Challenge 1075 Response discusses...

Intuitive Analysis

with L. L. Richardson

[Challenge 1075] In Isaiah J. King’s Intuitive Analysis: When do Augurs date from? And what did they do, exactly? Does your financial advisor have a secret chicken coop?

[L. L. Richardson] Bewildering Stories’ issue 1075 is a delight, as always. Entertaining and thought-provoking. In regards to the question about augury (re: “Intuitive Analysis” by Isaiah J. King), the practice dates to Roman times, the meaning of the term being “looking at birds.” At that time, it was a practice that was taken seriously by many people.

But the practice of divination has a much longer history, reaching back to a time when the universe was a far more mysterious place, where there seemed to be meaning in the smallest things such as the entrails of a chicken, or the ways bits of tea leaves settle in the bottom of a cup; these were things through which the universe chose to reveal itself to the ones who had the ability to read signs and omens.

The ancient world was a time when people viewed the universe differently. No event, no matter how trivial, was random. Tea leaves did not settle randomly but presented a pattern, a message which could be read and thus give useful information. And chicken entrails could be read, which seemed perfectly sensible to the ancient mind. Augury — looking at birds — seemed sensible.

I like tea, but I use tea bags, which keep loose bits of tea leaves from collecting in the bottom of the cup. Perhaps this is keeping from me something important, like the next movement of the stock market.

I enjoyed Mr. King's story. It made me laugh, but also made me think.

[Don Webb] In 390 BCE, invaders from Gaul came to Rome to do what invaders usually do: loot the place and carry off stuff. However, Rome’s sacred geese squawked and alerted the populace to the threat. The invaders were soon felled by disease and withdrew. A “never again” reaction could only have confirmed Roman militarism all the more in an age where tribal skirmishes and warfare had long been the norm.

Geese already had a place in Roman culture, and virtual medals were undoubtedly bestowed for their service as scouts and outlooks. But why did chickens become food for augury? Possibly because they were less expensive. They were smaller, easier to tend and more numerous than geese.

But how did augurs do their auguring? Not by splattering chickens on office-building floors but by officiating in elegant robes at solemn ceremonies. And how did they get their start? With a convincing personality and smooth patter, even in Latin. The Wizard of Oz got his start as a snake-oil salesman in the early 20th century. He inherited a very long tradition. A century later, we see that we sometimes need to be reminded that P. T. Barnum was right: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

Yes, indeed, “Intuitive Analysis” is a truly Bewildering story if it makes one stop and think. And all the better if it gives us a good laugh.