MDMD2: The Learned English Dog

[David Morris]

I think you're right, or at least half-right, which is about as close as 
anyone can be w/ Pynchon.  The funny thing here about the dog's moniker is 
the anachronism: LED, Light Emitting Diode, which brings us back to the 
future, science, computers.  I can't say what the point is there other than 
irony.

David Morris

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213613,00.html

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits visible 
light when an electric current passes through it. The light is not 
particularly bright, but in most LEDs it is monochromatic, occurring at a 
single wavelength. The output from an LED can range from red (at a 
wavelength of approximately 700 nanometers) to blue-violet (about 400 
nanometers). Some LEDs emit infrared (IR) energy (830 nanometers or longer); 
such a device is known as an infrared-emitting diode (IRED).

An LED or IRED consists of two elements of processed material called P-type 
semiconductors and N-type semiconductors. These two elements are placed in 
direct contact, forming a region called the P-N junction. In this respect, 
the LED or IRED resembles most other diode types, but there are important 
differences. The LED or IRED has a transparent package, allowing visible or 
IR energy to pass through. Also, the LED or IRED has a large PN-junction 
area whose shape is tailored to the application.

http://www.mcw.edu/whelan/

Space light-emitting diode (LED) technology has provided medicine with a new 
tool capable of delivering light deep into tissues of the body, at 
wavelengths which are biologically optimal for cancer treatment and wound 
healing. This LED technology has already flown on Space Shuttle missions, 
and shows promise for wound healing applications of benefit to Space Station 
astronauts, and in Special Operations.

>From: "John Bailey"
>
>I think, too, The L.E.D. is the first example of the kind of 
>super/preter/extranatural thing which M&D seems to suggest is denied and 
>subsequently destroyed by the Age of Reason, Enlightenment, Men of Science 
>etc, yeah? Would people agree that this is a major theme of the novel?

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