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Variant, v. 1, issue 3, September 1947
Page 10
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This tells its own story. We bragged of the PSFS as unique to our professor friend one night, and he mocked our chauvinism. He prefers to remain anonymous, due to his scholastic associations. THE SILLY QUESTIONAIRE I ha e[[?]] before me as I write, a sheaf of papers, partly legal size, partly letter size, entitled, as this article, Silly Questionaire. I have no doubt that the members of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society know more about this matter than I do. However, let me introduce myself, and present my problem. I am a friend of one of the editors of Variant, and she requested me to go through with my promise about this foolish business. She made out the questionaires, not I. They were given to me, with the demand to write an article about the Personality of the PSFS, or A Typical Member and His Traits. Perhaps I was drunk at the time, I do not remember, but that is enough introduction----here is the article. The first significant fact that comes to my attention is that I am told 30 of these things were mailed or handed out. Twenty-eight are in my hands. I am informed that one was mailed to a member in Los Angeles, and so may be delayed in returning. That leaves only one unaccounted for. This is significant, as it indicates a high degree of group feeling, tolerance for nonsense, and ability to cooperate. It is possible that the wording of the letter which accompanied the questionaire may have influenced this result, but I have not seen the letter, and cannot say. The second significant point I should like to notice is the fact that the completed questionaires, as a group, fall into two divisions. Abut four-fifths, of them are filled in completely, and suitably. The other fifth are missing an answer here and there. This fifth are more literal throughout. The third point which may be mentioned, before we go to the actual questions and their answers, is that most of them were filled out with legible pen-writing. Ten were filled out with pencil, more or less legible. One of these committed the insult of using a dull, smudgy red pencil. Most interesting to the author were those filled out with a typewriter. If it were not for the contents of these, I should state that the type of person who would fill out a nonsensical thing like this by typewriter is the type who would keep an itemized account of the expenses of his honeymoon. However, I am forced to realize that this is a sign of the years creeping up on me. The nature of the answers greatly broadened this viewpoint, as they include some of the wittiest and some of the most literal. In other words, the distirbution of traits within the smaller group is no different that within the larger. It is necessary and desirable, but inevitably somewhat boring to itemize the questions themselves, and discuss them individually. Let us get on with it. In as far as I can judge without knowing the individuals who filled them out, I would say that they told their true phobias in answer to the first question. These included spiders, and snakes, the Bible, people, and claustro, as well as fear of being a wall-flower. The second question was m ore revealing. Most denied having waked up screaming in recent years. Some said that they did it only when they slept, others said that they dared not do so, lest it break their lease, or disturb their neighbors. Someone reported that they woke up screaming in a minor key, a most provocative statement and one scarcely suitable for lengthy discussion here. (10)
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This tells its own story. We bragged of the PSFS as unique to our professor friend one night, and he mocked our chauvinism. He prefers to remain anonymous, due to his scholastic associations. THE SILLY QUESTIONAIRE I ha e[[?]] before me as I write, a sheaf of papers, partly legal size, partly letter size, entitled, as this article, Silly Questionaire. I have no doubt that the members of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society know more about this matter than I do. However, let me introduce myself, and present my problem. I am a friend of one of the editors of Variant, and she requested me to go through with my promise about this foolish business. She made out the questionaires, not I. They were given to me, with the demand to write an article about the Personality of the PSFS, or A Typical Member and His Traits. Perhaps I was drunk at the time, I do not remember, but that is enough introduction----here is the article. The first significant fact that comes to my attention is that I am told 30 of these things were mailed or handed out. Twenty-eight are in my hands. I am informed that one was mailed to a member in Los Angeles, and so may be delayed in returning. That leaves only one unaccounted for. This is significant, as it indicates a high degree of group feeling, tolerance for nonsense, and ability to cooperate. It is possible that the wording of the letter which accompanied the questionaire may have influenced this result, but I have not seen the letter, and cannot say. The second significant point I should like to notice is the fact that the completed questionaires, as a group, fall into two divisions. Abut four-fifths, of them are filled in completely, and suitably. The other fifth are missing an answer here and there. This fifth are more literal throughout. The third point which may be mentioned, before we go to the actual questions and their answers, is that most of them were filled out with legible pen-writing. Ten were filled out with pencil, more or less legible. One of these committed the insult of using a dull, smudgy red pencil. Most interesting to the author were those filled out with a typewriter. If it were not for the contents of these, I should state that the type of person who would fill out a nonsensical thing like this by typewriter is the type who would keep an itemized account of the expenses of his honeymoon. However, I am forced to realize that this is a sign of the years creeping up on me. The nature of the answers greatly broadened this viewpoint, as they include some of the wittiest and some of the most literal. In other words, the distirbution of traits within the smaller group is no different that within the larger. It is necessary and desirable, but inevitably somewhat boring to itemize the questions themselves, and discuss them individually. Let us get on with it. In as far as I can judge without knowing the individuals who filled them out, I would say that they told their true phobias in answer to the first question. These included spiders, and snakes, the Bible, people, and claustro, as well as fear of being a wall-flower. The second question was m ore revealing. Most denied having waked up screaming in recent years. Some said that they did it only when they slept, others said that they dared not do so, lest it break their lease, or disturb their neighbors. Someone reported that they woke up screaming in a minor key, a most provocative statement and one scarcely suitable for lengthy discussion here. (10)
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