eigenvalues--and the Pynchon dilemma

[Paul L. Maliszewski]

I came in on the tail end of this eigenvalue discussion, but I don't 
think it's surprising that we're seeing two wildly (and widely) different 
opinions on the significance of Eigenvalue.  That is, there have been a 
couple of people to wrestle with the meaning of eigenvectors, both 
mathematically and in terms of literary characterizations, and likewise 
another group of people who want to say, wait a minute, Eigenvalue is 
really not all that complicated. . . it's just a little joke for 
engineers in the audience.

I'd call this the Pynchon dilemma, and one that's central to all his 
work.  Not that he made it up by any means, but over and over this is a 
dilemma that he suggests is built-in to any interpretation.

In Gravity's Rainbow, it's 
posited as zeros and ones, and in various other forms.  Is it paranoia or 
a conspiracy to be legitimately concerned about?  Is the baby Jesus happy 
or has he just farted?  I could go on, and others of you could supply 
your own.  The text is filled with this interpretive binaries.  And yes, 
these are binaries that he seriously muddies:  As he puts it, just 
because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not following you.  That's 
probably the clearest example I can think of where he merges the two 
interpretative opions.

In the Crying of Lot 49, Oedipa Maas's quest poses similar questions of 
interpretation.  Is the Trystero all an imagined construction joined 
in tinker-toy fashion by her own imagined connections or is it "real".  
Is it just Pierce's idea of a joke or an entire underground society?

To bring this back to eigenvalues and eigenvectors, I'd say Pynchon's 
texts anticipate these problems that we have when we read them.
That, for me, has always 
been what most impresses me most about his novels:  they are in some ways 
their own most rigorous critics; they are there working away, taking 
apart and putting together, long before we even get there.

Second the motion:
I too would like to hear more about the upcoming book Powerless 
Fictions.  I'd also like to hear more about what's meant by the bomb 
parables.  I've always been interested in that particular form.

This is only my 2nd or 3rd day on this list, but thusfar I've really 
enjoyed the discussions.  Thank you.
 
_________________________________________________________________________
Paul Maliszewski