You might arrive at the engram independently, and in doing so come up with some brandnew workable concepts.
And in so doing you might well discover a lot more.
What you have been doing in Dianetics—the techniques, the theories and postulates—are highly workable, but they are not highly workable because the author says so! Let a plea be entered that you review basic Dianetics all over again.
If sanity is rationality, and insanity is irrationality, and you postulated how irrational people would be if certain of their obsessions were magnified a hundred fold, you might well have in your possession a far more accurate and complete list of insanities and their manifestations than is currently in existence.
And then, having found the engram you begin to wonder how you can go about getting rid of it.
Study the peculiarities of the people around you and wonder what they would be like if their little peculiarities were magnified a hundred fold. You may find that by listing all the observable peculiarities you would have a complete list of all the insanities in the world. This list might well be far more accurate than that which was advanced by Kraepelin and used in the United States today. If sanity is rationality, and insanity is irrationality, and you postulated how irrational people would be if certain of their obsessions were magnified a hundred fold, you might well have in your possession a far more accurate and complete list of insanities and their manifestations than is currently in existence. If you will take the time and effort, then, of making a complete examination of your subject, introspectively and by observation, you will find that you have suddenly become an excellent auditor. The hard way is to sit down and memorize a third of a million words contained in Science of Survival—the method all too many educational systems employ in this age. Examine some of the current theories in vogue, one of which is the belief that sex is the prime motivation of life. After you have thought about it for a while and compared it to the known universe you may find that someone has left out a factor or two from their calculations. Consider the theory that pain is the prime motivation of the human being. Ask yourself whether an organism keeps pain or whether he associates things with pain. You may suddenly find that you have extrapolated an engram. You might arrive at the engram independently, and in doing so come up with some brandnew workable concepts. And then, having found the engram you begin to wonder how you can go about getting rid of it. You hit upon a theory that by stretching time from the 1/5 of a second it took to bum a preclear’s finger to a full minute, the event can be assimilated analytically, and suddenly you have discovered something for yourself. And in so doing you might well discover a lot more. What you have been doing in Dianetics—the techniques, the theories and postulates—are highly workable, but they are not highly workable because the author says so! Let a plea be entered that you review basic Dianetics all over again. Review with the purpose in mind of arriving at your own conclusions as to whether the tenets you have assimilated are correct and workable. Compare what you have learned with the known universe. Seek for the reasons behind a manifestation, and postulate the manner and in which direction the manifestation will likely proceed. Do not allow the Authority of any one person or school of thought to create a foregone conclusion within your sphere of knowledge. Only with these principles of education in mind can you become a truly educated individual. # # # ABERRATIONS AND GENIUS Eccentric genius is a problem in communication. The urge to create and the urge to communicate are simply the dynamics at work. Violinist A plays brilliantly. He is a great violinist because a heavy thrust of dynamic lies behind his ability to play. He communicates powerfully to other men. Aberrated, A’s ability to play and his ability to express generally is great and this includes ability to express his aberrations. Genius then appears to be more eccentric because it better expresses eccentricity residual. The eccentricity is not a drive in itself. LRH