Neophile or Neophiliac, a term popularised by author

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American writer, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

, is a personality type characterized by a strong affinity for

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

. The term was used earlier by

Christopher Booker Christopher John Penrice Booker (7 October 1937 – 3 July 2019) was an English journalist and author. He was a founder and first editor of the satirical magazine '' Private Eye'' in 1961. From 1990 onward he was a columnist for ''The Sunday Te ...

in his 1969 book '' The Neophiliacs'', and by

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

in his 1965 short story " Hapworth 16, 1924".

Characteristics

Neophiles/Neophiliacs have the following basic characteristics: * The ability to adapt rapidly to extreme change. * A distaste or downright loathing of routine. * A desire to experience novelty. * A corresponding and related desire to create novelty. A neophile is distinct from a

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

in that anyone might become a revolutionary if pushed far enough by the reigning authorities or social norms, whereas neophiles are revolutionaries by nature. Their intellectual abhorrence of tradition and repetition usually bemoans a deeper emotional need for constant novelty and change. The meaning of neophile approaches and is not mutually exclusive to the term

visionary A visionary, defined broadly, is one who can envision the future. For some groups, visioning can involve the supernatural. Though visionaries may face accusations of hallucinating, people may succeed in reaching a visionary state via medita ...

, but differs in that a neophile actively seeks first-hand experience of novelty rather than merely pontificating about it. The opposite of a neophile is a neophobe; a person with an aversion to novelty and change.

speculates in his 1983 book ''

Prometheus Rising ''Prometheus Rising'' is a 1983 guidebook by Robert Anton Wilson. The book includes explanations of Timothy Leary eight-circuit model of consciousness, Alfred Korzybski general semantics, Aleister Crowley Thelema, and various other topics related ...

'' that the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

and related

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

represents one of the first periods of history in which neophiles were a dominant force in society. Wilson observes that neophobes tend to regard neophiles, especially extreme ones, with fear and contempt, and to brand them with titles such as "

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

," "

satanist Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

," "

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

," etc.

Types

Open-source advocate and programmer

Eric S. Raymond Eric Steven Raymond (born December 4, 1957), often referred to as ESR, is an American software developer, open-source software advocate, and author of the 1997 essay and 1999 book ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar''. He wrote a guidebook for the R ...

observes that this personality is especially prevalent in certain fields of expertise; in business, these are primarily

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and other areas of high technology. Raymond speculates that the rapid progress of these fields (especially computers) is a result of this. A neophile's love of novelty is likely to lead them into subjects outside of the normal areas of human interest. Raymond observes a high concentration of neophiles in or around what he calls "leading edge subcultures" such as science fiction fandom,

neo-paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...

transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the human enhancement, enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cogni ...

, etc. as well as in or around nontraditional areas of thought such as fringe philosophy or the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

. Raymond observes that most neophiles have roving interests and tend to be widely well-read. There is more than one type of neophile. There are social neophiles (the extreme social butterfly), intellectual neophiles (the revolutionary

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and the

technophile Technophilia (from Greek τέχνη - ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φίλος - ''philos'', "beloved, dear, friend") refers generally to a strong attraction for technology, especially new technologies such as personal computers, the Int ...

), and physical/kinetic neophiles (the

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extre ...

enthusiast). These tendencies are not mutually exclusive, and might exist simultaneously in the same individual. The word "neophilia" has particular significance in Internet and

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hackersomeone with knowledge of bug (computing), bugs or exp ...

culture. ''The New Hacker's Dictionary'' gave the following definition to neophilia:

The trait of being excited and pleased by novelty. Common among most hackers, SF fans, and members of several other connected leading-edge subcultures, including the pro-technology ' Whole Earth' wing of the
ecology movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...
,
space activist Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four ...
s, many members of Mensa, and the Discordian/
neo-pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...
underground (see
geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...
). All these groups overlap heavily and (where evidence is available) seem to share characteristic hacker tropisms for science fiction,
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
.

Research has uncovered a possible link between certain predisposition to some kind of neophilia and increased levels of the enzyme

monoamine oxidase Monoamine oxidases (MAO) () are a family of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of monoamines, employing oxygen to clip off their amine group. They are found bound to the outer membrane of mitochondria in most cell types of the body. The fi ...

A. *

References

External links

Heidi Dawley, The disorder of these times, neophilia (2006)
{{Robert Anton Wilson 1965 neologisms Technology in society Sociological terminology Hacker culture Subcultures Robert Anton Wilson J. D. Salinger Novelty style

Characteristics

Types

See also

References

External links