The Visible Man Read Online Free

The Visible Man
Book: The Visible Man Read Online Free
Author: Chuck Klosterman
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solve or create. The bottom line is as follows: Y____ was involved in something he referred to as the “cloaking initiative.” At one point he asked if I had ever watched Star Trek , but I have not. He used the term “negative refractive index” several times. Whenever I asked him to simplify his description, he would say things like, “Imagine looking at the front of a woman’s chest, but seeing only whatever was behind her back.” He made reference to a “sheer suit.” Though it’s impossible to tell if what Y____ was saying was (a) even partially true or (b) some type of fantasy life, I’m now secure in the assumption that Y____ does have (at the very least) a legitimate background in science. Obviously, that background does not dismiss his pseudologia fantastica 2 (and may paradoxically serveto enhance it). I found myself generally unable to follow this stretch of dialogue. When I admitted this, he politely asked that I never ask him about this again, as it was a waste of both our time. I conditionally agreed. He needed to hear me say that.
2. “Problematic things”: I mentioned that his phone call referred to some sort of criminal or antisocial behavior, but he immediately retracted his initial take. I asked what kind of specific behavior he was referring to. He said, “Surveillance. Invasion of privacy. Home invasion. Prowling. I did some prowling. Deception. A certain kind of intangible theft. Humanity theft.” I asked what “humanity theft” meant. Y____ said, “I’ve consumed people’s lives without their consent.” I pushed him to explain this further. He said ( something along the lines of ), “I reached a point in my life where I became exclusively interested in the unseen reality of human behavior, and I did not think it was possible to study such behavior if the person knew they were being studied.” He went on to say that the traditional means for understanding human psychology was by asking subjects questions about themselves, a process he finds futile. “The act of asking someone a question completely destroys the value of the answer,” he said. He asked if I was familiar with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. 3 When I told him I was, he said, “Well, then you already understand why psychology has failed.” Though I wanted to pursue these points further, I realized time was expiring on our session and I needed to move to point 3.
3. “The sensation of guilt”: This, I suspect, was the most important phrase Y____ said in his message (and the root of why Y____ is seeking help). I asked how guilt differed from the sensation ofguilt , since guilt itself is a feeling (and every feeling is a type of sensation). Y____ vehemently disagreed. “A man is guilty when he subjectively thinks about what he has done and concludes that his actions were objectively wrong. A man feels the sensation of guilt when he objectively thinks about what he has done and concludes that his actions were subjectively wrong. My problem is that I conflate those two perspectives.” I was shocked by both the eloquence and the forethought of these words; it was as if he had been waiting all month to make this statement. When I asked him to repeat those thoughts, he did so immediately (and with identical syntax, furthering my suspicion of rehearsal). I asked why he was so concerned with the notion of feeling sensations of guilt. Y____: “Partially because I do not deserve to feel guilt, but mostly because it gets in the way.”
    At this point I noted that we’d extended our allotted time by more than five minutes. Having now conducted four sessions, we discussed payment. Due to its abbreviated length (and because it was my fault, though I did not admit this), I waived the fee from session #3. Y____ expressed appreciation for my fairness. After giving him my mailing address, I told him the bill would be $450. He declined my offer of an e-mail receipt.
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