ATDDTA(10) I've Got That Zinc-ing Feeling [275]

[David Morris]

Your Wiki link does a pretty good job of explaining the literal
structural commonality of different ancient cultures' pyramids:

1.  Desire for monument (vertical structure).
2.  Stability of structure by stable base w/ least weight at top (hard
to topple)
3.  The base of a pyramid must have at least 3 sides, but may be any
polygon.  As the # of base's sides increase, the pyramid approaches a
cone.  The most common ancient pyramid base has 4 sides.

And before pyramids there were mounds.  Pyramids, being solid, are
essentially abstractions of hills (earth structures) as opposed to
structures that are constructed to enclose/form a space (the first
being caves).  And the return to the mound form from the pyramid is
accomplished by warping the surfaces of the triangular sides to form a
dome.

Of course Pynchon would probably focus more on the structures
underneath the physical:

1.  Social/Power:  pyramid scheme - elite at the top w/ progressive
levels of suckers below.

2. Mathematic/Geometric/Numerologic/etc - out of my league.

3.  Visible/Invisible - the hidden mirror image of the visible pyramid
(below the earth's surface).

David Morris

On 5/31/07, Keith <keithsz at mac.com> wrote
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
> [275:25-26] "That shape [pyramid] is common to a lot of old cultures. Secret wisdom--different details, but the structure underneath is always the same."
>
> The pyramid reference begs for wild goose chasing (see links below), but the point that there is a structure underlying the various outer manifestations of things is the important point for me here. This 'underlying structure' may be the 'invisibility' things are coming in and out of throughout this book, in particular, and Pynchon's novels, in general. The repetition of themes and dynamics in this book are to the pyramids what the underlying structure is to the invisibility. Noam saying?
>