Description
Trade Review"Mr. Bloch, professor of mathematics at Wheaton College, has woven an elegant, ingenious, scholarly interpretation of Borges's text that contradicts the disingenuous 'unimaginable' of his title."--New York Sun "For the reader of Borges, some of Bloch's observations may offer a useful new way of engaging with the themes of the fiction." -- American Scientist "You need no advanced mathematics to understand 'The Library of Babel' but chances are good that if you like the story, you'll enjoy Professor Bloch's excursions." -- Mathematical Association of America Review "Given Borges' well-known affection for mathematics, this exploration of the story through the eyes of a humanistic mathematician makes a unique and important contribution to the body of Borgesian criticism. Bloch not only illuminates one of the great short stories of modern literature, but also exposes the reader - including those more inclined to the literary world - to many intriguing and entrancing mathematical ideas."--Mathematical Reviews
Table of ContentsPreface ; Introduction ; Combinatorics: Contemplating Variations of the 23 Letter ; Topology and Cosmology: The Universe (Which Others Call the Library) ; Information Theory: Cataloging the Collection ; Geometry and Graph Theory: Ambiguity and Access ; Real Analysis: The Book of Sand ; More Combinatorics: Disorderings into Order ; A Homomorphism: Structure into Meaning ; Critical Points ; Openings ; Acknowledgements ; Appendix IThe Logos of Logarithms ; Appendix IIFlat-Out Disoriented ; Appendix IIIPeeling the 3-Sphere ; Appendix IVA Labyrinth, not a Maze ; Appendix VAn Example of the Ars Combinatoria ; Bibliography
