[escepticos] Re: [escepticos] Más Connie Willis

["Claudio Pastrana" <clavius@...>]

Realmente una agradable sorpresa, aunque no se si debería decirlo, ya que no
he leído nada de ella.
Veamos que aparece por allí, en el link que enviaste.
Claudio Pastrana

"Lo más incomprensible del universo es que sea precisamente comprensible"
A. Einstein
Al Alcance de la Razón TM
http://www.geocities.com/escepticismo/
http://espanol.groups.yahoo.com/group/alalcancedelarazon
http://escepticismo.blogalia.com/  (no resistí la tentación)  ;-)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Adela" <torresad en bcc.orst.edu>
To: <escepticos en ccdis.dis.ulpgc.es>
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2002 4:41 PM
Subject: [escepticos] Más Connie Willis


> Transcribo, en inglés, algunos trozos de la entrevista que
> hacen a Connie Willis en la página donde está el fragmento
> de su libro. ¡Es de las nuestras! Sabía que lo era, pero no
> hasta qué punto lo era. Al loro, porque no se corta un pelo.
> Fijaos, fijaos:
>
> *****
> [...]
> Q: Has there been any reaction yet from the spiritualists
> and such that you poke fun at in the book?
>
> A: Not yet. If the book captures general public attention,
> that might be a problem. Bantam is trying very hard to
> market this as a crossover or mainstream book so who knows
> what the Mr. Mandrakes [a non-scientific researcher] of the
> world will think. I started out the book by reading all the
> near death experience (NDE) books and was appalled and angry
> with them because I feel they prey on people's wishes and
> their fears in a very callous way. I think the NDE
> phenomenon has a great deal in common with the old
> spiritualist movement -- the same idea of being in contact
> with people from beyond the grave and scientific proof of
> the afterlife. The spiritualists did the same thing, they
> preyed on people who were very vulnerable because they were
> grieving and sad and lonely and wanted to be in touch with
> their loved ones. I think this does a real disservice to
> them because death is just a huge and shattering experience,
> whether you believe in the afterlife or not. To reduce it to
> a touchy-feely, dumb, shallow, "everything-is-just-fine,
> fuzzy-and-warm, big-hug," kind of thing is reprehensible.
> It's a way of lying about death that in the end leaves
> people more alone and more vulnerable than they were before.
>
>
>
> Q: Are you tempted to become the Harry Houdini of the NDE
> movement?
>
> A: You know, if I were not a writer, I think that would be
> my career. If I had any dexterity -- which I clearly don't
> -- so that I could become a magician . . . I admire Houdini
> and the Amazing Randi tremendously. There is so much of a
> need for skepticism in the world. People will believe
> anything! It just drives me crazy! James Randi has sort of
> taken on Houdini's job now of debunking and he works very
> hard. He is basically the debunker for Uri Geller --
> although Johnny Carson also participated in that. I was so
> proud of Johnny Carson. You can't fool an old magician.
> Johnny Carson started out as a magician so when Uri Geller
> was on the "Tonight Show" he just totally saw right through
> Geller's tricks and announced it on the show. It was great!
> People are so gullible. Then you add the intensity of them
> wanting to believe -- [the afterlife] would be a very
> pleasant thing to believe in -- so these people get away
> with murder.
>
> [...]
>
> I'm also working on a UFO novel, a comedy set in Roswell.
> Nobody has done a comedy about Roswell, in fact, all the
> books about Roswell are very unfunny. It'll be set now, but
> with an explanation of what happened in '47 and explanations
> of all the UFO phenomenon. So I'm reading all that stuff
> which is almost worse than reading the near-death stuff,
> because people will believe anything! It's just so
> irritating that they just don't use simple logic skills to
> figure out that this is all a crock. My job is to be out
> there debunking like crazy. Because nobody is! I was telling
> my publisher what I really should do is a Whitley
> Strieber-kind of thing, go out and say, "Oh yes, I was
> abducted," and add a few details and everybody would just
> fall over themselves! As opposed to when you say, "No, no,
> no. There are no aliens in Roswell." No one will listen to
> you. But somebody ought to do it. I'm not constitutionally
> able to do the Whitley Strieber thing, so I will do the
> other, the Harry Houdini thing. Harry still has his fans.
> I'm a big fan.
> *****
>
> Morwen
> --
> Adela Torres
> OSU, Corvallis, OR
> USA
> http://daurmith.blogspot.com
>
>
>
>
>
>