One more item: as a Fortean and a revisionist historian I often encounter "far-out" thinkers and propositions that run contrary to received opinion and for which I am sometimes accused of being crazy for seriously considering. This delightful quote, from the eminent physicist Niels Bohr, is very satisfying as a riposte:
"We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question that divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct."
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5 comments:
So, Michael, you´re a Fortean. Well that´s pretty hip. Unfortunately, for me personally, it utterly destroys your credibility in matters of Talmudic Judaism. What a pity. Up until now I was taking you very seriously in this matter.
I was a columnist for "Fortean Times" in the 1970s.
I am attracted to Charles Fort's epistemology in terms of the uses of measurement and how different standards of measurement are used to deny aspects of reality that do not fit a particular group's yardstick.
There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Anonymous, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
If, for instance, Mr. Hoffman said, "two plus two equals four" he would be correct -- and being a Fortean wouldn't alter or diminish the truth of that statement. Mr. Hoffman's credibility is in no way "destroyed" because of his affinity for Forteanism; even a cursory reading of Mr. Hoffman's output should be more than enough to convince you of that.
Mr. Hoffman's affinity for Fortean subjects is one of the reasons he's able to suss out so much research and analysis from so much noise.
If you just stick to your right wing shortwave radio, and your blogs that agree with every opinion you hold dear, you're not going to learn anything.
Hoffman has quite a few beliefs that I don't share, but he's one of the few people that treads his own path, sticks to his guns, and brings out connections and information I don't get elsewhere. Very difficult for those who want their information and pundits in neat little categories. Very Fortean. You might want to read Fort one day, Anonymous. If you've got a sense of humor, he'll make you laugh, and think.
Forteans tend to eschew the boundaries of left/right and forge their own paths towards whatever the truth is...in the best American tradition. As far as the validity of his info goes, why don't you read his book? It's pretty far out there, in a great way. Read the book and then we can argue about "credibility". I have various issues with the book, but cannot say that it's anything but the work of a brilliant man stating his well-researched case. Thank Heavens someone with a brain bothered to learn all that Hebrew. Like a lot of important works, it infuriates me at times, and opens my mind most of the time. Good books can do that. Do you have to share Tacitus' worldview to learn from him?
I don't subscribe to the theory that we all have to be alike to learn from each other. Hoffman is a true American original, and I am grateful for that -- they're rare these days, if you haven't noticed.
I'd love to see your Fortean Times columns one day, Mr. Hoffman. I still subscribe to FT...necessary reading, a lot of it -- rather like your books and blog. I imagine it was a bit less video-game and pop-culture oriented in your day.
-- Rizla
Some time around 1987 to 1989 I subscribed to Fortean magazines named Fate and Info. Michael, did you ever write for them?
I am glad to see you reassert your Fortean roots. I used to read much of Forteana in my youth and still read a little when I can. Years of studying math and science have not changed my belief that the world is stranger than we can imagine and will always surprise us. I am not alone in this. I knew other Physics students who were fascinated with cryptozoology and the weird side of America that is left out of history textbooks.
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