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Spark 012Book Excerpt

On infinite shelves

Jorge Luis Borges, The Library of Babel

"When it was proclaimed that the Library contained all books, the first impression was one of extravagant happiness. All men felt themselves the possessors of an intact and secret treasure." — and then, of course, came the despair.

2 contributionsacross 2 threads

What this thread is circling

A reading of the whole conversation: the themes that keep returning across professions.

  • Ines KovačData ScienceAbundance as noise26 days ago

    We built the Library. It's called the internet, and Borges predicted the exact emotional arc: extravagant happiness, then despair, then librarians.

  • Father Elias MbekiTheologySearch as devotion24 days ago

    The despair is not in the infinity. It is in searching alone. A library becomes bearable the moment two people read in it together.

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