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Spaceship, issue 10, October 1950
Page 7
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It is obvious that Dianetics is not a total fraud; too much time has been given discussing it and experimenting with it for it to be a hoax. It is likewise obvious that it cannot possibly be alllit is said to be. I withhold my opinion until I've seen a dianetic demonstration. However, whatever the final case is, dianetics was the victim of a poorly-run introduction. Instead of careful scientific documentation before its public release, Dianetics was rushed full-blown into the world. The place chosen to introduce it was a fiction magazine--"Astounding SCIENCE FICTION." The advance ballyhoo was of such a nature that one reviewer (Rollo May, in the Times Book Review, August 6 1950) said, "When a reviewer opens a book and reads in the very first sentence, 'The creation of dianetics is a milestone for Man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his invention of the wheel and the arch,he doesn't know whether to laugh or to pinch himself to see if he is dreaming or to conclude he is reading a novel". Other reviewers shared this opinion, with the result that Dianetics is being received by the public as some sort of fantastic pipe-dream. Despite all its unfavorable publicity, the book is fifth on the Times' best-seller list and fourth in the Herald Tribune. --And it has remained in this lofty position all during the summer even though its price is comparatively high ($4.00) and it has not yet received a favorable newspaper review. The way it appears to this reader, Dianetics is a science which might be of some value in curing mental diseases, and will eventually achieve the same importance as psychoanalysis and others of its ilk. It is not, however, the earth-shaking discovery its sponsor claim it to be. And it is this claim of miracles which has probably cost Dianetics' chance for a fair scientific check... Had the dianeticians offered their science as a forward step in the science of the mind, and one which should bear careful examination, it probably would be gratefully received. Unfortunately, they persisisted in calling it the final stop in mental science, subject only to minor refinements. Now, should the science be proven anything less than what is claimed, its trustworthiness would be similarly lessened. As I said, I'll withhold my opinion for a while. I hope, however, that dianetics will fulfill its promises. It would truly be a discovery of major importance. Don't go overboard on it yet, though! Robert Silverberg 65
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It is obvious that Dianetics is not a total fraud; too much time has been given discussing it and experimenting with it for it to be a hoax. It is likewise obvious that it cannot possibly be alllit is said to be. I withhold my opinion until I've seen a dianetic demonstration. However, whatever the final case is, dianetics was the victim of a poorly-run introduction. Instead of careful scientific documentation before its public release, Dianetics was rushed full-blown into the world. The place chosen to introduce it was a fiction magazine--"Astounding SCIENCE FICTION." The advance ballyhoo was of such a nature that one reviewer (Rollo May, in the Times Book Review, August 6 1950) said, "When a reviewer opens a book and reads in the very first sentence, 'The creation of dianetics is a milestone for Man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his invention of the wheel and the arch,he doesn't know whether to laugh or to pinch himself to see if he is dreaming or to conclude he is reading a novel". Other reviewers shared this opinion, with the result that Dianetics is being received by the public as some sort of fantastic pipe-dream. Despite all its unfavorable publicity, the book is fifth on the Times' best-seller list and fourth in the Herald Tribune. --And it has remained in this lofty position all during the summer even though its price is comparatively high ($4.00) and it has not yet received a favorable newspaper review. The way it appears to this reader, Dianetics is a science which might be of some value in curing mental diseases, and will eventually achieve the same importance as psychoanalysis and others of its ilk. It is not, however, the earth-shaking discovery its sponsor claim it to be. And it is this claim of miracles which has probably cost Dianetics' chance for a fair scientific check... Had the dianeticians offered their science as a forward step in the science of the mind, and one which should bear careful examination, it probably would be gratefully received. Unfortunately, they persisisted in calling it the final stop in mental science, subject only to minor refinements. Now, should the science be proven anything less than what is claimed, its trustworthiness would be similarly lessened. As I said, I'll withhold my opinion for a while. I hope, however, that dianetics will fulfill its promises. It would truly be a discovery of major importance. Don't go overboard on it yet, though! Robert Silverberg 65
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