V-2nd - Chapter 10, Part II: What is Man?

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Too lazy (too human) to type this all out, but another wonderful, thought-provoking Pynchon passage (p. 310):

"In the eighteenth century it was often convenient to regard man as a clockwork automaton..."

19th century: heat-engine with 40% efficiency

20th century: something which absorbs x-rays, gamma rays and neutrons

Why has Man been so intent on comparing himself (ourselves) to an inanimate object?  Kind of the opposite of positing a religious deity, which gives us the luxury of accepting without understanding.  If we're merely machines, we can be drawn, dissected, predicted and completely known.  Not to mention that gives us, as machine-creators, a godlike status.  A seductive metaphor for anyone with a reasonably large ego who's willing to truncate the nuances of human emotion and experience.

The 21st century version is undoubtedly "Man is a computer."  Lots of sci-fi on the topic, anyhow.  Questions such as:  can human memories be downloaded?  "Whether we're based on carbon or silicon, we all deserve the same respect."

Laura