4 ms·

Borges blew my brain first when I was 18. To this day I re-read at least "The Library of Babel" once a year. Still in awe of how his mind worked.

perelin 4y ago
Took me some time to find the quote again, but I keenly remembered William Gibson talking about Borges as his favourite writer. Here you go: Q: If you had a chance to meet the author of your favorite book, who would it be and what would you ask them? A: Jorge Luis Borges. "How is this possible?" https://web.archive.org/web/20100418124053/http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/blog/2010_04_01_archive.asp#7672917492846177521 https://web.archive.org/web/20100418124053/http://www.willia...
- Archelaos 4y ago
  Why care about William Gibson, when you are Borges? -- Or are there some possible worlds were Gibson and Borges are identical?
  - perelin 4y ago
    Well, somehow Borges apologized to Gibson (and to all of us) for coming up with all of it first. In a way. At least in this world. In this book. "If in the following pages there is some successful verse or other, may the reader forgive me the audacity of having written it before him. We are all one; our inconsequential minds are much alike, and circumstances so influence us that it is something of an accident that you are the reader and I the writer" I think its the from the foreword of "Ficciones". Found it here again: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/68427/it-is-something-of-an-accident-that-you-are-the-reader-and-i-the-writer https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/68427/it-is-someth...
gyre007 4y ago
> To this day I re-read at least "The Library of Babel" once a year I do the same thing. It’s my most favourite story I’ve ever read. Endless in depth.
- perelin 4y ago
  Years after reading it first the thought came to me (probably read it somewhere) that the library is equal to π (pi) - never ending (somehow), never repeating. Its all in there. Strangely comforting: We have it already written out, just need to discover the important bits. Oh, and of course somebody made a website https://libraryofbabel.info/ https://libraryofbabel.info/
  - neilparikh 4y ago
    > Its all in there. Nitpick: the normality of pi (that every possible number is "in there") is still a conjecture. It does seem true though (from a layman's perspective).

perelin 4y ago

Took me some time to find the quote again, but I keenly remembered William Gibson talking about Borges as his favourite writer. Here you go: Q: If you had a chance to meet the author of your favorite book, who would it be and what would you ask them? A: Jorge Luis Borges. "How is this possible?" https://web.archive.org/web/20100418124053/http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/blog/2010_04_01_archive.asp#7672917492846177521 https://web.archive.org/web/20100418124053/http://www.willia...

Archelaos 4y ago
Why care about William Gibson, when you are Borges? -- Or are there some possible worlds were Gibson and Borges are identical?
- perelin 4y ago
  Well, somehow Borges apologized to Gibson (and to all of us) for coming up with all of it first. In a way. At least in this world. In this book. "If in the following pages there is some successful verse or other, may the reader forgive me the audacity of having written it before him. We are all one; our inconsequential minds are much alike, and circumstances so influence us that it is something of an accident that you are the reader and I the writer" I think its the from the foreword of "Ficciones". Found it here again: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/68427/it-is-something-of-an-accident-that-you-are-the-reader-and-i-the-writer https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/68427/it-is-someth...

gyre007 4y ago

> To this day I re-read at least "The Library of Babel" once a year I do the same thing. It’s my most favourite story I’ve ever read. Endless in depth.

perelin 4y ago
Years after reading it first the thought came to me (probably read it somewhere) that the library is equal to π (pi) - never ending (somehow), never repeating. Its all in there. Strangely comforting: We have it already written out, just need to discover the important bits. Oh, and of course somebody made a website https://libraryofbabel.info/ https://libraryofbabel.info/
- neilparikh 4y ago
  > Its all in there. Nitpick: the normality of pi (that every possible number is "in there") is still a conjecture. It does seem true though (from a layman's perspective).