Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Mac on the 23 Phenomenon


"It's intriguing how common 23 is among UFO sighting reports. (Reading Jacques Vallee's landmark "Anatomy of a Phenomenon," I was actually startled by the apparent correspondences, although Vallee seems not to have noticed.) One idea I've played with is that we're seeing a form of "compression artifact" that undermines the informational structure of spacetime. If so, who did the compressing? Do we live in a vast computer simulation?

Maybe unraveling the 23 Enigma is a way to alert -- or even communicate with -- the intelligence responsible for creating the universe; they/it might be interested in our deductive prowess . . . or maybe just looking for company."

- Mac Tonnies, PHB post 2/9/07


There are several doors available whereby people enter the paranormal field. Mac came into it via his interest in ufology. I entered by the back door via my interest in the occult and my role as an artist. The third way might be via an interest in the ramifications of quantum mechanics and the psyche, i.e., the presence of ghosts and mediumistic experiences, and the meaning of synchronicity.

For the rest of the week, I'll be exploring the relationship between the three "doors", for there is no better way of defining the paranormal. I think Mac Tonnies was more aware than most that the real science of the paranormal lay at the crux - the place where the various disciplines meet. He was in good company. Coming up, one of his influences, Robert Anton Wilson.

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