Skepticism, Science & Pseudoscience

A more likely venue was John Campbell's office at Astounding Stories -- at least *IF* I remember correctly what I read in "The Early Asimov", which included short biographical asides.

Not too long ago I read the very absorbing "Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction" by Alec Nevala-Lee. Unfortunately, it was just long enough ago that I've forgotten most of the details, but the origin of "Dianetics", which became Scientology, is described in great and convoluted detail in that work. Campbell was deeply involved in the affair, at least at the beginning, and it (like his involvement with the infamous Hieronymus Machine) does not reflect at all well on Campbell. He was evidently a very bright man who felt he could pass expert judgement even in areas where he was quite ignorant, if not outright misinformed. None of it, of course, reflects well on Hubbard, who was clearly after the happy buck from very early on.