Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk
Subject: vague
From: burns@latcs1.lat.oz.au (Jonathan Burns)
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 09:37:17 GMT
Organization: Comp Sci, La Trobe Uni, Australia

In article <1992Nov11.190414.13884@wam.umd.edu>  sheilah@wam.umd.edu
 (Sheila Herndon) writes:


> 	I'm having fun coming up with cyberpunk images. (using cyberpunk
> loosely anyway. give me a break. I don't care if it is not cyberpunk. my
> word. I"ll use it how I wanna. blah on you.)
> 	Anyway, cyberpunk psychoanalysis? just wondering how this would
> work.
> 	Make up these rules, no drugs, no prosethitic devices, just a crazy
> freudian, (or some other kinda crazy guy) living in your own private
> cyberpunk fantasy trying to function as some hapless character's analyst.
> 	-make him exageratted. okay? probably isn't a lotta docters
> who will claim psycho drugs are useless, (and by extension, if you
> want to pretend there are futuristic prosthetic hypothalmises (insert
> appropriate word here) - well, this guy doesn't approve.)
> 	make up some fun reason why he doesn't approve. (cf philip k dick -
> short story, the naturals and the anti-naturals (the other groups name
> escapes me) making laws over cosmetics. (not the point of the story but fun
> nontheless --- your pschoanalysis dissaproves of drugs or prosethetics because
> of his religion or aesthetics, idunno, maybe he's sadistic and wants to make
> 	           ^^^^^^^^^^
> you go through some sort of behavior treatment. (

Ooooh boy. I hate to admit this about reality as I perceive it,
but there are these people called Scientologists.

And they have this theory, which is basically Freud as understood by
Hollywood screenwriters of the '50s. And they have aesthetics coming
out their ears, sort of like Macdonalds. Or the Mickey Mouse Club.
And they have a graduated program of behaviour treatment, which costs
you more and more as you go along. 

And they are _very_ down on drugs, and have been fighting a running
skirmish with the rest of the mental health industry for lo these
thirty years. In fact, some people consider they have done substantial
good, just blowing the whistle on drug prescriptions in mental hospitals.
 

> 
> [ etc etc and so on ]
> 

> he's a wacko. anyway, Think of all his poor patients trying his snake oil
> treatments. one is sitting in bright light 2o hours a day. with feet in
> cold water, holding a hair dryer. Use your imagination. Investigate the guy, 
> he's probably doing something illegal or experimenting on his patients. 

That's them!!

> I like the eccentric old-fashioned freudian carryover idea better. won't
> use drugs wont' use machines. strict talk out. or maybe behavoir reinforcement.
> slightly funny juxtaposed in a hypefast psychiatrist's world.

Uh huh. Except it's not just one guy, it's a subculture unto itself,
and not entirely funny. 


> 		(actually, I'm more interested in evolutionary sociology. 
> sounds fun. Neat term. I just made it up. Will anyone tell me if it already
> exists? I could go look up a definition or something)

Maybe what they call sociobiology, if you mean Darwinism as applied to
innate behaviour. 


> I am always wrong. Don't believe me ever.
> stark raving sane  sheilah@wam.umd.edu

It's cool, I don't believe every word you say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jonathan Burns        |          Why be torturing me so?  I'm .....
burns@latcs1.lat.oz.au|  ( ( ( g - o - o - o - o - n - g - n - g ) ) )
Computer Science Dept |               !!! YUNGGAI !!! 
La Trobe University   |            ! Moonar Detective !     - Firesign Theatre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Organization: Sophomore, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA