From: joechip@hardy.u.washington.edu (Erich Vandenloos)
Subject: Re: MINDWALK - An exercise in Passionate Thought
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 08:35:56 GMT

So you say you want to start a discussion thread, eh? Well you may be in for
more than you bargained for. I accidently saw that benighted film (being
unaware that it was associated with that crank, Capra), and it was just like
the stupid book of his I couldn't bring myself to finish. Here's why I 
loathe and despise Capra and everything he stands for:

1. He is an enemy of science, the Enlightenment in general, and hence by
extension the enemy of all mankind. He accuses science of being a tool
for the evil exploiters, of being too "male" (an insult according to him 
and his cronies I guess), of blinding us to our connection with one another,
turning us all into robots (ooops, I guess that's Marcuse. Well they're
pretty similar.) He is an apologist for superstition, the cheapest
kinds of mysticism and political ideas which, if put into practice, would
bring about the end of human society as we know it.

2. If that weren't enough, he tries to use science itself to support his
views. He exploits quantum physics and modern mathematics, stripping it
of its real interest and content in order to turn it into some kind of
pseudo-Eastern mysticism. He is not alone in this. The next time I hear
something along the lines of "The Uncertainty Principle/Goedel's Incomplete-
ness Theorem/insert hapless theorem or result here proves that everything
is all interconnected and we've all got to become vegetarians, get rid of
the government, stop being so linear and just feel!" I'm going to VOMIT!!
Worse, he apparently used to be some sort of physicist...too many drugs I
guess.

3. He is also a damnable liar, quite willing to lie about his betters, and
eager to mislead his audience into thinking that what physicists do all
day is sit around thinking deep thoughts about how interconnected 
everything is, and how we've all got to give up physics anyway so we won't
have to build icky bombs. But of course physicists don't work that way,
as Capra knows full well, which is probably why he gave up physics. 
Physicists work hard. Capra just rakes in the bucks.

4. He is a money grubbing pig, so far as I can tell doing all this stuff
to squeeze money out of the scientifically illiterate. Maybe this isn't
true. Maybe he's stupid. Six of one, half a dozen of the other; he's
still doing irreparable harm to the minds of people who are (admirably)
interested in science and philosophy but aren't savvy enough to find the
right books.

5. But let's be fair. He is useful in this respect. He allows any half-
educated layabout to think he's the intellectual equivalent of a Bohr 
or a Gell-Mann just by reading a cheap little book, or even seeing a 
shabby, manipulative little movie. This allows for endless displays of
pseudo-erudition at parties, many of which have been inflicted on me. This
also has the effect of making my tongue bleed from biting it all the time
so I won't seem mean. Well now, I'll be mean. To hell with Fritjof Capra
and all his works!

Putting the screws to Mother Earth,

Erich Vandenloos
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.meta