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Western Star, issue 4, September 10, 1950
Page 4
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some quarters, he went out to collect evidence. He soon found that hundreds of people were quite willing to testify to having seen all manner of things. men with wings and khaki suits, little men with coxcombs where their hair should be; flying objects of every description (apparently a newspaper misinterpretation of his original story had led to the term "saucer" and thus set the form for subsequent visions) and any number of other apparitions. He stated, "Anything man can imagine is possible, because if it wasn't possible, man couldn't imagine it." His logic sounds a bit circular to us. He played recordings of a couple interviews which were interesting enough as folklore or anthropological data, but hardly worthy of consideration in their present form so far as scientific discussion of their plausibility was concerned. In addition there was some discussion of radar echoes (or angels) of undetermined origin. Interesting data, but not necessarily connected with saucers or any other such phenomenon. When he had finished someone in the audience managed to ingratiate Arnold into the main program of the convention. ON DIANETICS . . . . . . . Another sorespot of the convention was L. Ron Hubbard's new miracle mind cure. Dianetics, which Donald Day had once indicated would not be discussed from the floor of the convention. Actually it would have been quite impossible to keep down the one subject that is the hottest thing in fandom and a warm enough subject even in the mundane world. However, the manner in which the discussion was handled was definitely objectionable. Word had gone out that there would be a pro and con presentation and the room was packed with the regular delegates and over one hundred local dianeticists who showed the most remarkable distemper whenever anyone voiced disaproval of dianetic authority. The cult was out in full force and they barely recognized their position as guests of the NORWESCON. Half the people present claimed to have read the book. Your editor had previously complained that a speech made by L. Ron Hubbard on Dianetics was chiefly made up of wisecracks. Sunday night we were treated to two more lectures on the subject, both flippant, casual, filled with fancy claims, cute stories, and a paucity of proof. First Ackerman, who told of an original hostility to Dianetics based on a low estimation of Hubbard's own personality. He told of the early Van Vogt experiments in the "new therapy," as scepticism had gradually given way to faith. He had little to say that was in any way conclusive as evidence. When he had finished, breathless Sturgeon took up the cudgel, and announcing that he wasn't really sold on dianetics yet, he proceeded to lay down the line meanwhile throwing some interesting sidelights of Hubbard himself. When he had finished, there was less than a half hour left for any questions or opposition views. Both Ackerman and Sturgeon managed to be quite cagy about the "stickler" type questions giving only such answers as "A clear is not a god, merely a superman." One interesting revelation was that Hubbard, who claims to have been working on Dianetics for over a decade, spent a greater part of 1947-8 in Los Angeles practicing and preaching hypnotism. This seemed significant in the light of a charge made by one Portland delegate (a professional hypnotist) that Dianetics contained large elements of hypnotism. --- 5 ---
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some quarters, he went out to collect evidence. He soon found that hundreds of people were quite willing to testify to having seen all manner of things. men with wings and khaki suits, little men with coxcombs where their hair should be; flying objects of every description (apparently a newspaper misinterpretation of his original story had led to the term "saucer" and thus set the form for subsequent visions) and any number of other apparitions. He stated, "Anything man can imagine is possible, because if it wasn't possible, man couldn't imagine it." His logic sounds a bit circular to us. He played recordings of a couple interviews which were interesting enough as folklore or anthropological data, but hardly worthy of consideration in their present form so far as scientific discussion of their plausibility was concerned. In addition there was some discussion of radar echoes (or angels) of undetermined origin. Interesting data, but not necessarily connected with saucers or any other such phenomenon. When he had finished someone in the audience managed to ingratiate Arnold into the main program of the convention. ON DIANETICS . . . . . . . Another sorespot of the convention was L. Ron Hubbard's new miracle mind cure. Dianetics, which Donald Day had once indicated would not be discussed from the floor of the convention. Actually it would have been quite impossible to keep down the one subject that is the hottest thing in fandom and a warm enough subject even in the mundane world. However, the manner in which the discussion was handled was definitely objectionable. Word had gone out that there would be a pro and con presentation and the room was packed with the regular delegates and over one hundred local dianeticists who showed the most remarkable distemper whenever anyone voiced disaproval of dianetic authority. The cult was out in full force and they barely recognized their position as guests of the NORWESCON. Half the people present claimed to have read the book. Your editor had previously complained that a speech made by L. Ron Hubbard on Dianetics was chiefly made up of wisecracks. Sunday night we were treated to two more lectures on the subject, both flippant, casual, filled with fancy claims, cute stories, and a paucity of proof. First Ackerman, who told of an original hostility to Dianetics based on a low estimation of Hubbard's own personality. He told of the early Van Vogt experiments in the "new therapy," as scepticism had gradually given way to faith. He had little to say that was in any way conclusive as evidence. When he had finished, breathless Sturgeon took up the cudgel, and announcing that he wasn't really sold on dianetics yet, he proceeded to lay down the line meanwhile throwing some interesting sidelights of Hubbard himself. When he had finished, there was less than a half hour left for any questions or opposition views. Both Ackerman and Sturgeon managed to be quite cagy about the "stickler" type questions giving only such answers as "A clear is not a god, merely a superman." One interesting revelation was that Hubbard, who claims to have been working on Dianetics for over a decade, spent a greater part of 1947-8 in Los Angeles practicing and preaching hypnotism. This seemed significant in the light of a charge made by one Portland delegate (a professional hypnotist) that Dianetics contained large elements of hypnotism. --- 5 ---
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