Over my life, I've taken some interest in a couple of people I know, who are suffering from various psychoses, and something that I discovered a long time ago, (and is probably well known in medical circles) was that people with psyche problems, are often attracted to other people with psyche problems.
What seems like crap to "normal" people, can seem like the voice of God whispering the meaning of life into the ears of those with a screw or two loose. You've only got to look at Jonestown, or the Nazi's, the Manson family, or even The Church of Scientology to see that this is true.
When I was on vacation in Europe in 1974 I remember my Dad talking to an old German couple on a train to Munich, and the old guy told us about how he went to one of Hitler's rallies in Nuremberg, and couldn't believe what crap was coming out of Adolf's mouth, yet so many of Hitlers loyal followers were lapping up every word.
Ironically, the bloke who recommended ZAMM to me 29 years ago, a schoolteacher of over 30 years, recently had a nervous breakdown followed by a heart attack, when told that he'd have to return to school or be fired, after spending almost a year off work on "Stress Leave". Like some of the folk who so enjoy "Catcher in the Rye", he had read, and re-read ZAMM many times, and often quotes from it, like Jesus freaks quote from the bible.
So my personal belief is that not enjoying Pirsig's book isn't necessarily a sign of some lower form of intellect as some would infer, but rather, the sign of a healthy brain dismissing what it sees as self indulgent rambling and flawed analysis, with very little educational, or entertainment value. Cheers, Terry.
