Dear Marion, 

Thank you for your letter, and accept my apologies for
importuning you with so much prose. As I've written before,
there's no need to read, not to speak of answering.
It pleases me to note that although our premises differ,
our conclusions coincide.

I wrote:

_  "It seems to me that an unbiased, unprejudiced observer
_  will conclude that the hypothesis of such a reality is
_  in fact integral to modern science."

You replied:
 
_  "As far as I'm aware, modern scientists experience no
_  difficulty crediting "reality".  We take our perceptions
_  of reality at face value."

It's reassuring that you confirm the coincidence of our ideas,
and I thank you.  By the same token, it's not necessary to
expand matters on which we are in agreement. I've just posted
a very preliminary version of Chapter 42 on my website. I'm
impressed with Goethe's wisdom in describing such efforts.
I've quoted previously:

Was heute nicht geschieht, ist morgen nicht getan,
Und keinen Tag soll man verpassen,
Das Mögliche soll der Entschluß
Beherzt sogleich beim Schopfe fassen,
Er will es dann nicht fahren lassen
Und wirket weiter, weil er muß.

(If it doesen't happen today, it won't be done tomorrow.
One shouldn't miss a single day.
If it's a possibility,
one should resolutely seize it by the hairs.
Then one won't want to let go,
and will continue, because one has no choice.)

Four more days before we leave for Massachusetts next Monday.
There's not much preparation to be done. We'll pack the car on
Sunday. Margaret frets about the vacuum cleaning, which I will
do for her. Just before we leave, I'll shut off the electricity
to the hot water tank, turn off the submersible pump, drain the
water, pour windshield washer fluid (methyl alcohol) into the
sinks and toilet bowls, and pour antifreeze (ethylene glycol)
into the bathtubs, set the timer for the lights, turn on the
radios, arm the burglar alarm, and lock the door. Perhaps we'll
be back next spring.

Jochen