source file: mills3.txt
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 00:59:03 +0200

Subject: Re:Ernest McClain

From: gagaku@cats.ucsc.edu (Fred Lieberman)

On 7/28/97,  "George Kahrimanis" <george_kahriman@hotmail.com> inquired
about the work of Ernest McClain. In my opinion, McClain is one of the most
stimulating and original thinkers in his field. (He may also be the =only=
thinker in his field.)

=The Pythagorean Plato= is probably much easier to understand if read after
his first book, =The Myth of Invariance=, in which he sets forth many of
the principles and theories that are later elaborated and applied to Plato.
Much of his work rests on certain axioms or assumptions about the nature of
early scientific thought, both conceptual and practical, that must be
grokked before the whole edifice can stand on its own. Some folks reject
the assumptions; I find them intriguing and full of rich consequences.

An important influence, almost a prolegemena to McClain's work, is
=Hamlet's Mill: an Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and
its Transmission through Myth= by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von
Dechend (1969; Godine pb 1977; other reprints available).

McClain's articles on Chinese and Sumerian/Babylonian scale theory (not yet
published in book form) expand significantly on his ideas, and if anything
make them more convincing and clear. If there is interest, I would be
willing to compile a bibliography of his work, though if someone out there
already has one, please post it to the list.

McClain is retired and elderly (78), sharp as a whip and a complete
gentleman of the old school. Open to discussion and debate, he welcomes
serious correspondence; I do not believe he has access to e-mail. His
address is:

Dr. Ernest G. McClain
Box 192
Belmont, VT  05730