Tim,

I think Dick says a lot of things that make you wonder. Abrasive as he is, he does often make you see old things from new perspectives. That said, he can be quite confusing at times, and I found that taking his ideas too seriously only leads to confusion. Look at this sentence, for instance:

I am myself fairly sure that the actual number of possible explanations [...] is probably infinite."

What kind of nonsense is that? That is like saing he's sure it will probably rain tomorrow.

I have often argued with him that he must get rid of statements like that, because they make his ideas impossible to understand. His bad manners can be easily overlooked; he's not nearly as obnoxious as his writing implies, he's actually a very friendly and humble person. It's the nonsense in his writing that creates insurmountable difficulties.

Of course he thinks otherwise, which is part of the nonsense itself. I haven't found a way to make his nonsense obvious to him as it is to anyone else. I don't know why. I can think of explanations as to why Alan or Mike can't spot their own nonsense, but in Dick's case it really baffles me.

• lol - sagefr0g - December 6, 2003 - 09:38 UTC