The Library of Babel in 140 characters (or fewer)

October 27, 2012 8:15 AM

The universe (which others call The Twitter) is composed of every word in the English language; Shakespeare's folios, line-by-line-by-line; the Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, exploded; Constantine XI, in 140 character chunks; Sun Tzu's Art of War, in its entirety; the chapter headings of JG Ballard, in abundance; and definitive discographies of Every. Artist. Ever... All this, I repeat, is true, but one hundred forty characters of inalterable wwwtext cannot correspond to any language, no matter how dialectical or rudimentary it may be.

[previously]

posted by 0bvious (14 comments total)

The most popular everyword tweets are a good survey of the subconscious mind of the internet.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:27 AM on October 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

@JLBorges I do not know which of us has written this tweet.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:55 AM on October 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

There are definitions of "cult" that lock Twitter in an intimate embrace.
posted by fredludd at 8:55 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Would I need to belong to a very specific subculture to "get" the summary?

Because I don't, even after clicking the links.

(Especially the last one)
posted by pla at 9:06 AM on October 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

@pla Check out The Library of Babel. You're welcome
posted by 0bvious at 9:09 AM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

pla: "The Library of Babel" by Jorge Luis Borges.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 9:09 AM on October 27, 2012

there is literally no chance this will look embarrassing in a decade or even half a decade
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 9:10 AM on October 27, 2012

@This, of course, alludes to you: 10 years ago, they said everything was on UseNet. So it goes
posted by 0bvious at 9:16 AM on October 27, 2012

Ah! I see now.

Funny, I've actually read that story before, but didn't make the connection.

Thanks.
posted by pla at 9:21 AM on October 27, 2012

Looks like The Art of War has a bit of Oprah mixed in.
posted by ovvl at 11:58 AM on October 27, 2012

The most popular everyword tweets are a good survey of the subconscious mind of the internet.

To summarise the last 10:

* penis
* ratchet
* poop
* pussy
* pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
* porn
* piss
* owned
* penises
* reptilians

One of these things is not like the others.

I mean, srsly, ratchet???
posted by titus-g at 1:09 PM on October 27, 2012

MeFi ain't Twitter. It's not nice to talk "at" people.
posted by laconic skeuomorph at 1:59 PM on October 27, 2012

It's not nice to talk "at" people.

You know, that turned out to totally not be true.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:44 PM on October 27, 2012

Ping me when someone assembles PKD's Exegesis into some sort of order that makes some sort of sense, please.

Any kind... please... it hurts my brain.
posted by rokusan at 8:32 PM on October 27, 2012