I especially liked this bit:

" In any case, adding bound information [...] reduces the scheme to vacuity. Frieden pulls these terms from [out of the air], and they seem to have no independent significance whatsoever. They are simply whatever he needs to get the equation he wants at the end of the variational problem "

It's the same with Dick's work. It all sounds impressive, until you try to find justifications for the things he pulls out of the air, such as unknowable data and frequent appeals to the magical powers of the subconscious. In both cases, "I do this because it gives me what I want" seem to be the only real justification.