h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dear FT,

I have been to your homepage and find that . contratrary to what you think there has been a lot of sci fi writing and it comes from none other than a certain FT. I date from the days of Jules Verne - although I have laughed so much and enjoyed the works of DNA.

May I please put you on my list of friends?. I am afraid that the old circulation is beginning to dry up, and I find that my short term memory has a habit of slipping away very rapidly. |I only hope that it is nothing more dire. On the other hand I believe that sufferers of these feel no emotinal upheavals!! That would be a change - but again I have always felt that it is the doses of adrenaline that have fired me. !

Thank you for making me think - creatively!!






CME
AlsoRan80

And a big hootoo hello to you, AR80!

I took your first note to refer either to my 'Taking Stock' or, perhaps, to and entry or two that I have had accepted into the 'UnderGuide'.

Jules Verne was an original, and a master (even if he did criticize his contemporary H.G. Wells, also a master).

I understand why it made more sense, to Jules, to fire men from a canon, to reach the moon, instead of imagining a new substance (Cavorite) that cuts the field of gravity; but, to me, the control of gravity was inspired, and less likely to kill the occupants than an aluminium bullet.

Sci-Fi humour is an entirely different animal, imho. There may be many masters of the genre, over time, but I believe that DNA (and, perhaps, Pratchett) will forever be listed among them.

Certainly you may place me on your list of friends. And, I'm sorry to hear about the memory problems. One wonders if our brains or bodies were really meant to be fully functional the four-score years and more that has become so common.

I've been amazed, and pleased, to hear that research suggests one can maintain much of one's mental acuity by regularly learning new things, reading and writing, and other imagination based activities. It appears that stimulation is key.

It may yet be proven that Science Fiction is good for the brain!

Please feel free to enjoy anything that I have been a part of on this website. And, do let me know what creative things you've come up with!

Dear Fords Towel,

The Games are over. I am no longer a slave to the Box.

How is it that I didnot realise that Jules Verne was a contemporary of H.G. Wells? I thought the latter lived toward the end of the 20th century. Surely Jules Verne was before that. ? I really am going dotty. !

Creative - I think perhaps I should have used the word "energised". I have been given a wonderful commission to write about a certain aspect of my social research for a very prestigious journal. I just could not settle down to finish it, and I thought to myself.

"Well, I can and I will finish it.". After that I have a lot more writing to do.

So that is what I was thanking you for. !!

I shall now add you to my friends list as I am probably going to start forgetting who I am, let alone my friends. !!

CME
AlsoRan80

Dear CME:

Yep, although contemporary may be a bit misleading. The were of two different generations, but their lives and works did overlap.

Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905)
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946)

Jules was about 40 years older, and died about 40 years sooner, but they had about 40 years in common, too. Very interesting, that!

Congrats on the commission! If the memory is really that much of a problem, I'm presuming you will be working from dozens of notes cards, or the electronic equivalent, just to keep everything in and to help order your thoughts. At least, that's my technique.

You're right about the positive reinforcement of your statement. And, especially because you've now communicated your goal to others, you are much more likely to follow it through!

If you have no objections, I'd love to hear about what facet of 'social research' is your focus!

No way to forget me, I'm the terrycloth variety of friend! We travel well, stand up to abuse admirably, and come out light and fluffy when washed!

Dear Ford's Towel,

Sorry I have not replied. I have not been to my computer because I have had a lot of other things to do. Anyway, I must get down to it. I had a wonderful report on my blood test. The result was that my son and I went t0 a most wonderful new restaurant on the hill overlooking the channel and "la belle France" and had a meal which was out of this world. Equal, I am sure to anything that I have everhad in any other superb restaurant.

The editor of this Journal, asked me to write about why I had chosen to use phenomenology as my methodology for Research during the 70's when I was busily researching all the very difficult social situation, strikes, boycotts etc. etc. Unbeknown to me there is a Centre for Pehnomenological research at the Waleda(spelling) University in Tokyon= and apparently this Professor fror the University of Florida had seen that someone from south africa had done a lot of Research from the Phenomenolog9cal perspective - and that someone was me!!. As I had no idea that I had ever been recognised by anyone else except the organisations, groups for whom I had done the research this was a real thrill.

So I have had to explain why I did not choose to approach the prolems in South Africa from either an economic or a structuralist perspective. The reason is quite simple, I had just been studying Merleau Ponty's Phenomenlogy of Perception and it made such sense
to me that I decided to approach all my research from his methodology. I am very tempted to call it The Seduction of Phenomenology". It really is.. It is so incredibly "matter-of-fact" to approah social, economic and other reserach problems using his approach. ~Apparently Alfred Schutz, who was the first phenomenological sociologist was a pupil of Husserl. So I suppose there must be some system of logic in his method.

I will now get down to it as my study is being tidied up and the new computer being put of the correct desk and I am feeling up to the work. With the wonderful bill of health which I got yesterday the "world is my oyster" So I shall not be around much - but perhaps I can contact you when I need a bit of encouragement.

I love your desCription of the flannel - coming up all fluffy. that is what one needs.

With best wishes

CME Also Ran80

No worries. I know how life and work can drag you about.

Never be concerned about replying if it is, in the slightest, inconvenient.

I can see why you found the discipline of phenomenology so attractive to use. Avoiding empiricism and rationalism must be liberating.

I've had my own problems trying to join empiricism with rationalism. They have strangely worked to create a methodology that has helped to form my inferred perception of the universe.

I've felt that empiricism, like Newtonian physics, is to local to be an ultimate basis for a universe construct; and that rationalism, with its ego-centric self recognition, too closed off. Einstein, unfortunately, failed to create a unified field theory, and I'm still working on a unified time/space/perception theory. Tricky thing, trying to marry freedom of personal action with the possibility of fate.


What can a guy do when he spends 100% of his life above his shoulders and between his ears. I can't imagine trying to also experience perception from someone else's point of view!