[UA] Random thought thing.

[Doug Stalker]

Bailey Watts wrote:

>
> And most people even if they like the idea of consipiracy theory don't want
> to get bogged down in the particulars.

I recommend Robert Anton Wilson's "Everything Is Under Control : Conspiracies,
Cults, and Cover-Ups"

It is a very broad, very shallow look at conspiracies.  Excellent for use as a
roleplaying source, and lots of fun to read.  It is less about real
conspiracies, and more about what people think about conspiracies.

> Most folks think reading a coherent
> conspiracy theory is a lot like reading a thick encyclopedia written by a
> nut.  The loony factor is the only appeal and unless you are obsessive it
> gets tedious after a while.

A strange real world incident:

Several years ago, a friend and I were aboutto cross a road at University (UNSW
in Sydney) when am old guy in a pickup truck pulled up and handed up a large
stack of paper, before saying someting incoherent and driving off.  The paper
was a lot of pamplets consisting of poor quality photocopies that seemed to
"explain" how the author had created cold fusion and there was a large
conspiracy trying to cover it up.  It included news clipings (some of which had
nothing to do with anything else as far as I could tell)  annotated by the
author, details of how the process worked written in extremly bad english (I was
able to make out most of teh spelling mistakes, but this guy has a unique way of
combining words together.  "White light to optical pumping laser maser" is one
sentence I can remember) as well as rejection letters from a number of
companies.  (My favorite being "Although we appriciate your offer, Sydney
electricity has no experience n the field of cold fusion")

To be perfectly honest I'm not even sure if what he was claiming to have
invented was cold fusion - it was rather hard to tell.  He was pretty clear on
the conspiracy to cover it up though.

I think I still have a copy around somewhere - I'll try to find it and type it
up/scan it in for the UA archives.


I also know someone who invented a prototype propellentless engine that used
microwave radiaton and a wave guide to provide forward momentum - so if all goes
well I'll be able to tell my grandchildren not only did I know the inventor of
teh space-drive, but that I cut my toe on his first prototype because the %#&@
idiot left it in the middle of the common room at college.  (It included a lot
of sharp edges and the insides of a microwave oven - without any shielding)


 - Doug



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