Is Robert Anton Wilson just the poor man's Pynchon? I've been thinking about reading him

I like his non-fiction better than his fiction in my admittedly pretty small experience of him. As points out, he has a lot of non-fiction, unlike Pynchon. His non-fiction seems really, really entertaining if you're interested in the stuff Robert Anton Wilson is. Cosmic Trigger and Prometheus Rising were both pretty good. No, I don't think he's a poor man's Pynchon; I actually think, despite the simpler way he presents his ideas and less engaging, less complex, less poetic prose style, he actually deals with a lot more ideas a lot more thoroughly. It's much more concerned, actually, with psychology and mysticism than with conspiratorial politics as Pynchon is.

Well you would excuse yourself that way, to save some sort of credibility in your own eyes, but I'm sorry it's not the correct answer.

>If you're interested in the stuff Robert Anton Wilson is
What stuff is that please, user?

It is.

In a word? Brain-washing. Oh shit, that might be two words. Is a hyphenated word one or two?
Agree to misagree, user.

>Brain-washing
Oh yeah, I tell everyone who asks that my main interest is "brain-washing".

OK? I'm not here to interview you, user.

Don't care, just pointing out your retardation.

Ah fuck off you old grouch!

I'm 22

Next year is your year then, user, I can tell!

Next year is your year to die, bitch. Give me your address.

It's 23 Bronx St, Bronx, NY. Wear a good suit and a pocket watch so I'll know it's you.

You're gonna be wearing a bullet, between your eyes.

As long as it doesn't pierce the skin that's fine.

youtube.com/watch?v=jAPLHeUHYj0

Thanks Doug!

No problem, slug.

It's hard to say in a few words. Basically, I could sum it up in the phrase "psychedelic (delic = delos = clear, manifest; psyche = the psyche) philosophy and psychology of self-change to gain greater self-awareness and greater open-mindedness." This sounds trite and New Age, but it's much more entertaining, in my experience, than it sounds. This user says "brain-washing", and he's right in a sense, except RAW is more interested in "de-brain-washing", or making us realize all the preconceptions we've been brainwashed by -- including even basic preconceptions we hold about such things as space and time. In another sense, you could also say he tries to take the malicious techniques modern governments and researchers have found can be used to brainwash people, and instead using them to gain greater self-awareness. In the process, he draws in stuff from mysticism from around the world (Sufism, Gnosticism, Eastern philosophies particularly like Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism), modern psychological discoveries, including those about brainwashing (as said), the usage of psychedelics, linguistics, sociology, the history of cults and their forms of brainwashing, etc.

Incidentally, he happened to be a very talented scholar on James Joyce, and has some of the most interesting and qualified stuff to say on Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. I think his reputation of a kook has prevented him from being given a better reputation for actually understanding and having a lot of interesting stuff to say about Finnegans Wake.

Actually, I could say it even quicker by saying he's interested in parapsychology, psychology, mysticism, and occultism.

Fuck, I always make multiple posts responding to myself to correct myself, which is annoying, but, anyway, I forgot to add that modern discoveries in physics, particularly quantum physics, are another important thing he brings in (to show us how our seemingly obvious and intuitive ideas of space and time are not correct, and all the philosophical and psychological implications of this as related to the above).

Yeah, sounds like a boring Pynchon wannabe in the same class as Tom Robbins.

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middle of the night bump