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Cosmic Trigger #2
Down to Earth
While this, the second volume of the Cosmic Trigger trilogy, continues along the path set by the original Cosmic Trigger I: Final Secret of the Illuminati, it also stands solidly on its own. Any reader with an open mind and a sense of humor cannot help but be entertained and enlightened while following Wilson's explorations into such subjects as the future of cyberspace; the peculiarities of Irish jurisprudence; links among the Mafia, the CIA and the Catholic Church; anal-eroticism in The White House; the Dog Castrator of Palm Springs; and many more observations from his infinitely fertile brain.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
35 people are currently reading
1101 people want to read
About the author
Robert Anton Wilson
137books1,668followersRobert Anton Wilson was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson helped publicize Discordianism through his writings and interviews. In 1999 he described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". Wilson's goal was "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything."
In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs, and what Wilson called "quantum psychology".
Following a career in journalism and as an editor, notably for Playboy, Wilson emerged as a major countercultural figure in the mid-1970s, comparable to one of his coauthors, Timothy Leary, as well as Terence McKenna.
In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs, and what Wilson called "quantum psychology".
Following a career in journalism and as an editor, notably for Playboy, Wilson emerged as a major countercultural figure in the mid-1970s, comparable to one of his coauthors, Timothy Leary, as well as Terence McKenna.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
November 3, 2014
This may be heresy, but I think I enjoyed CT2 slightly more than the first one. Like the title suggests, the sequel is indeed more down to earth and discusses RAW's childhood, his college years, his years in Ireland - essentially, many of his other life experiences that were more grounded than the famous way out stuff he recounts in CT1.
Crucially, I think I'd recommend CT2 more readily to the average reader than CT1 because it covers more universal themes that don't push the skepticism too hard while still managing to get you thinking deeply about your life and the world around you.
When I first picked up CT2 and flicked through it, I thought the short chapters and era-jumping would be annoying but it actually makes for a very readable and unified whole, helping the reader see how all these different meditations on reality apply to every stage in our life.
Ultimately, whatever RAW book you read, his ever-present themes of optimism in the future and not taking belief systems seriously are always a wonderful pleasure to drink in.
Crucially, I think I'd recommend CT2 more readily to the average reader than CT1 because it covers more universal themes that don't push the skepticism too hard while still managing to get you thinking deeply about your life and the world around you.
When I first picked up CT2 and flicked through it, I thought the short chapters and era-jumping would be annoying but it actually makes for a very readable and unified whole, helping the reader see how all these different meditations on reality apply to every stage in our life.
Ultimately, whatever RAW book you read, his ever-present themes of optimism in the future and not taking belief systems seriously are always a wonderful pleasure to drink in.
December 30, 2010
Cosmic Trigger II: Down to Earth is the second book in the Cosmic Trigger trilogy, an autobiographical and philosophical work by Robert Anton Wilson. The book is broken down into ninety-four short chapters that focus on conspiracies, a cultural history of the Irish, the potential future in cyberspace, political injustices, his upbringing in the Catholic Church and more. The main themes of the book are presented in a nonlinear fashion; most of the chapters do not lead directly into each other.
Unsurprisingly, Wilson writes this book with a lot of humor, although it is usually a dark humor that attempts to throw the reader a logistical curveball. Wilson was a proponent of listening to everything and believing nothing, so he tends to contradict himself multiple times in this book as he puts forth multiple perspectives on each issue. However, it is always interesting to ponder which of his crazy ideas makes the most sense.
I really enjoyed the autobiographical nature of this book, because it is the deepest insight into Wilson’s mind that I have read thus far. He works in a bunch of other topics of interest, but the honesty of his personal life was my favorite part. He writes of his early religious education with the “sadistic� nuns at Catholic school, his atheistic standpoint as an engineering student and his development of “model agnosticism� that shows up in the majority of his works. The understanding that I have obtained about “model agnosticism� is that Wilson thought that we should never have unshakable beliefs about anything.
Wilson also brings up the exponential growth of global information quite a few times in this book. This is an area of interest for those who have read Terence McKenna, because McKenna believed that information would continue to double at faster and faster rates until December 21, 2012, when the last sets of doubling would occur every nanosecond. This is his Timewave Zero hypothesis, and is worth researching if you are interested in this concept.
Next to The Illuminatus! Trilogy, this book has become one of my favorite Robert Anton Wilson works. It is a great improvement over the first volume in the Cosmic Trigger Trilogy.
5/5 Stars. 288 pages. Published 1991.
Unsurprisingly, Wilson writes this book with a lot of humor, although it is usually a dark humor that attempts to throw the reader a logistical curveball. Wilson was a proponent of listening to everything and believing nothing, so he tends to contradict himself multiple times in this book as he puts forth multiple perspectives on each issue. However, it is always interesting to ponder which of his crazy ideas makes the most sense.
I really enjoyed the autobiographical nature of this book, because it is the deepest insight into Wilson’s mind that I have read thus far. He works in a bunch of other topics of interest, but the honesty of his personal life was my favorite part. He writes of his early religious education with the “sadistic� nuns at Catholic school, his atheistic standpoint as an engineering student and his development of “model agnosticism� that shows up in the majority of his works. The understanding that I have obtained about “model agnosticism� is that Wilson thought that we should never have unshakable beliefs about anything.
Wilson also brings up the exponential growth of global information quite a few times in this book. This is an area of interest for those who have read Terence McKenna, because McKenna believed that information would continue to double at faster and faster rates until December 21, 2012, when the last sets of doubling would occur every nanosecond. This is his Timewave Zero hypothesis, and is worth researching if you are interested in this concept.
Next to The Illuminatus! Trilogy, this book has become one of my favorite Robert Anton Wilson works. It is a great improvement over the first volume in the Cosmic Trigger Trilogy.
5/5 Stars. 288 pages. Published 1991.
April 3, 2008
I read the first Cosmic Trigger a bit over a decade ago, and was wary of reading the second part, which RAW wrote in the late 80s. The narrative is largely autobiographical (like the first Cosmic Trigger) but the chronology is spliced up, i.e., one chapter is from 1955, the next from 1989, the next from 1967, etc. RAW does this to perhaps emphasis the multiplicity of possibly views and to reposition events and ideas for the weird synergy that re-contextualization brings. This method was probably influenced both by Joyce's multi-narrative Ulysses and the scatter-brained nature of modern A.D.D.-fraught, technologically enhanced life. Oh, and drugs.
RAW is the most consistently intriguing and entertaining philosopher (or Pop Philosopher if you are being narrowly academic) of the last 50 years. His scope of interests and knowledge is honestly inspiring, and much like the first Cosmic Trigger (and the other RAW books I've read) you come away from it changed - whether slightly (if, like me, you were moderately versed in RAW's thought), or hugely changed (if this was your first experience) but changed in your perspective of the world, undeniably and irrevocably. Hail Eris, indeed.
RAW is the most consistently intriguing and entertaining philosopher (or Pop Philosopher if you are being narrowly academic) of the last 50 years. His scope of interests and knowledge is honestly inspiring, and much like the first Cosmic Trigger (and the other RAW books I've read) you come away from it changed - whether slightly (if, like me, you were moderately versed in RAW's thought), or hugely changed (if this was your first experience) but changed in your perspective of the world, undeniably and irrevocably. Hail Eris, indeed.
December 12, 2008
There's a way that Wilson talks about magic, reality, truth, beauty that turns me on like no one else.
February 10, 2022
I have read Prometheus Rising, Cosmic #1, and now Cosmic #2. This book is worth the price of admission, anecdotal though it is.
The first Cosmic Trigger is so outlandish, that this is a welcome reprieve. I try to verify the big statements of RA Wilson--in CT1 the scientific studies are mostly now debunked--but CT2's conspiracies, mysteries, and American History have all come out mostly spot-on. Which, 30 years after the last publishing of this book, says a lot about how RA Wilson could see clearly in some ways. He picked the right things to write about here.
CT2 has a short style definitely modeled after Vonnegut, and Wilson works it pretty well. He can't always sum it up with some snarky shrug of a statement, but his intellectual use of sarcasm is charming, rather than bitter or pessimistic.
This is a good read, and even for people 0% familiar with Wilson or the occult/new age school of thought, I would consider starting them here.
The first Cosmic Trigger is so outlandish, that this is a welcome reprieve. I try to verify the big statements of RA Wilson--in CT1 the scientific studies are mostly now debunked--but CT2's conspiracies, mysteries, and American History have all come out mostly spot-on. Which, 30 years after the last publishing of this book, says a lot about how RA Wilson could see clearly in some ways. He picked the right things to write about here.
CT2 has a short style definitely modeled after Vonnegut, and Wilson works it pretty well. He can't always sum it up with some snarky shrug of a statement, but his intellectual use of sarcasm is charming, rather than bitter or pessimistic.
This is a good read, and even for people 0% familiar with Wilson or the occult/new age school of thought, I would consider starting them here.
October 29, 2023
My guy really snuck an expose of the Knights of Malta and the Vatican into his autobiography.
Absolutely loved it. I really feel I know more about him and more about life.
"Language and hypnosis form the foundation on which humans create worlds of consciousness and of fantasy"
Just brilliant.
Absolutely loved it. I really feel I know more about him and more about life.
"Language and hypnosis form the foundation on which humans create worlds of consciousness and of fantasy"
Just brilliant.
April 2, 2023
Three and a half stars, really. Not as impactful or psychedelic as the first—RAW choose the subtitle “Down to Earth� with great intention—the second volume of the Cosmic Trigger trilogy interweaves more personal autobiography (fascinating), a history of information (fascinating), a grisly true crime story set in Ireland (interesting), and more mundane political conspiracy theory (not terribly impressive made mass so by presenting it as fact, or let’s just say, more than fanciful speculation).
That said, RAW is incredibly readable (and Oliver Senton is incredibly listen-able) and this book was very enjoyable and challenges how one interacts with the world and how our priors influence that interaction—and recognizing that is huge.
That said, RAW is incredibly readable (and Oliver Senton is incredibly listen-able) and this book was very enjoyable and challenges how one interacts with the world and how our priors influence that interaction—and recognizing that is huge.
June 18, 2020
Excellent
As per the subtitle, more down to earth. An open and honest account of a life very well lived. A great writer, intellectual, political activist, libertarian (in the original meaning of the term), and much else. Some of his enthusiasms may have been a bit over the top but then that’s all part of his immense appeal. This book gives you some insight into what drove him. And into some of his loves and hates. Loves. Intelligence, curiosity, compassion, fairness. Hates. Oppression, ignorance, hate, idiocy. And if he really did think he was in telepathic communication with beings from Sirius. Well, whatever. Think of it as a metaphor for ...
As per the subtitle, more down to earth. An open and honest account of a life very well lived. A great writer, intellectual, political activist, libertarian (in the original meaning of the term), and much else. Some of his enthusiasms may have been a bit over the top but then that’s all part of his immense appeal. This book gives you some insight into what drove him. And into some of his loves and hates. Loves. Intelligence, curiosity, compassion, fairness. Hates. Oppression, ignorance, hate, idiocy. And if he really did think he was in telepathic communication with beings from Sirius. Well, whatever. Think of it as a metaphor for ...
October 9, 2008
This trilogy is like every other RAW book. Great.
Read
January 3, 2010Philosophy,Religion,Science
January 8, 2010
My favorite of the Cosmic Trigger Trillogy. While still mystic and thought provoking it spoke in a more defined way than Cosmic Trigger 1.
August 2, 2011
it's more fun than learning a foreign language.
September 12, 2016
read this in 91 when it first came out and it was pretty good but not as good as the first one.
July 14, 2012
R.A.W. always reminds me how to dance amid the Chaos.
November 14, 2012
Brain explosion.
Read
December 20, 2012As any of RAW's books a great read...
September 26, 2022
I love Wilson. This is part two of his biography/semantic debate/open thought process. Inspiring and powerful as ever. His thought process and humor always get me thinking.
March 27, 2015
The book is interesting once you get about halfway in, but feels very fragmented and scatter brained compared to Vol 1.
June 25, 2015
Robert Anton Wilson. One of my favorite authors.
"On a planet that increasingly resembles one huge Maximum Security prison, the only intelligent choice is to plan a jail break."
"On a planet that increasingly resembles one huge Maximum Security prison, the only intelligent choice is to plan a jail break."
August 13, 2015
RAW - always amusing and thought provoking, however the 2nd installment was more conspiracy and political (Bush / Reagan & Vatican) than the agnostic and crowley based first book.
January 31, 2016
More RAW greatness! You can always count on a thought-provoking read from this guy.
February 27, 2018
Similar to Cosmic Trigger I, but it deals with his early life, and more politics than mysticism.
July 16, 2022
I first read this book in May 2010 (the sales slip is still in the book) and, already familiar with RAW's work (Illuminatus! Trilogy and others) I was curious about his views and what made him the person he was. I found the snippets and anecdotes easily digestible and they gave me a light taste of his ideas on psychology, language and "reality", conspiracies, James Joyce, and others.
I just read it for the second time - 12 years later, a bit older, more jaded with working for a living, and having weathered a number of life (and world) changes. If anything, his underlying message - to quote Korzybski (as RAW did) - "the map is not the territory" (i.e., don't confuse the model of reality you are using to interpret what you see around you with reality itself) is even more relevant now in our world of disinformation, virtual reality, and social media. Anyone who has listened to his recorded lectures will find many themes repeated here, but they are still an enjoyable read.
Highly recommended, as many of RAW's works are in my view.
I just read it for the second time - 12 years later, a bit older, more jaded with working for a living, and having weathered a number of life (and world) changes. If anything, his underlying message - to quote Korzybski (as RAW did) - "the map is not the territory" (i.e., don't confuse the model of reality you are using to interpret what you see around you with reality itself) is even more relevant now in our world of disinformation, virtual reality, and social media. Anyone who has listened to his recorded lectures will find many themes repeated here, but they are still an enjoyable read.
Highly recommended, as many of RAW's works are in my view.
February 17, 2021
I really enjoy Wilson's writing. I enjoy his perspectives and appreciate him for contextualizing the idea of Reality Tunnels that we all have and maintain; a more sinister conceptualization of a 'World View'.
He's more restrained and wise here, but he is also prone to the same sins as he was in the first. He overestimates the advancement of technology and the Awakening of our species. He also makes bold predictions and is almost always wrong. What's eerie is how much of what he's talking about could feasibly be justified in the present tense, both in terms of politics and where we are finally at NOW technologically.
He's more restrained and wise here, but he is also prone to the same sins as he was in the first. He overestimates the advancement of technology and the Awakening of our species. He also makes bold predictions and is almost always wrong. What's eerie is how much of what he's talking about could feasibly be justified in the present tense, both in terms of politics and where we are finally at NOW technologically.
May 9, 2024
I really enjoyed this volume of RAW's memoirs. The first volume has all the occultism and conspiracy that you would expect from one-half of the writing team that created Illuminatus! In a way, that volume is obligatory. This volume is more maturely written, tracing the life of the writer from his birth in 1932 through the first half of the 1980s. He sets his life against a background of accumulated human information, international conspiracies, and ongoing discussions of the nature of reality. I found the writing compelling.
June 13, 2018
Carrying on from Volume 1, follow Pope Bob as his journeys continue. More of the same, but continued insights if you’re eager for more after the first.
Now on to Volume 3!
Now on to Volume 3!
May 11, 2019
Entertaining and witty, eye-opening and mind-expanding.
Great book, very fun read.
Great book, very fun read.
June 19, 2019
Brilliant.
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