GRGR(5) - Slothrop, the New World

[Jeremy Osner]

David Morris wrote:

> Trying to make sense of any relation between Pointsman's two obsessions:
>
> 1.  The V-1/V-2 explosion & sound symmetry.
> 2.  A possible conditioned hard-on response from a loud sound stimulus.
>
> The two (#1 & #2 above) are apples and oranges: a Pavlovian correlation does
> not exist.  The explosion/sound sequence of the V_1/V-2 is NOT relatable to
> sound experience/hard-on response because BOTH rockets produce sound.

This is my understanding of Pointsman's reasoning:

* Slothrop was conditioned to develop a hard-on in response to "a loud noise
preceded by an ominous build-up" (p. 86).
* He was then deconditioned (let us assume) beyond the zero.
* The sequence is now temporally reversed: he develops a hard-on, then there is
a loud noise (V-2 explosion), then there is an ominous build-up (sound of V-2
approaching). This had not happened before because there was no technology to
produce a loud noise followed by an ominous build-up.

Granted this track of reasoning is not particularly scientific; but Pointsman is
obsessed.