"From immemorial time, and in all races, there has been current, especially
among minds more receptive and thoughtful than the average run, an intuition
persistent and ever-enduring, that there exists somewhere a body of sublime
teaching or doctrine which can be had by those who qualify to receive it by
becoming worthy depositaries of it. These intimations have frequently found
lodgment in legend and myth, and thus have become enshrined or crystallized
in the different religious and philosophical records of the human race.
There is probably no single group of religious and philosophical works which
does not contain some more or less clear record, given either in open
statement or by vague hint, of the existence of this wisdom-teaching. It is
one of the most interesting of literary pursuits to trace out and assemble
together these scattered and usually imperfect records, found everywhere;
and by juxtaposition to discover in them distinct and easily verifiable
proof that they are indeed but fragments of an archaic wisdom common to the
human race. The literary historian, the mythologer, the anthropologist, all
know of the existence of these scattered fragments of archaic thought, but
being utterly unable to make anything coherently sensible of them, they are
usually falsely ascribed to the inventive genius of so-called primitive man
weaving myths and legendary tales about natural phenomena which had occurred
and which, because of the fear and awe their appearance had aroused, were
thought to be the workings of gods and genii, godlings and demons, some
friendly and some inimical to man."
-------Original Message-------
From: Harry Porter
Date: 1/4/2011 11:16:17 AM
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vpFREE] Re: Best Randomness Analogy Contest
Frank wrote:
> The belief that "everything happens for a reason" is a primary
> grief mechanism for humans after tragedy. Removing it can cause
> severe depression and even suicide. Psychologists never challenge
> this belief in depressed patients without first putting into place
> other psychological defense mechanisms to replace it.
>
> I was unaware of that when I wrote the first draft of my book.
> Since I did not grow up with these beliefs, I had no way of knowing
> how their removal could effect the psyche. Here's what happened:
>
> One of my test readers who didn't believe in randomness attempted
> suicide after getting halfway through the original chapter 2 of my
> book. After her recovery she told me that she could not continue
> reading my book because she was afraid that I was right and, if so,
> there was no point to her life. She stated to me in no uncertain
> terms that it was reading my description of randomness that
> prompted her to attempt suicide.
>
> As you can imagine, this isn't the sort of thing I want as
> publicity, even if my only crime was explaining something really
> well. I hope you appreciate that stating it here could cost me
> sales. Even though I haven't taken the Hippocratic oath, I live by
> it.
>
> After this experience I took 2 years away from writing to study
> relevant aspects of psychology, then rewrote chapter 2 to make it
> less confrontational. This substantial delay is one of the reasons
> it took me nine years to finish my book.
>
> The test reader who had this issue was also an addicted
> non-professional gambler. Those types of people do not normally buy
> and read books on gambling. It was only because I hired her as a
> paid test reader that this situation arose. I did not expect to
> find people with even slightly similar beliefs here, since I
> thought vpFREE was exclusively for advantage players.
>
> The doubt you have placed in my mind that someone similar might be
> on vpFREE has necessitated that I cancel the contest and strongly
> discourage any further discussion that could potentially be harmful
> to people. This sort of thing is best left to certified
> psychologists.
>
> I'm sorry I brought it up. It is frustrating to know something so
> completely and have people disagree with you. But this has ceased
> to be about proving who is right and who is wrong, but is now about
> doing no harm.
>
> I cannot in good conscience continue posting in this thread, and I
> encourage no one else to as well. Let's just let sleeping dogs lie.
>
> Think of it like this - if a belief is responsible for making
> someone happy and getting them through their day, does it really
> matter if it's true or not? It's effect on them is good, and that's
> enough.
Frank,
The intensity of your sensitivities certainly appear to vie in strength with
my own ... no small feat. But are you sure it's not sufficient to preface
each related post with some type of advisory or, say, surgeon general's
warning?
Seriously, I don't know the facts obviously, but I'm inclined to believe
that no matter how dark the underlying message of your chapter might be to
some, in this case this individual was prime for a gentle push of some type
.. say, another "9/11" in the news, or finding that her morning's cereal
milk had gone sour.
I'm not really being flippant here at all. In truth, I write this as a
lifelong depression sufferer (bipolar illness, to be precise).
I simply find it ironic that someone who has taken it upon himself to advise
others that there's no meaning to be found in random patterns would infer
such strong casualty to what you wrote and her action.
Ok, I can get that were I personally connected with the incident you
describe that my attitude might be "once bitten, twice shy". But the basic
message re random patterns is very pertinent to adept vp play and bears
airing. (Again, I don't know just how deeply you delved into it's
implications re life at large ... I'd have steered clear of that message, in
the same manner prudent people avoid topics of politics and religion when
addressing general audiences.)
What immediately comes to mind are the "hot and cold" machine adherents.
(That, indeed, is a small ball of wax that is a microcosm for a larger slice
of life philosophy.) Typically, there's nothing that can be said to sway the
perception once it becomes a fixed notion, for the holder's very own
experience has borne the concept out (in their own mind, at least ... hell,
on occasion, shades of this fixation temporarily take root in my own head).
But I'm always hopeful.
One can readily argue that the "hot and cold" notion does no real harm. If
someone switches to another equivalent machine, they should be no worse off.
But I've known people who've been prompted to switch to poorer paytables, or
stop playing despite strong play circumstances, motivated by a sense that
the machine they had been playing had gone "cold". Plus, I've periodically
witnessed people engage in behavior which directly adversely affected others
(in some cases merely a matter of distraction, in others by making good
machines unavailable for use while held in reserve, waiting for them to
warm up").
So, to sum things up, Frank, I don't think it's a topic to be treated as
untouchable; just one that needs to be handled with care. I've no doubt that
you have the temperament for that.
- H.
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