Fwd: M & D. Beetles

[Mark Kohut]

Speaking of Beetles....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-19th-century-best-selling-horror-novel-that-isnt-dracula/2015/02/11/fbdbad48-ae20-11e4-9c91-e9d2f9fde644_story.html?wprss=rss_books


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 12, 2015 at 6:12 AM
Subject: M & D. Beetles
To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>


p. 74 "And if Beetles be your Passion, why, the Beetle Variety there!
Fair stupefies one."

As J.B.S. Haldane [1892--1964],  is supposed to have said, "God must
have an inordinate fondness for beetles, because He made so many of
them".

Haldane, polymath, "cleverest man I've ever known", famous for much,
wrote DAEDALUS; OR SCIENCE AND THE FUTURE (1924, online) which was
remarkable for predicting many scientific advances but has been
criticized for presenting a too idealistic view of scientific
progress. --Wikipedia
His discourse in that essay on ectogenesis was an influence on BRAVE
NEW WORLD which features an eugenic society. He was accused with
others
of 'scientism' by C.S. Lewis--
To Max Weber (and others), scientism relates to 'the cultural
rationalization of the modern West". --IBID.
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l