Robert Anton Wilson R.I.P.
This morning at 4:50 AM PST, a man whose writings probably kept me from doing away with myself died at his apartment in Santa Cruz, California. He was 74 years old.
Robert Anton Wilson survived polio in his childhood through therapy that was ridiculed by the AMA. This may have turned his head about what is and what is not possible, and not to believe the lies of those who have the most power.
At a very low ebb in my life, I read his indictment of the culture of scientism, The New Inquisition, and realized (as many others did from reading his books) that “reality” is not what it seems. Wilson examined dogmas and encouraged everyone to inquire about issues that were important to them, and to make up their own minds instead of having it spoon-fed. When I finally met him in person about seven years later, he signed my copy of Inquisition and left a one word comment on the title page: “DOUBT.”
It was from Wilson that I first discovered the story of outsider scientist and psychologist Wilhelm Reich. Through him I also learned about the little-known book Space-Time Transients and Unusual Events, an examination of paranormal phenomena that offered the theory that UFOs, falls of frogs, ghost lights and the like are part of a pattern that is endemic to the planet, and possibly not “unusual” at all.
He founded a pseudo-secret society with the catchy name “The Committee For The Surrealist Investigation Of Claims Of The Normal.” His friends included Greg Hill and Kerry Thornley, founders of the religion-disguised-as-a-joke, Discordianism, and used their non-sequitur rallying cry “Fnord” as a sort of zen koan in his writings. The SubGenius movement (basically an updated elaboration of Discordianism) looked to him as a spiritual godfather figure, and he happily joined in the fun.
Many of you will know him from the Illuminatus trilogy of books he wrote with Robert Shea, in which he tied together the JFK assassination, the Masons, the CIA, and the Discordians (among many others) in a worldwide, centuries-old conspiracy that had many believing that he was himself one of the secret chiefs telling the truth disguised as a humorous work of fiction. I’m not sure if he wasn’t. I had the good fortune to meet him at least four times, and he was gracious and generous to me, even when he had no idea who I was.
It is a very sad day for me, but perhaps this event will turn some of you on to Wilson’s work, and like others who have pointed the way and went on, he will have never died.
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Jan 11 2007 
January 11th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I’m not sad. It comes to us all. He did it his way, as Sinatra sang/said. I would feel sad if he had squandered his genius as had Kerouac. But he lived a full life, as full as I hope our lives turn out.
One of Bob’s most important lessons was stressing the importance of forgiveness. Very Buddhist, yes. And exceedingly wise. I don’t think I need to explain why.
January 11th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
I’m sad because I won’t get to talk to him again. I know that’s selfish, but dammit. The acceptance phase will kick in in a few days, right after denial.
January 12th, 2007 at 12:34 am
R.A.W. was a modern Zen master using expedient means to awaken us. near the time of his death i was having an emotional dream in which i comforted a dying stranger. now i know it wasn’t a stranger at all. i’ll miss his wise laughter.
January 12th, 2007 at 7:10 am
If sadness was just a matter of conscious will, I would not be sad for all the reasons Adam and RAW himself give. T’ain’t that way, though. Even though we’ve been expecting this for many months, I had to take time off so that people wouldn’t think I was sobbing over the immense paperwork the university piles on me daily. That kind of thing comes in waves. At home, I clicked on RAW’s web site and let it load while I went in to the kitchen. I forgot about it as I got involved with making a sandwich (remember: enjoy every one of those! — wz) when after a while I started hearing the sound of uillean pipes. I thought it was an ice cream vendor on the street at first, but when I tracked it back to the laptop in the living room, I realized it was the site, playing “Danny Boy.”
I swear to you, friends, I am tough as nails and as insensitive a lout as is allowed by law, but that corny little moment brought on torrent of tears that would shame a drunken Irishman.
Well, I got better. At night I went with friend to a place near where I had a moment with RAW that made it in to one of his books and in an interview that he did for one of Disinfo’s documentaries. That’s a story for another time, though. I’m still pretty damn sad but I know that in time I’m really going to enjoy remembering RAW.
Take that last note, for instance: he died on a binary date (01/11)?! How f’ing funny is that? Did he write that? How could he write that, he died. Also, do we have an ash launching to look forward to?
January 12th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Greg/Kenn/Adam:
All very emotive words and far better than I could express it. He’ll be missed, but never forgotten.
January 12th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
RA Wilson’s Illuminauti Trilogy was a favorite amongst my friends who were in the 82nd Airborne in Desert Storm in 1990. A well worn paperback copy has gone through at least a dozen readers who’re currently in the military that I’m aware of. If anyone can properly appreciate the surrealistic nature of Wilson’s work, it’s the American military man who served in the Middle East in the last 17 years.
Hail, Eris. Carlos in Austin,Tx
January 12th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I first met RAW in the late 1980s. There were just a few people at his talk in Austin, TX. Everyone was too busy partying, I think. It was listening to RAW that night that gave me the courage to break out of that scene, move to the West Coast, and start spending quality time researching conspiracy, quantum physics, and the paranormal.
When I saw him again in the late 1990s, RAW wowed the crowd at a UFO conference. Even though he was surrounded by the leading lights of ufology, he commanded the stage during the debate, simply by his breadth of knowledge…not to mention his tremendous wit.
In listening to Adam’s RAW marathon today, Bob answered one of my biggest personal mysteries, having to do with what the Mothman showed me (if that’s the right phrase for it). Bob said “I am alive in this universe, yet dead in another.” This solved the dilemma I have been pondering for years. I am blown away by this. As Peter Moon said, there is something about those Wilsons. I would never have understood much of anything without Bob. You can experience something unusual, but until you have a good conceptual understanding of it, you don’t have the whole picture. Bob provided that picture. God bless him.
January 12th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Perhaps I wasn’t sad because I knew what a struggle the last year had been for RAW. It was a sense of relief I felt when I heard the news. Who knows, I might start blubbering right after I send this off.
I’m going to Ireland in March. My first Guiness will be for RAW. (And perhaps my second and third!)
January 14th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
I never knew Wilson, but certainly knew OF him, and knew his work and ideas. A truly original thinker, and a profound and perceptive one. Never a less-than-innovative thought in the man’s head. The man in the flesh will be missed, but the thoughts, ideas, and concepts imparted will go on and on…and more’s the better for it.
January 16th, 2007 at 4:45 am
The world has lost one of it’s few remaining truly original thinkers. Very few out there can fill shoes like his. His work had a profound impact on how I view the world…I am greatly saddened by knowing that the inevitable has staunched the flow of his words. I’m sure he is still around…somewhere…he’s just not here…and this world is the lesser for the loss.