3 ms·
Borges Labyrinth in Venice reopens to the public
- AngryData 1mo agoWell I guess its neat they added a tactile map for the blind at the beginning of the maze, except the solid hard barrier at the bottom within the very narrow spaces and with hard corners is a massive tripping hazard even for people who can see.
- mdp2021 1mo ago> I guess its neat I guess it is a direct idea given the structure is there to celebrate a blind master.
- jmutex 1mo agoHope they have good signage, or at least a debugger. A real-world recursive data structure!
- crabmusket 1mo agoWhat a coincidence - I'm currently reading his collection Labyrinths. If you've enjoyed the short stories of Ted Chiang I'd highly recommend it.
- nottorp 1mo agoOr chronologically, you may like Ted Chiang if you like Borges. I mean, who was there first?
- simiones 1mo agoThis comes off as claiming that no one could possibly read Harry Potter if they haven't read The Illiad yet, nor the Illiad if they haven't read the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- compyman 1mo agoI am taking this as a reference to "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote"[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Menard,_Author_of_the_Quixote https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Menard,_Author_of_the_Q...
- schaefer 1mo agoI love this book so much (Labyrinths, by Borges). I once calculated the number of books in The Library of Bable, and had to try a number of numerical libraries to do so. one after another they kept puking on the large integers. I also think of "the secret miracle" often.
- hcs 1mo agoI recently picked up this recently, it uses The Library as a way of discussing a few different mathematical topics. I can't strongly recommend it but it's interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unimaginable_Mathematics_of_Borges%27_Library_of_Babel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unimaginable_Mathematics_o...
- crabmusket 1mo agoHere is someone's attempt at calculating the volume of the library: https://canterburybookstore.com/new-content/2024/11/22/how-big-is-jorge-louis-borgess-library-of-babel https://canterburybookstore.com/new-content/2024/11/22/how-b... Spoilers: it's big. Vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big. You might think it's a long way across the diameter of the observable universe but that's just peanuts compared to the library. Also, a fun website: https://libraryofbabel.info/ https://libraryofbabel.info/
- hunter-gatherer 1mo agoSomewhat shameless shout out about this... My friends father is Steve Peck, the author of "A short stay in hell". It's a short story about a guy who ends up in hell that is this library. Fun weekend read.
- schaefer 1mo agoThat’s awesome. I’ve seen the book around, but didn’t know the connection to the works of Borges.
- bywater 1mo agoGiven his themes, I wonder if the exit is just an illusion, or if you truly feel lost inside. Peak Borges tribute.
- a_number_of_his 1mo agoIt's not a labyrinth though!? Begin argument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth
- telesilla 1mo agoIt is a garden, with forking paths. (I adore Borges, his Aleph story follows me through life, such wonders he opened.. "but all space was there, actual and undiminished"..) https://dn760105.eu.archive.org/0/items/borges-jorge-luis-book-of-sand-gold-of-the-tigers-penguin-1981/Borges%2C%20Jorge%20Luis/Aleph%20%26%20Other%20Stories%2C%201933-1969/Borges%2C%20Jorge%20Luis%20-%20Aleph%20%26%20Other%20Stories%2C%201933-1969%20%28Bantam%2C%201971%29.pdf https://dn760105.eu.archive.org/0/items/borges-jorge-luis-bo...
- BLKNSLVR 1mo agoBut it would feel like one if you woke up in the middle of it with nothing but your wits.
- mdp2021 1mo agoThe original labyrinth in Knossos was (according to some) was the royal Minoan palace on Crete, with structure so intricate it was a maze. The labrys is the double-edged axe, symbol of power, at its gate. Labyrinth is many things - substantially a maze (not e.g. a subset of it like specific shape).
- Laurel1234 1mo ago[dead]
- barrkel 1mo agoLabyrinth is synonymous with maze in English. The labyrinth symbol, as a decoration or motif in ancient Greek artifacts, isn't generally a maze, but the labyrinth of myth is. Theseus had to use thread, given to him by Ariadne, to find his way back out.
- BLKNSLVR 1mo agoI don't think I've come across anything related to Borges that hasn't been worth reading. I really need to investigate him more. My first introduction was the 'Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge'[0], from which I will never forget "those that tremble as if they were mad" And in rare scenarios I've found 'On Exactitude in Science'[1] to be pertinent. The thing itself is it's own map (maybe even: the code _is_ the documentation). [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Emporium_of_Benevolent_Knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Emporium_of_Benevole... [1]: https://neilgreenberg.com/ao-quote-borges-on-exactitude-in-science/ https://neilgreenberg.com/ao-quote-borges-on-exactitude-in-s...
- svrtknst 1mo agoI refer to Exactitude quite often, but more often to highlight that the code isn't the documentation, to use the same analogy. When we make a map, it is a purposeful abstraction. It disregards some things and exaggerates others. The map cannot explain everything – to do so it would need to be exactly the same size as the land beneath it. When you make a map, document code, present or listen to an argument etc. you need to focus on what's important for this specific purpose. Otherwise your map will be useless. Either from being incomplete, of from being too complete.
- kragen 1mo agoThis is the major theme of Funes, el memorioso as well. Borges may have been correct; Jill Price describes her near-Funes-level memory as a curse. It's somewhat of a disability for her. Like the fictional Funes, she lives with her parents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAbQvmf0YOQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAbQvmf0YOQ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Price https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Price
- mdp2021 1mo agoHave you read El Aleph and Ficciones? Have you read Libro del cielo y del infierno, and El libro de los seres imaginarios, and Cuentos breves y extraordinarios? The poetry is also very, very worth it. And there is a recording of Borges reading a selection of his own poems. (Of which do not miss, for example, "El Golem").
- officehero 1mo ago"House of Asterion" is Borges's main labyrinth story as far as I can remember. "Library of Babel", "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbits Tertius", "The Immortal" and "The Aleph" are my favorites. His collected works fit in a single book and is a great example of quality beats quantity.
- devindotcom 1mo agoI suspect most would point to The Garden of Forking Paths as his "main labyrinth story" if he could be said to have such a thing. The Library of Babel is also a labyrinth of sorts. I recall another where a guy faked his own murder. He was really a labyrinthine guy.
- arctek 1mo ago"The next time I kill you," said Scharlach, "I promise you the labyrinth made of the single straight line which is invisible and everlasting."
- mcphage 1mo agoHe also has “The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths”, which is short but perfect.
- Markoff 1mo agoCan someone please tell me how is it different from any other labyrinth and what makes it special (because it's memorial to some writer?)? I looked at photos and besides curved corners don't really see anything special.
- devindotcom 1mo agonothing about its shape strikes you?
- mdp2021 1mo agoLook at its scheme from above https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bFhmPUzXwoyNXtWmfaeGCb-1024-80.jpg.webp https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bFhmPUzXwoyNXtWmfaeGCb-102... > memorial Well yes, Borges was especially fond of labyrinths. And Borges is not just any writer: his process and language is indelible to anyone who read him, especially in formative years.
- mdp2021 1mo agoOf course the labyrinth in Borges is a full concept, not just a plain geometric shape. -- Spinoza Las traslúcidas manos del judío // labran en la penumbra los cristales // y la tarde que muere es miedo y frío. // (Las tardes a las tardes son iguales.) Las manos y el espacio de jacinto // que palidece en el confín del Ghetto // casi no existen para el hombre quieto // que está soñando un claro laberinto. No lo turba la fama, ese reflejo // de sueños en el sueño de otro espejo, // ni el temeroso amor de las doncellas. Libre de la metáfora y del mito // labra un arduo cristal: el infinito // mapa de Aquel que es todas Sus estrellas.
- dramm 1mo agoNigel specified the height of the Borges labyrinth hedges in inches mistaking them for feet.
- loevborg 1mo agoI was on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore last year and was disappointed that I wasn't able to see the labyrinth. Also if I remember correctly the tower of the church wasn't accessible due to renovations. I'm glad to hear that the labyrinth is getting reopened. In general there's so much so see in Venice, and most of it is not overcrowded at all once you skip the top 10 sights that get visits by mass tourism.
- stefantalpalaru 1mo ago[dead]