Returning to the Library...
Posted by:
Minsky Cat (---.vip.uk.com)
Date: January 29, 2003 10:36PM
<HTML>Well, book-jumping may be quite different for humans, but from my point of view it's all very straightforward.
I am growing more and more convinced that all cats have a natural talent for book-jumping, but only the more literate ones have a chance to exercise it. Don't forget that the Library itself is run by one of our species. As for orang-utans, it should also be remembered that the Librarian was originally human but was turned into an orang-utan by a magical accident; he was, therefore, the Librarian before he was an orang-utan. I have no wish to demean orang-utans in general, but it must be accepted that he is a special case. (Incidentally, he is of course the Discworld's main JurisFiction representative, so I have met him on several occasions. I find him very agreeable, but I do wish he wouldn't insist on bringing Rincewind, who makes me want to chase him up a tree.)
I am fascinated by the various mathematical formulae proposed for book-jumping, but I am not at all sure that any can really be defined. It seems to depend at least partly on local conditions at the time, the literary equivalent of the weather, if I may attempt a comparison. It is very difficult to establish this by proper experiment, but my current theory is that whenever anyone reads a text, it causes a temporary disturbance in that text's literary field. As the reader progresses, the disturbance moves along the time line of the book; however, if the reader leaves the book partly finished, the disturbance remains in the same place and takes a considerable length of time to dissipate. If a book is not much read but generally finished by its readers, or on the other hand if it is very well read so that all the disturbances average out to a state of calm, it seems to be a great deal easier to jump into. However, since there is no way of telling exactly who is reading a book at any given time, where they have got to in the text, and whether or not they are likely to return to it in the future, then even if my theory can be proved, I am not at all sure that anyone could arrive at an accurate formula.
This, of course, is the other reason why it is impossible, even for me, to jump into <i>Ulysses.</i> It is not just the fact that the text makes no sense at all. It also has a great deal to do with the fact that so many people start reading it and then put it down in disgust. Miaow.</HTML>