The Last of the Magicians: On Jack Parsons and JPL

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20 points·benbreen··5 comments

Neophilic interests often span areas that are taboos within (American) mainstream society. It seems to come with the territory of genius, but some are better at hiding it than others. Tesla's ether physics and Wilhelm Reich's orgone come to mind. From [1]:

(Eric S.) Raymond observes a high concentration of neophiles in or around what he calls "leading edge subcultures" such as science fiction fandom, neo-paganism, transhumanism, etc. as well as in or around nontraditional areas of thought such as fringe philosophy or the occult.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neophile

Yes, I always got the feeling that transhumanism and the singularity is today's flavour of this "fringe philosophy". Not with as much sex, though.

Oh totally. Transhumanism is older than civilization too. Humans have been trying to go beyond themselves ever since they started thinking about the concept of self, and augmentation with technology began with clothing, tattoos, and of course drugs. Modern transhumanist ideas are just a rehash of a very deeply ancient impulse.

Not the last.

Not even the latest.

Ridley Scott is producing a documentary on Jack Parsons. This... should be good. http://boingboing.net/2014/10/28/ridley-scott-to-produce-min...

I listen to a comedy podcast called "The Dollop" that's hosted by Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds. I'd recommend it to anyone who appreciates a bit of light-hearted reflection on some American History. In any case, they did a pretty great episode about Jack Parsons, but more from a "Who put this guy in charge of anything?" perspective;

http://thedollop.libsyn.com/jack-parson

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