3 ms·
Perhaps inspired from the real world author, Umberto Eco? "... The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful,
by ThrowawayR2 4y ago
Perhaps inspired from the real world author, Umberto Eco?
"... The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with “Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?” and the others—a very small minority—who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary. ..."
- rramadass 4y agoI came across this passage in NNT's works and i think it needs a little bit more elaboration for people to "get" it; 1) The "unread" books constitute the "known unknowns". They confirm the fact that you have mapped out a little bit more of the "unknown territory of knowledge" and can go explore them whenever you are in mind. 2) Having a large set of "unread" books keeps your curiosity, motivation and a sense of "knowledge exploration" alive. These are the driving forces which make "existence" bearable. Most people do not get out of their immediate sensory gratification bubble and are unaware of the "intellectual joy" outside of it. The above two factors have what has made "Civilization" as we know it, possible.