GRGR(5) Pavlov and Pynchon

[Paul Mackin]

Some may ask why Pavlov who although a brilliant physiologist went badly
awry after 1930 in his psychiatric studies was chosen by Pynchon for so
prominent a place in the book. Well there are probably a number of answers
but my favorite would be that P actually saw old Ivan Petrovich's folly as
a model for his own (P's) writing style. The Russian it is commonly
conceded went wrong in adopting such neural concepts as induction and
irradiation as valid for higher mental activity. P latched onto to this
same 'mistake' with a vengeance in applying the thermodynamic law of
entropy to developments in  society. And isn't this exactly the type of
thing P carries through on pretty much  throughout his ourve? Taking a
lower level scientific principle and applying in his own inimitable way 
to what's going on at the human level of the novel. What Pavlov did (or
did not do) scientifically Pynchon does playfully and artistically.

			P.