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Plenum, issue 2, July 1946
Page 10
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PLENUM Page ten ered here, is whether this can be generalized to include of a certain type of person. That is, you can name any number of people to whom "nothing happened" when you consider them in retrospect, but can you define a class of individuals to whom nothing will happen according to your "ethical equations?" That, maybe, is assuming that the army operates according to uniform rules, which, ghu knows, it doesn't, since your entire career may depend upon a notation made by a Classification Clerk in your second day in the army, which, in turn, may depend upon the nature of that particular clerk. Still, we have here the basis for an interesting statistical research the object of which would be to correlate the "type" of individual with his ultimate experience in the army. Is that back cover directed at me, bud? A TALE OF THE EVANS: Charlie Tanner's concept of the "sixth stage of matter" is similar to Stapleton's "twentieth man" in "Last and First Men." It must be emphasized that these various stages of matter are actually stages of structure in matter. (Egad, I'm beginning to write like Korzybski.) The same electrons, protons., make up inanimate molecules as well as protozoa and metazoa. The manner in which they are organized has become more and more complex. Whether this will continue in the direction indicated is sheer speculation....... The TIMEBINDER: Methinks (and this is based upon much observation) that often a man's "success" is not so much dependent upon his intrinsic ability as upon his character-type. For a while I was unhappy that I was an enlisted man instead of a commissioned officer until I found that a great number of very fine men had never been officers, and indeed cared not to become officers. It's the extroverted, pushing type who gets ahead in matters of wordly success. For instance many geniuses remain ordinary professors, while the business-man type becomes the Dean or College President. The easy-going man is at a disadvantage in the competetive world. The feeling of being an "almost man" is symptomatic of having higher standards than one is able to attain. Lots of people are that way. Re Algis Budrys: Scribble all the words you will about optimists and pessimists, the reality is events as they actually happen. Atomic energy is here. To state that atomic energy is "ahead" of a group called "pessimists," but is not "ahead" of another group called "doers" does not pay attention to the facts as they exist. To identify the optimists as "doers" and the pessimists as, presumably, "non-doers" is a classification which does not correspond to reality. The Atomic Scientists who have done the most to obtain proper control measures for atomic energy (by the education of congress) are the ones who fear most the improper use of atomic energy. (Urey says: I am a frightened man.) Many "pessimists" are the ones who are doing most, since they have that stimulus driving them to
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PLENUM Page ten ered here, is whether this can be generalized to include of a certain type of person. That is, you can name any number of people to whom "nothing happened" when you consider them in retrospect, but can you define a class of individuals to whom nothing will happen according to your "ethical equations?" That, maybe, is assuming that the army operates according to uniform rules, which, ghu knows, it doesn't, since your entire career may depend upon a notation made by a Classification Clerk in your second day in the army, which, in turn, may depend upon the nature of that particular clerk. Still, we have here the basis for an interesting statistical research the object of which would be to correlate the "type" of individual with his ultimate experience in the army. Is that back cover directed at me, bud? A TALE OF THE EVANS: Charlie Tanner's concept of the "sixth stage of matter" is similar to Stapleton's "twentieth man" in "Last and First Men." It must be emphasized that these various stages of matter are actually stages of structure in matter. (Egad, I'm beginning to write like Korzybski.) The same electrons, protons., make up inanimate molecules as well as protozoa and metazoa. The manner in which they are organized has become more and more complex. Whether this will continue in the direction indicated is sheer speculation....... The TIMEBINDER: Methinks (and this is based upon much observation) that often a man's "success" is not so much dependent upon his intrinsic ability as upon his character-type. For a while I was unhappy that I was an enlisted man instead of a commissioned officer until I found that a great number of very fine men had never been officers, and indeed cared not to become officers. It's the extroverted, pushing type who gets ahead in matters of wordly success. For instance many geniuses remain ordinary professors, while the business-man type becomes the Dean or College President. The easy-going man is at a disadvantage in the competetive world. The feeling of being an "almost man" is symptomatic of having higher standards than one is able to attain. Lots of people are that way. Re Algis Budrys: Scribble all the words you will about optimists and pessimists, the reality is events as they actually happen. Atomic energy is here. To state that atomic energy is "ahead" of a group called "pessimists," but is not "ahead" of another group called "doers" does not pay attention to the facts as they exist. To identify the optimists as "doers" and the pessimists as, presumably, "non-doers" is a classification which does not correspond to reality. The Atomic Scientists who have done the most to obtain proper control measures for atomic energy (by the education of congress) are the ones who fear most the improper use of atomic energy. (Urey says: I am a frightened man.) Many "pessimists" are the ones who are doing most, since they have that stimulus driving them to
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