Monday, May 20, 2013
Mathematics
Has anyone noticed that all of the societies so far are proficient in mathematics? Does anybody have a possible explanation for this, or is it insignificant? Swift may feel that math is a universal branch of practical knowledge and therefore essential to all societies. Knowledge of math is one of the few things that the societies have in common, even though they are lacking in other areas.
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It's true that mathematics are crucial to societies, and often times pop up in different ways in civilizations. I also think his representation of mathematics could be satirical on the contrasting views on subjects in different cultures. On Laputa, for some reason they hate geometry and sharp angles, and others were indifferent or loved them. These differing views are Swift's pointing out the opinions of religion on certain viewpoints, as his time period was one of religious turmoil.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you Kyle because of the fact that a society is often represented on how they perceive knowledge. This perception can reflect upon their culture, or their way of doing things. That is why I do agree that mathematics is a branch that is essential to knowledge. However, there are more branches that are essential as well not mentioned in the book. Also, to answer Kevin's question of why they would hate geometry and sharp angles would be that the Laputans simply do not think they are essential in life. This is because geometry and sharp angles do have a huge part in our life because of construction of our society, but it does not play a huge role in Laputa since they can simply move the countries of their island due to their magnetic controls. Therefore, the people of Laputa do not see a point in geometry.
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