Marcus du Sautoy on Jorge Luis Borges
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2014
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Mathematician Marcus de Sautoy champions the blind Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. He is fascinated by the connection between the creator of 'The Library of Babel' and science - did Borges really understand notions of infinity and space?
Biographer Jason Wilson adds colourful detail to the life of a great writer whom he insists was just being impish when it came to the weighty matters that have excited more than one mathematician over the years.
The programme includes beautiful recordings of Borges in conversation in 1971. Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Understanding of Science.
Presented by Matthew Parris.
Produced by Miles Warde.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2014.
Transcript
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| 0:46.8 | You may not previously have heard of the Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, but in a |
| 0:52.4 | 1942 essay, blind Argentinian writer |
| 0:55.7 | Jorge Luis Borje makes mention of this wondrous source and describes it as |
| 1:01.0 | an ancient Chinese Encyclopedia. |
| 1:04.0 | He includes a list of animals. Allow me to read them to you. |
| 1:07.0 | It begins, |
| 1:08.0 | Those that belong to the Emperor, Embarmed ones, |
| 1:11.0 | those that are trained, suckling pigs, mermaids, fabulous ones, stray dogs, |
| 1:17.0 | those that are included in this classification, those that tremble as if they were mad, innumerable ones. |
| 1:24.1 | Those drawn with a very fine camel hairbrush, |
| 1:27.3 | etc. |
| 1:28.4 | Those that have just broken the flower vars, |
... |
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