The Burden of Proof

Jeff Veyera · 28 Dec 2002, 23:05 · from urth-v0212.mbox · original

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From: "Jeff Veyera" <teflon93 at cox.net>
Subject: (urth) The Burden of Proof
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 15:05:32 -0800
Message-ID: <urth-v0212-2547 at digest.urth.net>
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On Tue, 24 Dec 2002, maa32 wrote (Quoting Mean Gene):

> "No, No, NO!  Green is Urth."

I think this most likely means:

1.  A joke.  Like if Tolkien, tired of being asked for the umpteenth time
whether The Ring represents The Bomb had replied, "No, no, NO!  Gollum
represents the Atom Bomb."

or

2.  Wolfe is saying that, of the two planets, Green, with its decaying
cities and ancient horrors is more like Urth than Blue is.  Like one might
say, if asked whether Severian is Aragorn, "No, no, NO!  Severian is
Gollum."

-Rostrum

It's funny how the folks most devoted to author's intent in the previous
Blushas threads suddenly come up with this elaborate joke theory rather than
acknowledge that Wolfe may well have proceeded from the idea of Green as
Ushas.

Marc has accepted that his original theory of Blue=3DUshas, which he invest=
ed
an enormous amount of effort, was simply wrong in light of the response he
received.  I think it's telling that his detractors are so dogmatic on this
point that even the author's simple, straightforward declaration somehow
doesn't suffice to overturn the applecart they've constructed.

I don't have a dog in either hunt---to me it's entertaining to kick around
the notions either way.  But it seems to me that the burden of proof has now
shifted to the opponents of Green/Ushas---Marc has provided both the missive
from Mr. Wolfe and some textual support, which is more than his detractors
have thus far provided.

Absent confirmation from Wolfe that he was merely joking, I think there's
some work to be done to explain why Green isn't Ushas, despite the author
saying it was.

In any case, making Marc out to be a naive dupe for somehow not realizing
Wolfe was pulling his leg as this and previous threads have seems ridiculous
and disingenuous---if you think Green CANNOT be Ushas, prove it.

Teflon

--=20

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