The Discoverers

After months away due to work issues that left me little time for recreational reading, I'm back and reading Daniel J. Boorstin's "The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know his World and Himself". Barring the dated title (apparently women have engaged in their own separate searches...wait...actually, we kind of have...) this book is still remarkable.

I haven't read Boorstin's other works, but he was a Rhodes Scholar, winner of a Pulitzer, a Librarian of Congress (1975-1983), and he spent time as a visiting professor of American History at the Universities of Rome, Kyoto, Geneva, and Puerto Rico among many other accomplishments.

While I can't say I agree with many of his ideas (the man was very politically conservative, outed members of the Communist party to the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1953, and opposed early versions of Affirmative Action and African-American Studies as racist movements) he is a clear and engaging communicator when it comes to the written word. He's been politically and intellectually controversial, and looking over a New York Times article written just after his death in 2004, I admire his preference of experience over ideas and his outspokenness regarding the watering-down and staged pageantry of political events in American culture.

The quadrilogy "The Discoverers" explores innovations in mathematics, astronomy, cartography, mechanics, physics, and other disciplines of scientific thought through how they have influenced and been influenced by religion and popular culture. I have just started Book 2 "The Earth and the Seas" which charts the progress of geography and cartography from early Greek and Chinese investigators. Boorstin follows conceptions of the Earth in Europe and western Asia from Eratosthenes (circa 276-195 b.c.e.), who calculated the circumference of the spherical earth to within an error margin of 15%, through the Interruption (of the Enlightenment) when it was considered heresy to believe in the existence of a Southern Hemisphere but not to believe that other pre-Christian monsters and demigods existed in the outer, unexplored regions of the world. Boorstin notes how interesting it is that precise mathematical calculations were somehow more threatening to some early Christian church leaders than were the old gods of "pagan" lands. A favorite quote from this section, "More appealing than knowledge itself is the feeling of knowing".

While the Interruption went on in Europe, and faithful cartographers drew ever more fantastically inaccurate maps to pinpoint Eden and the lands of Prester John (I never even knew such a story existed before reading this book! The detail with which this fanciful land was described by mapmakers who had never seen it is pretty amazing.), the Chinese were perfecting their own system of cartography that came from very pragmatic needs to dedicate land parcels in a huge, diverse, and fairly recently unified country. That's where I am now. I may reflect on other sections/books in the future.

The only thing that surprises me a little is how little mention advances in mathematics and astronomy from Arabic cultures are getting so far. They seem uniquely relevant to this and previous sections, but perhaps there will be more to report later on. The important thing with a book like this to me is the questions it raises, so I can say I'm thoroughly enjoying this one!

Happy October.

This image has nothing to do with books, really. Just happy that Halloween is on the way! These colorful pumpkins inspired much creativity with a black Sharpee.

Beware The Jabberwock!

I think I've mentioned that Jabberwocky is among my favorite tell-aloud poems/stories of all time. I wouldn't be my father's child if I hadn't memorized this infamous verse at a very young age, and it's always there...lurking in the background of my consciousness, drooling on my dendrites and breathing heavily down my brain stem. It seems to be much the same for the many artists who have depicted the eponymous monster. (By the way - check this keen post from a like-minded blogger: http://www.murmur.com/literature/the_many_faces_of_the_jabberwock.html)

The original Jabberwock was drawn by John Tenniel, and is adorably menacing (like a lot of his illustrations). I must admit, my favorite features of this design are those rodential incisors and the waistcoat.


Artists have used this as the inspiration for later designs, including those involved with the PC horror game American McGee's Alice - a GREAT game if you like darker stuff - geek moment: and the sequel just came ooooouuuuutttt! Squee!
Images from: wikia.com

Here are a couple of other versions. These two books are in my collection.
This one was bequeathed to me by my parents, and was the first printing of Jabberwocky to which I was introduced. I always got a little scared by the picture of the hero snicker-snacking the Jabberwock's head off, but otherwise it is quite tame and I love the color scheme of predominantly faded blues and greens. Illus: Jane Breskin Zalben

This next one (below right) was picked up for my mother's classroom collection by someone, but turned out to be a much gorier, scarier, more darkly surreal version than deemed appropriate for 8/9 year olds. We liked it, but it also came to yours truly in the end. Cause I'm messed up like that and my family knows it.

Illus: Stephane Jorisch

I responded to this Jabberwock in part because as in any good horror film, you don't ever SEE all of the monster. You get impressions of enormous size, sharp teeth, and general bad temper...but nothing distinct. I also like the scratchy-sketchy, red-spattery backgrounds in this one. They seem fragile and uncomfortable, sort of the way the language might make one feel reading it for the first time - like you are entering a world with rules you don't understand but that you might just need to learn fast if you want to survive to the last stanza.

This might be a good time to mention that I read the Alice stories as being very much about growing up in general. Rules rules rules...and none of them really make much sense or are adequately explained to you. You just sort of have to go with the flow to survive. And let's not start with all the Now-You're-Too-Big and Now-You're-Too-Small motifs...oh wait, I just did.

So far, as a favorite illustration, I simply must go for the original, but now let me tell you about my least favorite version.
Image from: wikia.com
This was the Jabberwock from a 1980's made-for-TV version of Alice in Wonderland that included elements from Through the Looking Glass (which featured Roddy MacDowell and other big names). Seriously. Yup it's a suit with a giant headpiece, and those little nubby arms flail around comically the whole time it's on screen. In this light, I think it looks like a gooey, sentient booger with wings, but maybe that's just me. The best movie depiction by far in my humble opinion is in the latest Tim Burton film - voiced by Christopher Lee, who will never admit that he is the reincarnated and heavily disguised Jabberwock himself. (I'm on to you, Mr. Lee!)

Snarky and mucus-related comments aside, do any of you have favorite versions of the Jabberwock, or those mimsy borogoves, or perhaps the frumious bandersnatch to share? This poem is in the public domain, and is such a ripe ground for creativity that many artists around the world have tackled illustrating it. I haven't even begun to really delve into all the visions of this strange world I have seen just with an image search on Google. If you have a favorite, please cite it in the comments!

Light Summer Reading - Agatha Christie and the Uncanny Valley

Just a quick post regarding some light reading over the last few weeks.

Agatha Christie - Sleeping Murder, A Caribbean Mystery
Stephen King - The Gunslinger, Dark Tower Book 1

Yet again I come to Ms. Christie for my light reading. She's a genius at messing with my mind. I can devour one of her mysteries in a few hours, and still want more. Both of the above titles are Miss Marple mysteries, and once again I am struck by how much Christie seemed to love the uncanny wrapped in the mundane.

There is a phenomenon in psychology and computer programming called the Uncanny Valley, in which an artificial representation of a human (like a robot or a CG character) is charming when it is very obviously not human, disturbing when it is a close but imperfect facsimile, and becomes more acceptable again as it closes in on perfect imitation. The "Valley" in the uncanny valley refers to the sudden decline and following rise in positive response from a human observer as the artificial human approaches perfection. Psychologists have wondered whether this is related to a deep-seated human fear of the unknown, or of replacement by an artificial doppelganger.

Hypotheses also exist regarding the evolutionary value of having a negative reaction to someone who is human and by all appearances upstanding but something seems "not quite right". I think Christie's works, in particular Miss Marple, are a perfect example of this. Sensitivity to minutiae in human behavior that seem "not quite right" is what infallibly leads Christie's detectives to uncovering evil. This sensitivity saves lives.

The well-bred gentleman sitting next to you at a party might just that morning have murdered his niece. The young woman combing her hair might be hiding her lover's dead body in the closet. The sweet old lady knitting in the corner might be watching you much more closely than you think.

Happy Birthday Jules Verne!

A big ol' Happy Birthday to Mr. Jules Verne: 8 Feb 1828 - 24 March 1905. To the man who brought us a strange and wonderful vision of technological progress, thanks and way to anticipate!

Guilty Pleasures - Interim Post

I was thinking about guilty pleasures this week. You know, reading and loving reading IS actually becoming a rare and fairly highbrow pleasure in general these days, so it's funny that any reader should have ``guilty'' reading pleasures, but I certianly do. Here are the ones I'm willing to admit:

Comic books - Yes a lot of what I read could be classified as a slightly more high-falutin' ``graphic novel''...but really? I like comic books.

Mystery novels - What is it about a good bloody murder and socially inept detective that attracts so many otherwise sensitive readers? I've read some pretty gruesome stuff, but the consistently popular murder mystery novel doesn't seem to fall under this category for some reason. For example, no one has thought to ban Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie on the grounds of explicit content. I'm not complaining, it's just weird is all.

Fanfiction - Poorly written, completely out of character, and occasionally very entertaining! This pleasure is more guilty and less frequent, but I've done my share of searching on fanfiction.net.

Any guilty pleasures to share? Leave a comment below!
Something more pithy will follow, but this has been on my mind for a while now.