Thoughts and Visions: A Collection of Essays
This is a collection of original essays by a unique thinker with an extensive background in technical subjects (mathematics and computer science) as well as in the humanities, yet whose style has a directness, wit and humor rarely found in academic writing. Subjects include education, politics, economics, psychology, science, music, literature, writing, architecture, and philosophy.
Total number of pages: 652. Chapters and index are individually downloadable as PDF files as follows:
Title page, dedication, and epigraphs
To
download a copy as a four-page file, click here:
Title
page, etc.
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Preface, p.
i - vi
To
download a copy, click here: Preface
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:15 over dial-up connections.
The Object,
pp. 1 - 20
To
download a copy, click here: The
Object
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Pictures
and Reality, pp. 21 - 39
To
download a copy, click here: Pictures
and Reality
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Music,
pp. 40 - 78
To
download a copy, click here: Music
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:45 over dial-up connections.
Hypnagogic
Art, pp. 79 - 96
To
download a copy, click here: Hypnagogic
Art
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
To
download hypnagogic art from the chapter, click here: Hypnagogic Art:
the Drawings
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
Thoughts
on Traffic, pp. 97 - 102
To
download a copy, click here:
Traffic
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Politics
and Economics, pp. 103 - 164
To
download a copy, click here:
Politics
and Economics
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
The Truth About the Israeli/Palestinian Situation
To
download a copy, click here:
Israeli/Palestinian Situation
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Letter
to the Islamic Terrorists, pp. 165 - 181
To
download a copy, click here:
Letter
to the Islamic Terrorists
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:05 over dial-up connections.
How to Fight Terrorism, pp. 182-186
To
download a copy, click here:
How to Fight Terrorism
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Letter
to a Young Intellectual About to Enter Industry, pp. 187-198
To
download a copy, click here: Letter
to a Young Intellectual...
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
The
Object in the Life of Intellectuals and Artists, pp. 199 - 211
To
download a copy, click here: The
Object in the Life...
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Psychology,
pp. 212 - 261
To
download a copy, click here: Psychology
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:15 over dial-up connections.
On
Friendship Between Men and Women, pp. 262 - 268
To
download a copy, click here: On
Friendship....
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Sex
and Relationships, pp. 269 - 272
To
download a copy, click here: Sex
and Relationships
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
The Middle-Aged Man's Checklist for Avoiding Heartbreak with Women, p. 273
To
download a copy, click here: Middle-Aged Man's Checklist
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Loneliness,
pp. 274 - 279
To
download a copy, click here: Loneliness
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Suicide,
pp. 280 - 283
To
download a copy, click here: Suicide
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Philosophy,
pp. 284 - 341
To
download a copy, click here: Philosophy
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:00 over dial-up connections.
This
Modern World, pp. 342 - 349
To
download a copy, click here: This
Modern World
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Obedience,
pp. 350 - 353
To
download a copy, click here: Obedience
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
How
Shall We Live?, pp. 354 - 362
To
download a copy, click here: How
Shall We Live?
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Aging,
pp. 363 - 366
To
download a copy, click here: Aging
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
God,
pp. 367 - 375
To
download a copy, click here: God
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
The
Ten Commandments (Revised), pp. 376 - 377
To
download a copy, click here: The
Ten Commandments (Revised)
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:15 over dial-up connections.
Education
and Learning, pp. 378 - 410
To
download a copy, click here: Education
and Learning
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:30 over dial-up connections.
Self-Consciousness,
pp. 411 - 430
To
download a copy, click here: Self-Consciousness
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Reality
High School, pp. 431 - 447
To
download a copy, click here: Reality
High School
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
This
Scientific World, pp. 448 - 453
To
download a copy as a 41KB PDF file, click here: This
Scientific World
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Engineering,
pp. 454-457
To
download a copy as a 27KB PDF file, click here: Engineering
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
The
Humanities, pp. 458 - 473
To
download a copy, click here: The
Humanities
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Letter
to Professor Feynman, pp. 474 - 483
To
download a copy, click here: Letter
to Professor Feynman
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
Architecture,
pp. 484 - 498
To
download a copy, click here: Architecture
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Language,
pp. 499 - 510
Instant
French, pp. 511 - 526
Manifesto
of a New Movement in American Literature, pp. 527 - 535
Literature
and Art, pp. 536 - 600
Additional
Thoughts, pp. 601 - 634
Additional
Thoughts (cont.), pp. 635 - 685
Comedy
Notebook, pp. 686 - 700
Index, pp. 701 - 747
To
download a copy, click here: Language
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
Peter Schorer's essay, "Notes Toward
a Pragmatics-Based Linguistics",
on the web site www.occampress.com,
is derived from ideas in this chapter.
To
download a copy, click here: Instant
French
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
To
download a copy, click here: Manifesto
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
To
download a copy, click here: Literature
and Art
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:45 over dial-up connections.
To
download a copy, click here: Additional
Thoughts
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:30 over dial-up connections.
To
download a copy, click here: Additional
Thoughts
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
To
download a copy, click here: Comedy
Notebook
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
To
download a copy, click here: Index
Note: This download takes an average of about 4:00 over dial-up connections.
“Nostalgia for the Avant-Garde” and Other Stories
Title Page, 2 pages
To download a copy as a 10KB PDF file, click here:
Title Page
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:15 over dial-up connections.
Preface, 2 pages
To download a copy as a 12KB PDF file, click here:
Preface
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
A House in Canyon, 6 pages
To download a copy as a 40KB PDF file, click here:
A House in Canyon
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
A Walk by the Beach, 3 pages
To download a copy as a 21KB PDF file, click here:
A Walk by the Beach
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
A French-looking House, 4 pages
To download a copy as a 26KB PDF file, click here:
A French-looking House
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
A Brain Operation, 4 pages
To download a copy as a 24KB PDF file, click here:
A Brain Operation
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
A Run at Evening, 2 pages
To download a copy as a 14KB PDF file, click here:
A Run at Evening
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:15 over dial-up connections.
All Watched Over By..., 7 pages
To download a copy as a 41KB PDF file, click here:
All Watched Over By...
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
The Twins´ House, 7 pages
To download a copy as a 51KB PDF file, click here:
The Twins´ House
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Somewhere in the Present, 3 pages
To download a copy as a 20KB PDF file, click here:
Somewhere in the Present
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
The Convalescent, 3 pages
To download a copy as a 63KB PDF file, click here:
The Convalescent
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
The Companion, 5 pages
To download a copy as a 99KB PDF file, click here:
The Companion
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:00 over dial-up connections.
Where We Live, 2 pages
To download a copy as a 11KB PDF file, click here:
Where We Live
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:15 over dial-up connections.
Genius without Genius:
The
Autobiography of John Franklin
Vol 1: Childhood through "The Music Days"
This is the first of five volumes. A Chronology of the author's life follows the Preface. A Photo Album will be found at the end of Vol. 5.
Vol. 1 describes the author's childhood in a small commuter town some twenty miles from New York City in Westchester County, and then the period he calls "The Music Days," from age 16 through age 23, when he played trumpet in, and then led, several jazz groups, playing at colleges and universities throughout the Northeast, and at several jazz clubs in New York City.
Note: the reader should not feel that he or she is faced with a choice between reading the entire book, or reading none of it. The author has made every effort to enable the reader to locate those parts that might be of interest – major topics for each chapter are listed, and then to the left of the text for each chapter are extensive subtitles that will further aid the reader to find sections of interest.
Title page, epigraphs
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Preface
To download a copy as a 22KB PDF file, click here: Preface
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Chronology of the Author's Life
To download a copy as a 92KB PDF file, click here: Chronology
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 1 -- Birth, the Village of Valhalla, Neighbors, My Father, My Mother
To download a copy as a 387KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
Chapter
2 -- Meals, Restaurants, Sundays, Baby Sitters, My Parents' Friends, The
Outsider, Games and Sports
To
download a copy as a 441KB PDF file, click here: Chapter
2
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
Chapter
3 -- The Four Seasons, The Kids, Making Things, Radio, Movies
To
download a copy as a 343KB PDF file, click here: Chapter
3
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:00 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 4 -- School Band, Playing Solos, Classical Music, Boogie-Woogie, First Paying Job as a Musician, Planes and Parachutes, Comic Books, School, "He Has to Wear Glasses," Fireworks
To download a copy as a 426KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 4
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 5 -- Summer Camp, Vacations in Cape Cod, War, Rationing, Warplanes, The War as Presented on the Radio, Rumors of Real Guns Around the Reservoir, A Trip to Switzerland, The Death of My Father
To download a copy as a 410KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 5
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 6 -- Music Days (1): Briarcliff High School
To download a copy as a 173KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 6
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:30 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 7 -- Music Days (2): White Plains High School
To download a copy as a 477KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 7
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:45 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 8 -- Music Days (3): Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
To download a copy as a 291KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 8
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:45 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 9 -- Music Days (4): Lehigh University
To download a copy as a 308KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 9
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:00 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- Music Days (4) (cont.): Lehigh University
To download a copy as a 380KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 9 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:15 over dial-up connections.
Appendix 1 -- High School Essay
To download a copy as a 21KB PDF file, click here: Appendix 1
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:30 over dial-up connections.
Genius without Genius:
The
Autobiography of John Franklin
Vol.
2: Early Years in California
This volume describes the author's first job in a Silicon Valley firm, where he rapidly rose to be the manager of a small technical publications department, and then describes jobs with subsequent firms. It also describes his home life and the childhood of his son.
Chapter
1 -- Working at Beckman Instruments; Sailplane Days
To download as a 412KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 2 -- Marriage and a Home; Working at Signetics; My Son's Childhood: Birth to Age 3
To download as a 274KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 2
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:45 over dial-up connections.
Genius without Genius:
The Autobiography of John Franklin
Vol. 3: Working at Hewlett-Packard (HP)
This volume describes the author's experiences as a programmer and then a technical writer at HP during the seventies and eighties. It also describes his adventures in the single life following his divorce, his decision to work on the most difficult technical problems he could find, the publication of his first book, and the teenage years of his son.
Chapter 1 -- Joining Hewlett-Packard, Reading and Self-Teaching, The Free University, I Become a Programmer
To download as a 251KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:30 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- My Son's Childhood: Ages 3-7, I Go For a Master's Degree
To download as a 272KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:45 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- Divorce, Sex Therapy, In Pursuit of Women
To download as a 281KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:45 over dial-up connections.
Chapter 2 -- Working at HP Labs
To download as a 303KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 2
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:00 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- Working at HP Labs (cont.)
To download as a 99KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 2 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 0:45 over dial-up connections.
Genius without Genius:
The Autobiography of John Franklin
Vol 4: Freelancing, and Working at Sybase
This volume describes the author's life after leaving HP in the early nineties, including his work at Sybase on what was intended to be a revolutionary new data base product, but which turned out to anything but that. The volume includes descriptions of some of the women in the author's life, and the remarkable early financial success of his son. It concludes with the near loss of his inheritance to a crooked lawyer.
Chapter 1 -- Depression and Thoughts of Suicide, My Son the Currency Trader, Living in Berkeley, Fighting City Hall
To download as a 457KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:30 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- An Academic Lady, My First Book Published By a Real Publisher, Young Women Housemates: Musicians and Bohemians
To download as a 307KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:00 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- I Attempt a Palace Coup at Sybase, I Almost Lose My Inheritance
To download as a 195KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 1:30 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- Academics, A Painless Dentist at Last, Chantal
To download as a 316KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:00 over dial-up connections.
Genius without Genius:
The Autobiography of John Franklin
Vol 5: Retirement, Or Finally Getting Down to Business
This volume describes the author's early retirement (at age 59) and his determination to complete the nine books that constitute his life's work. The volume includes a description of the death of the author's mother.
Chapter 1 -- End of Working For My Inferiors, Break with Heim, The Saints are Reunited, Helped By an Eccentric Mathematician, I Was Meant to Be an Amateur
To download as a 376KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:15 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- Finally Ms. Right, Death of My Mother, I Almost Lose My Life Savings, Death of Kay
To download as a 312KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:00 over dial-up connections.
![]()
-- Break With Jason, What Happened to People I Knew, Math Wars, The Future, Last Wishes
To download as a 395KB PDF file, click here: Chapter 1 (cont.)
Note: This download takes an average of about 2:20 over dial-up connections.
![]()
Photo Album
To download as a 772KB PDF file, click here: Photo Album
Note: This download takes an average of about 4:00 over dial-up connections.
E-mail John Franklin: JohnFranklin6364@cs.com