Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson, 74; Illuminatus trilogy writer
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p class=”storybyline”>Robert Anton Wilson, a futurist, philosopher and coauthor of the Illuminatus trilogy, a cult science fiction series about a secret global society, died Jan. 11 at his home in Capitola, Calif. He was 74.
Wilson had post-polio syndrome, which had severely weakened his legs and led to a fall that left him bedridden for the last seven months, his daughter Christina Pearson said.
The author of 35 books, Wilson wrote about extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs and what he called quantum psychology. He explored outrageous ideas in a serious way and once described his writing as “intellectual comedy.”
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p class=”storybyline”>Wilson was one of those writers whose work I encountered in high school. Between his bizarre descriptions of the “world behind the world”, Hunter Thompson, and Jack Kerouac, you have one questioning, snotty teenager.
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p class=”storybyline”>And no, to all you wiseasses, nothing has changed but my age.