My sci-fi odyssey continues. This time, it's Stranger in a strange land, a beautiful examination of religion, philosophy, love, xenophobia and just what qualifies the term mankind. Strange ideas abound through the book, and once again, I'm surprised by some of the things I've been missing.
A few years ago, when I first read Roy's God of Small Things, a comment on the blurb caught my attention. It said that all good books invent their own language. I guess, then, that all great books are imbibed into the language itself. And here, Heinlein has talent non-pareil. Not just the word grok, he has added what I would like to believe one of the most innocent phrases - I am but an egg.
I interpret it to be mean something along these lines: I accept my ignorance without thought to consequences. I do not try to hide my lack of knowledge. Consequently, I am not afraid of being "found out". In a knowledge-weary world, it is a refreshing attitude. It opens one's mind, makes one seek knowledge for knowledge. It reconnects us with our childhood again. I get the feeling that considering knowledge is power in today's world, people are more reluctant to admit that they don't know something. Especially so in an industry like consulting. This becomes a way of life, unfortunately, which blocks any further progress.
Heinlein's other interesting definition is of mankind itself. When asked who man was, one of the characters answered, man was a creature that laughed at itself. Very poignant. Also, very true! I haven't even begun the more interesting part of the book, who knows where it will lead us.
It's getting late, but I can't resist setting out another poem that Heinlein references in the book, R.L Stevenson's (yes, he of the Treasure Island and Jekyll-n-Hyde fame) Requiem:
Dig the grave and let me lie,
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I lay me down with a will:
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
