection between EWG or Coppenhaganistic multi-verses and the psychological belief of a self comprised of an assortment of selves - all common sense in the 21st-century (if not someday, if pop culture indicates anything).
20. Touches on the 'Sim-Balls' and 'Careenium' (spelt wrong?) of Hofstadter's I Am a Strange Loop without realising it. Discusses nonlocal correlation (makes me think of all the advancements in the field the past three decades, Mirror Neurons, and a ton of other associated concepts. Ah, to speak with him...)
"So, then, alternatively, the photon doesn't leave the star 1,000,000 years ago "until" in a sense the result of our measurement today travels nonlocally in time "back" to the star and "adjusts" the photon to correlate with the other photon from the candle.
What did I just say?
Yes, we now have a backward-in-time causality, not necessarily as the literal truth in some Aristotelian sense, but as the only kind of model that makes sense in terms of the data we now have."
Amazed me. For as long as I can remember, 'I've felt other people see themselves as a bullet having been launched out of a gun, one day fated to crash into a wall; whereas I see myself and my life as a bullet re-assembling, ricocheting off a wall, and retreating backwards, gaining speed as it reaches the gun and slides into the chamber.' (message I sent to a friend weeks prior to reading this book.)
"We have found a strange footprint on the shores of the unknown. We have devised profound theories, one after another, to account for its origin. At last, we have succeeded in reconstructing the creature that made the footprint. And, lo! It is our own."
By far my favourite chapter. I can hardly put to words my feelings towards it. This also conforms in my eyes with the big bounce interpretation of the big bang.
21. My introduction to Wigner's Friend which serves account for the observer in Schrodinger's Equation. This, Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, and Von Neumann's Catastrophe of the Infinite Regress, are all entirely linked by their self-regressive paradox. Self-fulfilling programming can be a thing if we believe it to be a thing. "Non-Aristotelian logic deals with existential/operational probabilities. Aristotelian logic deals with certainties, and in the lack of certainties throughout most of life, Aristotelian logic subliminally programs us to invent fictitious certainties. That rush for fictitious certainties explains most of the Ideologies and damned near all the Religions on the planet, I think."
Part V
22. Bell correlation, nonlocal causality (of space AND time), and how to account for Hidden Variables within a 4th-Dimensional interpretation of space.
"If the computer and brain metaphors have not made the implicate order clear enough for the reader, try another model: a performance of Beethoven's Ninth has all the characteristics of hardware or the explicate order. You can locate it very precisely in space-time — at 9 p.m. on Tuesday at the Old Opera House, say — and if you get these space-time coordinates confused you will miss the performance.
But Beethoven's Ninth also has an implicate, enfolded existence as software, which does not exactly correspond to Dr. Bohm's implicate order but approximates to it. If every printed copy of the symphony could have a date and locale affixed — "We found this one in Lenny Bernstein's summer home on Sunday November 23," etc. — some aspect of the Ninth would still remain non-local because we can't say, exactly, how many heads contain all or part of it.
[...]
Bohm has avoided speculating about this parallel between his math and ancient Oriental mysticism, but others have not. Dr. Capra in The Tao of Physics uses a Bohmian non-local model of quantum theory as the "true" model (ignoring the physicists who prefer EWG or Copenhagenism) and then points out, quite correctly, that (if we accept this as "the only true quantum model") quantum theory says the same things Taoism has always said.
Indeed, Lao-Tse's famous paradox, "The largest is within the smallest" only begins to make sense to an Occidental after she or he has understood what non-local information means in modern physics.
Dr. Evan Harris Walker goes further. In a paper, "The Compleat Quantum Anthropologist" (American Anthropological Association, 1975) Dr. Walker — a physicist, not an anthropologist, by the way — develops a neo-Bohmian Hidden Variable model in which "consciousness" does not exist locally at all but only appears localized due to our errors of perception. In this model, our "minds" do not reside in our brains but non-locally permeate and/or transcend space-time entirely. Our brains, then, merely "tune in" this non-local consciousness (which now sounds even more like Huxley's "Mind At Large")."
23. And we end with a discussion on the future. The tampering with the Neurosomatic System and benefits therein, the Metaprogramming System (which I'm well aware of). "Metaprogramming will give us Higher Intelligence." The Morphogenetic System (again, well familiar with) "It will probably take a long, long time — maybe a quarter of a century (i.e., not until around 2015) before we learn the art and science of using the morphogenetic system for fun and profit. And the Non-Local Quantum System, discussed in the previous chapter.
At times, overwritten and unaware of things that had came before, but actually genius. I mourn not seeing Wilson write in the 2010s or 2020s - the leaps and bounds of mind he could have enacted had he access to the internet at its current state...
February 1, 2022
meu amigo
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