The chapter explores different interpretations of a story, ranging from allegorical to existential themes. It discusses the life of a blind national librarian of Argentina and his subsequent role as a poultry inspector, reflecting on themes of obsession and truth-seeking in his work. Furthermore, it delves into Borges' mastery in encapsulating profound ideas in short stories, particularly focusing on the existential implications of living in an infinite library.
David and Tamler try to wrap their heads around Jorge Luis Borges' “The Library of Babel†– a short story about a universe/library that contains every possible book with every possible combination of characters. How many books would this library contain? Would some of the books justify our lives (if we could find them)? Can we know whether a book is deeply meaningful or deeply misleading? Why are the librarians so alone and so consumed with anguish? Wouldn’t we all just end up just looking for the porn books? Plus, we talk about the ethics of doing research on data drawn from the Ashley Madison leak. Life is short, listen to this episode.
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