On 4 Nov 2003, at 22:46, Luther, Ron wrote: >>> the only Umberto Eco I've read is Name of the Rose. > > That confused me too. I was meaning to ask Martin why Eco would > be considered 'geeky'. Did he write a Solaris manual on the > side or what? > <quick bit o' research /> > Oh! I see! Semiotics, eh? Hmmmmmm ... looks interesting! > Okay, yeah ... Martin's right ... that *is* geeky. Not just the work stuff (although thinking about the difference between objects and the things we label them is pretty relevant. Here's a related example, which I think we'll all agree has the geek nature in the way it plays with language and layers of meaning. http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_papers_radford.html I can absolutely recommend Travels in Hyperreality), but also the essays. He wrote the classic piece waaay back claiming that Macs are fundamentally Catholic while DOS is Protestant. http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_mac_vs_pc.html Good starting point: How to Travel with a Salmon. Here's a sample or 2: http://www.netjaunt.com/thinkinghurts/eco.txt http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.43.html#15 http://www.emory.edu/EDUCATION/mfp/indians.html William Baskerville (the protagonist in Name of the Rose) is a complete geek too (albeit a mediaeval one!). Cheers Martin -- Now playing on iTunes: "Had She Been Aye" by Ivan Drever from 'Every Breaking Heart'