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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!bu-cs!bzs
From: bzs@bu-cs.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: net.news.group,net.origins,net.sci,net.misc,net.philosophy,net.physics,net.followup
Subject: Re: A home for discussions on the esoteric, the occult, etc.
Message-ID: <639@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 19-May-86 11:15:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.639
Posted: Mon May 19 11:15:22 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 23-May-86 05:43:33 EDT
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 37
Xref: watmath net.news.group:5621 net.origins:3124 net.sci:900 net.misc:9655 net.philosophy:5396 net.physics:4349 net.followup:6371


I'd be glad to see net.psi or whatever have a home. I would just
like to comment that from what I have seen in net.sci etc on the topic
notes like Michael Ellis':

>    Would you expose your Science fearing, calculator wielding progeny
>    to the influence of mystics, psychokineticists, 60's burnouts, 
>    astral geometers, Seth enthusiasts, Santa Cruz metaphysicians,
>    Bohmian holists, and psychotronic vibrationists? Of course not!

Are typical of what has been seen, contentless rhetoric that's hard
to take seriously.

Has it ever occurred to some of the PSI folks that you've been derided
not because the readers are unreasonable but because most of the notes
you present to the audience constitute completely incompetent drivel
and most of us have seen far better on the subject that we have disagreed
with (or agreed with?) Presuming oppression or parochialism is such
a comfortable and puerile position to create for yourself (Hey, look MA!
we're misunderstood! We *must* be right!)

I for one am sympathetic to PSI, I just think a discussion of even the
most minimal quality has yet to get started, as far as I can see all we
get is a bunch of defensive psycho-babble with a few laced together
buzzwords all of a distinctly adolescent bent (like the above quote.)

I've spent years speaking with people and reading about subjects like
Crowley, the Kabbala (I was raised by "Kabbalists"), PSI etc, nah, I
haven't seen anything yet on these lists worthy of discussion, the quality
is zip.

You has met the enemy...and it is youse...

	-Barry Shein, Boston University

Lorre: You know Rick, sometimes I think you don't like me
Bogey: If I ever thought about you I probably wouldn't