Prometheus Rising
by Robert Anton Wilson, Israel Regardie, Richard Rasa · first published 1983
73% recommend24% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Framework for seeing how beliefs and reality tunnels shape perception, with exercises to question your assumptions. An accessible starting point into Wilson's work for readers curious about mind and worldview.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Prometheus Rising is a book by Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1983. It is a guide book of "how to get from here to there", an amalgam of Timothy Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness, Gurdjieff's self-observation exercises, Alfred Korzybski's general semantics, Aleister Crowley's magical theorems, Sociobiology, Yoga, relativity, and quantum mechanics, amongst other approaches to understanding the world around us, and claiming to be a short book (under 300 pages) about how the human mind works and how to get the most use from one. Wilson describes it as an "owner's manual for the hum
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Probably Robert Anton Wilson’s Cosmic Trigger or Prometheus Rising back in 2010. The “reality tunnel” concept has defined much of my personal and intellectual exploration of the past 10 years. “ When we meet somebody whose separate tunnel-reality is obviously far different…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗Good reading to become a mature (ie not just childish) anti-authoritarian: "Prometheus Rising" by Robert Anton Wilson and "No more Mr Nice Guy" by Robert Glover. I would also throw in "King, Warrior, Magician, Lover" by Robert Moore, and maybe an occasional dose of LessWrong.com (helps to know…
on “Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill” ↗Most books by Bob Wilson, particularly Prometheus Rising, which set off a world of self-discovery when I picked it up first in high school. Nowadays, on weird books or ideas, I’d say: * The technique of Focusing by Eugene Gendlin * Shinzen Young’s writing…
on “Ask HN: Which book or course gave you an unfair advantage?” ↗Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson - http://www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Rising-Robert-Anton-Wilson/... A proposition offered by Wilson on the nature of the human mind - "Whatever the Thinker thinks, the Prover proves."…
on “Ask HN: What books to read on developing mental models and increasing cognition?” ↗"Prometheus Rising" by Robert Anton Wilson. This is the book that tied together lot of things that I was wondering about previously and it opened up few doors into new mazes of research that I'm still trying to traverse.…
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗…desirable. No one should recommend ceremonial magic and occult study, in my opinion. Anyone who 'should' be going down the rabbit hole can't be dissuaded. But if you must, start with something like Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson. Don't just pull out the Goetia and start summoning demons. Reality may or may not be mutable, but our perception of it certainly is. Would you really pick that as a first experiment?
on “How to summon and sell your soul to Satan and other devils” ↗I'm reluctant to even mention it, but I'll bite. :-) I found the first half of "Prometheus Rising" by Robert Anton Wilson to be incredibly useful for understanding human dynamics -- I use the framework presented there every day. The core of this is in my opinion just a very straightforward computer-focused…
on “Ask HN: Books that impacted your work that few other people seem to care about?” ↗Seriously Robert Anton Wilson's books changed the way I look at the world. I started with "Prometheus Rising" and followed that with "Quantum Psychology." Honestly the two best books I've ever read (Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is close).
on “English-Prime - English without "is"” ↗…goals (separate columns), link them up (passions to goals to competencies), and pursue / iterate until fruition. Without further information, I'm not sure what I can offer, but I hope it is helpful :) Prometheus Rising http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561840564/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... Is a great mind-hacking novel to expand your views of reality, what many would identify with "aha" moments, and, many would cite (in sections)…
on “Ask HN: Is it worth staying in college?” ↗Reading tip for you: Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson. Especially the part about the first 4 primitive circuits of the mind which govern survival, dominance, sex, stuff like that. War is very centered on Circuit II: dominance, emotions…
on “Youporn.com is now a 100% Redis Site” ↗…https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/956297.Trance_Formations https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/155981.Psycho_Cybernetic... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208926.With_Winning_in_M... (But really, read "Prometheus Rising" by R. A. Wilson and do the exercises.)
on “Hacking the Brain” ↗…the ideas in this one). It discusses how the thinking mind gets in the way of true excellence. I started reading it largely to consider how I was keeping myself from entering into meditative jhana. * Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson. While certainly filled with some questionable ideas, this absolutely broke my neat model of objective reality into tiny little pieces in high school. It set off a journey of…
on “Some popular self help books” ↗…the key author's name. I don't know if he is who you had in mind, but Robert Anton Wilson -- who was one of the writers on the Illuminatus! trilogy -- has at least two non-fiction books on it. One is Prometheus Rising, the other is Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You and Your World. They are both a series of essays with exercises at the end of each chapter. If I remember correctly, Quantum Psychology…
on “Facebook ads told me to become a certified cryptozoologist, so I did” ↗- What the Dormouse Said, John Markoff - Alongside Night, J Neil Schulman, - Prometheus Rising, Robert Anton Wilson - Anything by Doug Rushkoff, Get Back in the Box is a good one for business/entrepreneurship - The Dubliners, James Joyce - The Elements of Typographic Style, by Robert Bringhurst
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗Make sure to read up on Robert Anton Wilson, the guy who defined it as such. His books are especially enlightening. Prometheus Rising and Quantum Psychology are my favorites. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson
on “Semmelweis reflex” ↗