All About Radiation
Encyclopedia
All About Radiation is one of the books by L. Ron Hubbard
that form the canonical
texts of Scientology
. Its first printing was from HASI (Hubbard Association of Scientologists International
) by way of the Speedwell Printing Company, Kent, England, 1957. Later editions were published by the Church of Scientology
's in-house publisher Bridge Publications
. It is controversial for its claims, amongst other things, that radiation poisoning and even cancer can be cured by courses of vitamins. There is no known cure for radiation poisoning and current medical practice is to provide palliative care
until the symptoms subside or the patient dies.
as being the nuclear physicist and "Medicus" as being the doctor.
By the 1979 edition, the "medical doctor" was credited as being Richard Farley.
In the book's most recent edition, the book's authorship is attributed to Hubbard and Dr. Gene Denk and Dr. Farley R. Spink.
, an unaccredited diploma mill
. The only course in nuclear physics Hubbard ever took was in 1931 at George Washington University, whose records indicate that he scored an F in the course. Hubbard dropped out of school shortly thereafter, with a 2.28 grade point average.
Hubbard referred to himself as a nuclear physicist on many occasions in the 1950s, such as in the tape-recorded 1956 lecture A Postulate Out Of A Golden Age, where he not only claimed to be a nuclear physicist, but that he was offered (and turned down) a U.S. Government post as one. This comment has been edited out of the CD version of the lecture currently offered by the L. Ron Hubbard Classic Lectures series.
In February 1966, Hubbard defended his mail-order degree: "I was a Ph.D., Sequoia's University and therefore a perfectly valid doctor under the laws of the State of California". But only a month later, he announced: "having reviewed the damage being done in our society with nuclear physics and psychiatry by persons calling themselves "Doctor" [I] do hereby resign in protest my university degree as a Doctor of philosophy (Ph. D.)" http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/essays/radiation.html
in 1965 declared:
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
that form the canonical
Canonical
Canonical is an adjective derived from canon. Canon comes from the greek word κανών kanon, "rule" or "measuring stick" , and is used in various meanings....
texts of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
. Its first printing was from HASI (Hubbard Association of Scientologists International
Hubbard Association of Scientologists International
The Hubbard Association of Scientologists or HAS was the original corporation founded in 1954 by L. Ron Hubbard that managed all Scientology organizations. The HAS evolved from the Office of L. Ron Hubbard located in Phoenix, Arizona...
) by way of the Speedwell Printing Company, Kent, England, 1957. Later editions were published by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
's in-house publisher Bridge Publications
Bridge Publications
Bridge Publications may refer to:*Bridge Publications , the Church of Scientology's North American publishing arm*Bridge Publications , a United Kingdom publisher of guides to vacation and holiday activities in the UK and Ireland...
. It is controversial for its claims, amongst other things, that radiation poisoning and even cancer can be cured by courses of vitamins. There is no known cure for radiation poisoning and current medical practice is to provide palliative care
Palliative care
Palliative care is a specialized area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients...
until the symptoms subside or the patient dies.
Authorship
Early printings of the book were credited on the cover as simply "By a nuclear physicist and a medical doctor", while subsequent ones credited L. Ron HubbardL. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
as being the nuclear physicist and "Medicus" as being the doctor.
By the 1979 edition, the "medical doctor" was credited as being Richard Farley.
In the book's most recent edition, the book's authorship is attributed to Hubbard and Dr. Gene Denk and Dr. Farley R. Spink.
Variant text
The book has gone through a number of printings since its initial run, and has undergone a few modifications over the years, mostly to remove controversial assertions made in the original lectures. As it is a fundamental Scientology tenet that Hubbard's works are considered immutable Standard Tech, not to be altered in any way, except by Hubbard himself, these changes are considered evidence for Freezone practitioners that the current Church alters the text. It is to be noted that the first part of the book is not by Hubbard and that the second part was not written by Hubbard but edited from four of his lectures given in April 1957 in London. These lectures are available since March 2005 with a transcription which makes it possible to see how the book text was edited from the lectures. The book was not reissued in June 2007 as part of the Golden Age of Knowledge program. Among the text removed from the book in later editions:- "Alleviation of the remote effects and increased tolerance to radiation have been claimed as a result." (pg.49)
- "How is it that gamma rays go through walls but don't go through bodies?....I can fortunately tell you what is happening when a body gets hurt by atomic radiation. It RESISTS the rays! The wall doesn't resist the rays and the body does." (pg.79)
- "Scientology is the principle agency that is preventing and treating people for radiation at this time." (pg.110)
- "DianazeneDianazeneDianazene was the name given by L. Ron Hubbard to a vitamin supplement containing iron, Vitamin C, and various B vitamins, including especially large doses of niacin. Hubbard promoted it as a form of protection against radiation poisoning during the 1950s, saying that "Dianazene runs out radiation...
runs out radiation -- or what appears to be radiation. It also proofs a person against radiation to some degree. It also turns on and runs out incipient cancer. I have seen it run out skin cancer. A man who didn't have much liability to skin cancer (only had a few moles) took Dianazene. His whole jaw turned into a raw mass of cancer. He kept on taking Dianazene and it disappeared after a while. I was looking at a case of cancer that might have happened." (pg. 123-124)
Hubbard's qualifications
Despite calling himself a nuclear physicist (some editions of the book even call him "one of America's first nuclear physicists" on the dustjacket), Hubbard was in no way a qualified physicist, nuclear or otherwise. His only degree was from Sequoia UniversitySequoia University
Sequoia University was an unaccredited higher education institution in Los Angeles, California which acquired a reputation as a prolific "degree mill" selling degree certificates. Although it was shut down in 1984 by a court order, it is most notable today as the institution from which L...
, an unaccredited diploma mill
Diploma mill
A diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit...
. The only course in nuclear physics Hubbard ever took was in 1931 at George Washington University, whose records indicate that he scored an F in the course. Hubbard dropped out of school shortly thereafter, with a 2.28 grade point average.
Hubbard referred to himself as a nuclear physicist on many occasions in the 1950s, such as in the tape-recorded 1956 lecture A Postulate Out Of A Golden Age, where he not only claimed to be a nuclear physicist, but that he was offered (and turned down) a U.S. Government post as one. This comment has been edited out of the CD version of the lecture currently offered by the L. Ron Hubbard Classic Lectures series.
In February 1966, Hubbard defended his mail-order degree: "I was a Ph.D., Sequoia's University and therefore a perfectly valid doctor under the laws of the State of California". But only a month later, he announced: "having reviewed the damage being done in our society with nuclear physics and psychiatry by persons calling themselves "Doctor" [I] do hereby resign in protest my university degree as a Doctor of philosophy (Ph. D.)" http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/essays/radiation.html
The Anderson Report
The final results of the Anderson ReportAnderson Report
The Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the Church of Scientology conducted for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965.-Background:In 1959, L...
in 1965 declared:
"The Board heard evidence from a highly qualified radiologist who has made a special study of radiation and its effects. He said that Hubbard's knowledge of radiation, as displayed by his writings in All About Radiation, was the 'sort of knowledge that perhaps a boy who has read Intermediate Physics might, with a lot of misapprehensions and lack of understanding, demonstrate'.... From this witness's evidence it is apparent that Hubbard is completely incompetent to deal with the subject of radiation and that his knowledge of nuclear physics is distorted, inaccurate, mistaken and negligible. No evidence was called which disputed in any way these conclusions."
External links
- Lronhubbard.org: All About Radiation
- Caroline Letkeman on the book
- www.chernobyl.info Tschernobyl - Information Detoxification Program.
- Early advertisement for the book