No Subject

[dsr@abraxas.cs.virginia.edu]

Last night i was reading the fall 1988 issue of the Skeptical Inquirer,
in which Martin Gardner gives an update on the nonsense of orgone energy
(which he treated in his book Fads and Fallacies in the early 1950's).
Well he reminded me that cloudbusting was one of the related boondoggles,
and the apparatus is the same as the ornate version on the Kate EP cover.

I have been a Kate fan for at least 8 years, but do not read this group
(for the same reason most people avoid idolaters) so if this has been
discussed, i apologize. (any responses by mail, please)

Orgone energy and Reich (sp?) is the purest kind of pseudo-science;
there is no component of real science at all.   It is completely
worthless and artless - anyone could invent something more
believable at the drop of a hat.
That it has received celebrity endorsements is, of course, pointless.
So why the song??
Does Kate believe it all?  You sure cannot tell be reading the lyrics.
(Why would someone write lyrics about a topic 99% of the listeners could
not possibly know of and then fail to inform the remaining 1% of any
outlook at all??) 
If she does believe it then my respect for her critical faculties 
drops right off the scale. 
If she does not believe it then she should have at least hinted that 
Reich was a outrageous crank.
It is a no win situation.

On a related point,  i have great respect for Frank Zappa's outlooks
and music.  However his recent views on AIDS (being a CIA conspiracy)
shows a profound ignorance of epidemiology, as well as a touch of
paranoia. It does not appear to be tongue-in-cheek.

dana