George Cockcroft
Encyclopedia
George Cockcroft is an author who writes under the pen name Luke Rhinehart.
, son of an engineer
and a civil servant. He got his BA at Cornell University
, and his MA at Columbia University
. Subsequently he got a PhD in psychology
, also at Columbia. He married his wife, Ann on June 30, 1956. He currently has three children. At some point in his life he converted to Zen
Buddhism.
After obtaining his PhD he went into teaching. During his years as a university teacher he taught, amongst other things, courses in Zen
and Western
literature. He first floated the idea of living by the dice
in a lecture: the reaction was equal parts intrigue and disgust, and it was at this point he realised it could become a novel. Cockcroft started experimenting with dice a long time before writing The Dice Man
, but this made progress on the novel rather slow. When he actually finished it he was 37, and lived in Majorca teaching English
to hippies.
He met a publisher and thereby published the novel The Dice Man. In 1970 he became a full-time writer and "leader of the dice cult". In 1971 he was engaged in creating a dice centre in New York. In 1975 he was involved in a round-the-world voyage in a large trimaran
ketch
.
Later on he spent some time in a sailboat in the Mediterranean where he taught English, and from there moved to a former Sufi retreat on the edge of a lake. His last known mailing address was Luke Hill in Canaan, New York
.
. He switches rapidly between a first and third person view, and intersperses that narrative flow with (fictional) excerpts from journals, minutes of meetings, and other sources. This gives the impression of a larger story, of which just a glimpse is being seen. In one case, he even quotes from a future book that he did not actually write until more than two decades later. The moods of the book change rapidly too; a single book might have sections of erotica
, thriller, comedy
, psychology
, romance
, philosophy
, and detective
in it — not mixed together, but standing side by side with only a chapter number, if that, between them. Sections of carefully timed comic relief
include a sex scene in the middle of a river
, various dice parties, and a hallucinogenic tomato
plant.
On the other hand, Long Voyage Back
, and Matari
show that he is entirely comfortable writing somewhat more traditional fiction, and The Book of est
shows that he is capable of writing wholly factual accounts too. In all his books, Cockcroft focuses attention on only a few characters — typically fewer than five. Other characters are introduced, but solely as caricature
s or plot devices.
The Book of the Die is a collection of thoughts and ideas about dicing - its purpose, the meaning of life, and so forth - much in the style that might be expected from George Cockcroft's previous work. Interspersed with this are frequent parables, poems, stories. Some are from his earlier books, some from the new ones, some stolen and rewritten from various well-known sayings and writings, some from his followers (both real and imaginary), and some which purport to be from his own life. Roughly at the end of each chapter are six dice options, with the standard instructions: "Read the options, throw out one or two (or all six) and replace them, then roll a dice and do as suggested." The dice options, and the book in general, aim to be intriguing and thought-provoking. It contains lots of amusing or absurd sections, as if to counter-point the occasional more serious sections.
There are also continuing plans to release the story of either Luke, Larry or Wim as a movie. Cockcroft has written a number of screenplays himself, including one on The Dice Man, and WHIM, in an effort to accelerate the process, and both projects are being pushed forward on several fronts.
pale lager
, sensing a good tie-in
, launched a series of adverts based around the diceman theme, and even a Diceliving website (now defunct), and have since been associated with Luke's books. Indeed, the rise from the dead of Rolling Rock in the late 1990s has partially been attributed to the rise of dicing at around the same time, possibly fueled by Internet
chat room
s where role-playing is common.
In the 1980s, the UK comic 2000 AD
published several Choose Your Own Adventure
magazines under the name Dice Man.
Other music connections:
The Discovery Channel
recently hired a pair of part-time dicers to do a Diceman Travel programme based on the dice. Where they go, what they see, and what they do, all are based on the roll of a die. Apparently it has been popular, though the tendency of the dice to steer the couple off in strange directions has caused problems for the producers and editors.
On film, there have been at least three documentaries on diceliving and the philosophy of the dice, including one 50-minute short film called Dice World by Paul Wilmshurst, produced by Channel 4
.
In the theatre, The Dice House
was staged in London's West End theatre "The Arts". Written by Paul Lucas
, the play was inspired by Luke Rhinehart's novel The Dice Man.
Ben Marshall, of Loaded magazine
, spent two years from 1998 to 2000 experimenting with being a diceman and writing up his experiences in the magazine. This seems to have been a big hit with the readers, and Loaded subsequently named Luke Rhinehart as novelist of the century.
Larnie Reid Fox invented (or popularised) the idea of the DiceWalk, which was featured in the May 28, 2003 edition of sfweekly, students of psychogeography
having already pioneered the art or science of random or whimsical excursions.
Writer Terry Mitchell invented the idea of exploring restaurants, food options and dice road trips and has been practising a version of diceliving since 1992. He also writes several characters in his stories as being dice people.
Biography
George Cockcroft was born in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, son of an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and a civil servant. He got his BA at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and his MA at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Subsequently he got a PhD in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, also at Columbia. He married his wife, Ann on June 30, 1956. He currently has three children. At some point in his life he converted to Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhism.
After obtaining his PhD he went into teaching. During his years as a university teacher he taught, amongst other things, courses in Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
and Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
literature. He first floated the idea of living by the dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
in a lecture: the reaction was equal parts intrigue and disgust, and it was at this point he realised it could become a novel. Cockcroft started experimenting with dice a long time before writing The Dice Man
The Dice Man
The Dice Man is a novel published in 1971 by George Cockcroft under the pen name Luke Rhinehart and tells the story of a psychiatrist who begins making life decisions based on the casting of dice. Cockcroft wrote the book based on his own experiences of using dice to make decisions while studying...
, but this made progress on the novel rather slow. When he actually finished it he was 37, and lived in Majorca teaching English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
to hippies.
He met a publisher and thereby published the novel The Dice Man. In 1970 he became a full-time writer and "leader of the dice cult". In 1971 he was engaged in creating a dice centre in New York. In 1975 he was involved in a round-the-world voyage in a large trimaran
Trimaran
A trimaran is a multihulled boat consisting of a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls , attached to the main hull with lateral struts...
ketch
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
.
Later on he spent some time in a sailboat in the Mediterranean where he taught English, and from there moved to a former Sufi retreat on the edge of a lake. His last known mailing address was Luke Hill in Canaan, New York
Canaan, New York
Canaan is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,820 at the 2000 census.The Town of Canaan is in the northeast part of the county.- History :The first settlers arrived around 1759....
.
Writing
Much of Cockcroft's writing follows the styles of his first book, The Dice ManThe Dice Man
The Dice Man is a novel published in 1971 by George Cockcroft under the pen name Luke Rhinehart and tells the story of a psychiatrist who begins making life decisions based on the casting of dice. Cockcroft wrote the book based on his own experiences of using dice to make decisions while studying...
. He switches rapidly between a first and third person view, and intersperses that narrative flow with (fictional) excerpts from journals, minutes of meetings, and other sources. This gives the impression of a larger story, of which just a glimpse is being seen. In one case, he even quotes from a future book that he did not actually write until more than two decades later. The moods of the book change rapidly too; a single book might have sections of erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
, thriller, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, romance
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
in it — not mixed together, but standing side by side with only a chapter number, if that, between them. Sections of carefully timed comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
include a sex scene in the middle of a river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
, various dice parties, and a hallucinogenic tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
plant.
On the other hand, Long Voyage Back
Long Voyage Back
Long Voyage Back was written by George Cockcroft under the pen name of Luke Rhinehart. It was published in 1983, at the height of the Cold War, and it shows that influence. George sides with the nuclear disarmament side of the debate and the only character in the book with vociferous views on the...
, and Matari
Matari
Matari is a book written by Luke Rhinehart, a pen name of George Cockcroft. Matari was published in the UK in 1975, and is currently out-of-print and very hard to find...
show that he is entirely comfortable writing somewhat more traditional fiction, and The Book of est
The Book of est
The Book of est is a fictional book about Werner Erhard's Erhard Seminars Training , first published in 1976 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. The book was written by est graduate Luke Rhinehart. Rhinehart is the pen name of writer George Cockroft. The book was endorsed by Erhard, and includes a...
shows that he is capable of writing wholly factual accounts too. In all his books, Cockcroft focuses attention on only a few characters — typically fewer than five. Other characters are introduced, but solely as caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s or plot devices.
The Book of the Die is a collection of thoughts and ideas about dicing - its purpose, the meaning of life, and so forth - much in the style that might be expected from George Cockcroft's previous work. Interspersed with this are frequent parables, poems, stories. Some are from his earlier books, some from the new ones, some stolen and rewritten from various well-known sayings and writings, some from his followers (both real and imaginary), and some which purport to be from his own life. Roughly at the end of each chapter are six dice options, with the standard instructions: "Read the options, throw out one or two (or all six) and replace them, then roll a dice and do as suggested." The dice options, and the book in general, aim to be intriguing and thought-provoking. It contains lots of amusing or absurd sections, as if to counter-point the occasional more serious sections.
There are also continuing plans to release the story of either Luke, Larry or Wim as a movie. Cockcroft has written a number of screenplays himself, including one on The Dice Man, and WHIM, in an effort to accelerate the process, and both projects are being pushed forward on several fronts.
Spin-offs and influences
Companies have often attempted to profit from the ideas of The Dice Man, and a few such ventures are noted below. The ideas in the book have also influenced a wide range of musicians, writers, artists, some of whom are listed below.Commercial ventures
Dice have always been colloquially referred to as rocks and the makers of Rolling RockRolling Rock
Rolling Rock is a 4.5% abv pale lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheuser-Busch of St...
pale lager
Pale lager
Pale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
, sensing a good tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
, launched a series of adverts based around the diceman theme, and even a Diceliving website (now defunct), and have since been associated with Luke's books. Indeed, the rise from the dead of Rolling Rock in the late 1990s has partially been attributed to the rise of dicing at around the same time, possibly fueled by Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
chat room
Chat room
The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...
s where role-playing is common.
In the 1980s, the UK comic 2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
published several Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
magazines under the name Dice Man.
Music references
The Dice Man has turned up in several songs:- "Six Different Ways" by The CureThe CureThe Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
- "Dice Man" by The Fall
- "Random I Am" by MillencolinMillencolinMillencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band...
- "Slaughter Of The Soul" by At the GatesAt the GatesAt the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
- "X, Y and Zee" by Pop Will Eat ItselfPop Will Eat ItselfPop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band, originally formed in Stourbridge in 1986, with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a Grebo act, their style changed to incorporate sample driven indie and industrial rock...
- "Black Diary" by JamesonJamesonJameson may refer to:People with the surname JamesonIn places:* Jameson, California, former name of Jamesan, California* Jameson, Missouri, village* Jameson Islands, Nunavut, Canada* Jameson Land, GreenlandOther:...
- "Total Random Man" by Therapy?Therapy?Therapy? is an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar...
- "Such a Shame" by Talk TalkTalk TalkTalk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
- "The Dice Man" by My Life StoryMy Life StoryMy Life Story are a British indie pop group who peaked in the mid to late 1990s, when they were regarded as part of the Britpop movement. Fronted by singer/songwriter Jake Shillingford, the group was formed in London around 1991, and inherited their name from an earlier group in which Shillingford...
- "The Dice Man" by Star 27
- "Patrick Bateman" by Manic Street PreachersManic Street PreachersManic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
Other music connections:
- "The Dice Man" is an alias used by Richard D. James, the Aphex TwinAphex TwinRichard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
- "The Diceman" is the alias used for certain projects of Colin James (Jolly James, Gregg Retch, formerly of Meat Beat ManifestoMeat Beat ManifestoMeat Beat Manifesto, often shortened to Meat Beat or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens formed in 1987 in Swindon, UK...
)
Other art
Art that exploits the principle of randomness is called aleatoricism. Several pieces of aleatory art have been partially inspired by the writings of George Cockcroft.The Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
recently hired a pair of part-time dicers to do a Diceman Travel programme based on the dice. Where they go, what they see, and what they do, all are based on the roll of a die. Apparently it has been popular, though the tendency of the dice to steer the couple off in strange directions has caused problems for the producers and editors.
On film, there have been at least three documentaries on diceliving and the philosophy of the dice, including one 50-minute short film called Dice World by Paul Wilmshurst, produced by Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
In the theatre, The Dice House
The Dice House
The Dice House is a black comedy by Paul Lucas, first staged in June 2001 at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. Inspired by Luke Rhinehart's The Dice Man, it explores the nature and limitations of free will.- Synopsis :...
was staged in London's West End theatre "The Arts". Written by Paul Lucas
Paul Lucas
Paul Lucas is the name of:* Paul Lucas , French merchant, naturalist and traveller* Paul Lucas , French genealogist and Augustinian friar, known as Père Simplicien...
, the play was inspired by Luke Rhinehart's novel The Dice Man.
Ben Marshall, of Loaded magazine
Loaded (magazine)
Loaded, first published in 1994, is a British magazine for men that is considered to be the "original lads' mag". Its motto is "For men who should know better".-History:...
, spent two years from 1998 to 2000 experimenting with being a diceman and writing up his experiences in the magazine. This seems to have been a big hit with the readers, and Loaded subsequently named Luke Rhinehart as novelist of the century.
Larnie Reid Fox invented (or popularised) the idea of the DiceWalk, which was featured in the May 28, 2003 edition of sfweekly, students of psychogeography
Psychogeography
Psychogeography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." Another definition is "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for...
having already pioneered the art or science of random or whimsical excursions.
Writer Terry Mitchell invented the idea of exploring restaurants, food options and dice road trips and has been practising a version of diceliving since 1992. He also writes several characters in his stories as being dice people.