A tiny question.

[Hartwin Alfred Gebhardt]

> On Fri, 29 Dec 1995, jonathan shainin wondered if the Von Braun quote
> at the start of GR might be fictional.

I came across it years ago, long before I discovered Pynchon - so I'm 
pretty sure it's historical (will check.). The quote is nonsense of 
course - arguing from the first law of thermodynamics to some sort of 
transcendence of self or survival of the 'soul' or some such 
metaphysical whatnot whatnot is a typical example of a scientist trying 
to do philosophy, and failing miserably (vBraun is in good company, 
though, others who should not have tried are Newton, Einstein and Hawking).

Here is the von Braun quote:
     Nature does not know extinction, only transformation. Everything 
     science has taught me, and continues to teach me, strengthens my 
     belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death (GR, 1).

hg
hag at iafrica.com