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October 19, 2005
Borges: Labyrinthine imagination
Reading Borges' story made me think of the many elaborate labyrinths we create for ourselves in our own imagination. It is like the opposite of Occam's Razor -- that the simplest solution is usually the correct one -- instead, our minds (at least mine), likes to traverse a complex and twisted path to come to some conclusion. Even the most mundane things -- Wondering why your lover is late can lead your mind from the simple (Subways must be down), to the convoluted (he's having an affair with a someone he met at a cafe, or she's planning my surprise party, she's picking up dinner). As the hours go by you can make a thousand paths that your lover might have taken. And then suddenly you remember, oh, she told me -- she had class tonight! And your imaginary labyrinth falls to pieces.
It's easy for our minds to travel these often absurd paths. I'm also reminded of Umberto Eco's book, Foucault's Pendulum. It mirrors Borge's story of a protagonist who discovers a secret text that has been passed down through shadowy conduits, and who then struggles to make sense of it. Eco's story really indulges this imaginary labyrinth of conspiracy, with the hero falling deeper and deeper into what he perceives as a hidden path to the true 'masters of the universe'. Without giving away the ending of that wonderful book, suffice it to say that the paths that he follows are as much informed by his own mind as by the physical evidence he has been following.
Posted by schwa23 at October 19, 2005 08:18 AM