“Billion to one chance… million to one chance!”
this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2024
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Ya know, sometimes I marvel at technology. Think about it. What once took a primate, a long length of string, and a LOT of bananas can now be accomplished through a simple browser interface. We can navigate L-space from the comfort of our couches without have to go ask a monkey for help
I mean an orangutan!
Oh shi-
What once took a primate, a long length of string, and a LOT of banana
I'm not very familiar with Prachett's work, so I'm probably missing a reference here. What was the long string used for?
So this is a couple layers deep.
L-space, or Library space, is what happens when you get an accumulation of a critical mass of knowledge*, which begins to bend space-time. Such a mass as that found in the Unseen University library. The Librarian (an orangutan), in the book Guards Guards, navigates l-space using, if I recall correctly, a length of string to find his way back. I might be misremembering though. The bananas, of course, were for lunch.
*knowledge = power, power = energy, energy = mass. Making libraries as dense as a black hole and forming a singularity