great piece: "books to read in the ER," measuring reifies! we are doomed/ or perhaps saved by the living-in-the-moment prophets. thank you for reviewing Labatut for me. Brave reader that you are.
Books to read in the ER. Now that's a thought. Labatut definitely was an odd choice, but there was certainly something calming about the thought that the universe will one day cave in on itself ... makes minor injuries--and even major ones--seem absurdly insignificant.
Merci Kimberley! The book is definitely worth a gander, especially the first chapter "Prussian Blue" about the use of amphetamines & poison gas in modern science / warfare
Some of the individual chapters are particularly poignant, but there were definitely times when I wondered how many of the rave reviews were written by people who rather than understanding the information were simply impressed by it. Nonetheless a memorable work of art.
I loved that book. I think I was reading it when we met up in NYC.
Two thoughts come to mind: One is the old phrase from the 1800s, "Seeing the elephant." When gold miners vetured West, they saw things that blew their minds. Some came back bored by normal life. Once they'd "seen the elephant" they were never the same. I've read accounts of some explorers who saw the vastness of the plains or the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains and turned back, having had their minds blown. They could not continue. They had seen the elephant.
The other is the "overview effect." When astronauts went into orbit, they saw the Earth as a fragile ecosystem within the vastness of space and it changed them.
Both describe the effect of having one's reality recontextualized by the weirdness of reality. As if we're wrapped in a comforting gauz and merely peek at the world through it's loosely woven fibers. But every now and then, an event can occur which yanks away our filter and leaves us utterly shaken.
"When We Cease to Understand the World" felt like a narrative attempt to show that process happening, maybe even to provoke the experience within the reader. I loved it. As the narrative slid from hewing close to what we know into deeper and deeper fiction, it simulated the experience of seeing the world as being weirder and deeper than I always assume. And, the stories about the mathemticians and scientists who 'saw the elephtant' in their work also fortifies the experience.
Absolutely love this interpretation, and especially this phrase “we’re wrapped in a comforting gauz and merely peek at the world through its loosely woven fibers.”
One of the lingering feelings of disquiet that left me, I guess, is that there weren’t any characters who’d “seen the elephant” and returned more joyous at the wonder of the world and its mysteries … which admittedly wasn’t the point of the book. And maybe it’s just true that if we see the cosmic elephant, most of us will lose our shit … this is where some of the descriptions on the cliff face in the dense fog with the galloping horses … that scene sticks with me precisely because I have yet to make any sense of it
Great point! There's more in the way of madness than revelation. I hadn't considered that. I guess I'm a mystic, and I take it for granted that the greater understanding lies across the threshold, but that's not in the book, I was projecting that.
Samuel, this is a thought-provoking essay, and the book sounds intriguing. I have never heard that quote, "The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master." Quite profound.
One of the other commenters stated below the idea of "Seeing the Elephant." After 24 years in the Navy and having traveled the world, I can't return to my hometown of 2,000 people in rural Missouri. Not because I don't love the place but moreso because the majority of people there have never traveled beyond the borders of our county.
I have a lot of books to read so not sure when or if I will get to this one but I appreciate the insightful overview.
Haha wow this is fantastic. You could presumably add a few others in the backseat. Maybe Oppenheimer. Who the cop asks, "who are you?" and he says "I am the destroyer of worlds." And then the cop shoots him.
You must have been at the American Hospital in Neuilly !?? I spent 8 hours myself there recently (they had ONE doc in the ER)!!!
Ah no in fact it was Hôpital Saint Antoine! Nice people but hot damn that was a long wait.
Wellllll now we know 2 hopitals d’eviter!!!
🙄😉🫣
Ha precisely! The only saving grace is that it’s close to my house?
great piece: "books to read in the ER," measuring reifies! we are doomed/ or perhaps saved by the living-in-the-moment prophets. thank you for reviewing Labatut for me. Brave reader that you are.
Books to read in the ER. Now that's a thought. Labatut definitely was an odd choice, but there was certainly something calming about the thought that the universe will one day cave in on itself ... makes minor injuries--and even major ones--seem absurdly insignificant.
What a brilliant exploration. 🙏
Merci Kimberley! The book is definitely worth a gander, especially the first chapter "Prussian Blue" about the use of amphetamines & poison gas in modern science / warfare
Samuel,
This is an essay that gave me almost all of the novel that I could hope to understand. So, perfect.
Some of the individual chapters are particularly poignant, but there were definitely times when I wondered how many of the rave reviews were written by people who rather than understanding the information were simply impressed by it. Nonetheless a memorable work of art.
I loved that book. I think I was reading it when we met up in NYC.
Two thoughts come to mind: One is the old phrase from the 1800s, "Seeing the elephant." When gold miners vetured West, they saw things that blew their minds. Some came back bored by normal life. Once they'd "seen the elephant" they were never the same. I've read accounts of some explorers who saw the vastness of the plains or the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains and turned back, having had their minds blown. They could not continue. They had seen the elephant.
The other is the "overview effect." When astronauts went into orbit, they saw the Earth as a fragile ecosystem within the vastness of space and it changed them.
Both describe the effect of having one's reality recontextualized by the weirdness of reality. As if we're wrapped in a comforting gauz and merely peek at the world through it's loosely woven fibers. But every now and then, an event can occur which yanks away our filter and leaves us utterly shaken.
"When We Cease to Understand the World" felt like a narrative attempt to show that process happening, maybe even to provoke the experience within the reader. I loved it. As the narrative slid from hewing close to what we know into deeper and deeper fiction, it simulated the experience of seeing the world as being weirder and deeper than I always assume. And, the stories about the mathemticians and scientists who 'saw the elephtant' in their work also fortifies the experience.
Absolutely love this interpretation, and especially this phrase “we’re wrapped in a comforting gauz and merely peek at the world through its loosely woven fibers.”
One of the lingering feelings of disquiet that left me, I guess, is that there weren’t any characters who’d “seen the elephant” and returned more joyous at the wonder of the world and its mysteries … which admittedly wasn’t the point of the book. And maybe it’s just true that if we see the cosmic elephant, most of us will lose our shit … this is where some of the descriptions on the cliff face in the dense fog with the galloping horses … that scene sticks with me precisely because I have yet to make any sense of it
Great point! There's more in the way of madness than revelation. I hadn't considered that. I guess I'm a mystic, and I take it for granted that the greater understanding lies across the threshold, but that's not in the book, I was projecting that.
Samuel, this is a thought-provoking essay, and the book sounds intriguing. I have never heard that quote, "The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master." Quite profound.
One of the other commenters stated below the idea of "Seeing the Elephant." After 24 years in the Navy and having traveled the world, I can't return to my hometown of 2,000 people in rural Missouri. Not because I don't love the place but moreso because the majority of people there have never traveled beyond the borders of our county.
I have a lot of books to read so not sure when or if I will get to this one but I appreciate the insightful overview.
Reading your post reminded me of the following joke:
Heisenberg and Schrödinger get pulled over for speeding.
The cop asks Heisenberg "Do you know how fast you were going?"
Heisenberg replies, "No, but we know exactly where we are!"
The officer looks at him confused and says “You were going 108 miles per hour!"
Heisenberg throws his arms up and cries, "Great! Now we're lost!"
The officer looks over the car and asks Schrödinger if the two men have anything in the trunk.
"A cat," Schrödinger replies.
The cop opens the trunk and yells "Hey! This cat is dead."
Schrödinger angrily replies, "Well he is now."
Haha wow this is fantastic. You could presumably add a few others in the backseat. Maybe Oppenheimer. Who the cop asks, "who are you?" and he says "I am the destroyer of worlds." And then the cop shoots him.