JSL2023兄前不久介绍了一本书《Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid》,说是不久,也是去年啦。我久矣不读此类的书了,因为同类的书往往知识碎片丰富,所包含的思想却不成比例,有时乏善可陈。前人有钱和钱串子的比喻。有知识,没思想,即便有一屋子钱,没有东西把它穿起来,就是一堆旧物,令人玩物丧志。有些胡乱穿起来的,蒸馏一下,去掉碎片,甚至会发现作者的思想是混乱或有害的,即便是得了什么什么奖的。
The story goes that Thamus said many things to Theuth in praise or blame of the various arts, which it would take too long to repeat; but when they came to the letters, “This invention, O king,” said Theuth, “will make the Egyptians wiser and will improve their memories; for it is an elixir of memory and wisdom that I have discovered.”
But Thamus replied, “Most ingenious Theuth, one man has the ability to beget arts, but the ability to judge of their usefulness or harmfulness to their users belongs to another;and now you, who are the father of letters, have been led by your affection to ascribe to them a power the opposite of that which they really possess.
For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will, therefore, seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with since they are not wise, but only appear wise.
这样一种长卷,显然不是为了初学者所写,而是为那些至少已经知道大体内容是什么的人所撰。即其作用,对已知内容的人来说,是个提醒,帮助记忆,或者是讲义和辩论依据。这种体例中,表达上可能会有混淆。有人举例,如GOD IS NOW HERE与GOD IS NOWHERE。但这种混淆在那个时代,在实际的应用中,却是不可能发生的。这样书写长卷,是省纸的,但这是附带的优点,很难讲是其成因——能拥有这样的书的人,会去珍惜牛羊皮吗?
相对而言,现代的“智慧”多少是书籍附属物,而实际上可能并不存在,如苏格拉底指出的那样,seem to know many things。书只是记忆,外部记忆,这里外部是与人自己的记忆相对而言的。记忆不是智慧,只有当人的心在那里时,记忆才与智慧发生关系。
作者似乎认为艺术家与作曲家不懂数学,却也来至同样的门。我从作者的解释想到,Escher对“front and back grounds”的描述,实际上类似于色与空之间的关系,空不异色:飞鸟渐变为天空,天空又变为飞鸟。然而色与空的相对之下,又有着空的本底,万里无云万里天;在空的本底之下,又有着空和色的一切种子,那是不空不异色,不色亦不空了。米开朗琪罗说,雕刻是将形象从大理石中解放出来。那个形象是在大理石中么!?
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