Pynchon has the insights, always

[Mark Kohut]

In looking up a section in AtD that Mike Jing asked about,
I wanted to refresh my memory on the context.

And this is the paragraph before the railroads one which I find
very relevant: "Best procedure when considering the Balkans." instructed
Renfrew, "is not to look at components singly---one begins to run around the
room screaming after a while [as I just did about looking at Ukraine
singly, so to speak]--
but all together, everything in a single timeless snapshot , the way master
chess players are said to regard the board."

I can't remember how I view Renfrew's talk here so tell me I've missed his
unreliability, the irony, and I won't have the will to argue.