Thursday, January 6, 2011
2 times 2 =... 5?
I thought this quote from "Notes from Underground" was extremely interesting: "I agree that two times two makes four is a splendid thing; but if we're going to lavish praise, then two times two makes five is sometimes also a very charming little thing." (page 559) Throughout "Notes from Underground," the narrator challenges not only Romantics but also logic and reason. He calls into question what we believe to be true, while also asserting his own intelligence. What do you all think Dostoevsky intends the reader to think about 2 times 2 equaling 4 or 5?
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6 comments:
2 times 2 should equal 5 sometimes. The human experience is subjective. I feel like I've mentioned this before in class, but the human experience is perceived through the five bodily senses. And because one is unable to sense the bodily senses for anyone else, the perception of the five basic senses are subjective. For example, the color blue has certain qualities in my mind, but I'll never know for sure if I experience "blue" in the same way that everyone else does. But as part of the human condition, it's easy to accidentally assume that others perceive situations similarly. And it's easy to declare that one can read another's thoughts based off their words and actions at the same time as one assumes that 2 times 2 always equals 4 without first considering that it could equal 5. Or that it could equal 5 to someone else.
Dostoevsky is definitely challenging conventional ideas about reason. He opposes the belief that only reason guides humanity. Instead, he thinks that desire trumps reason, which is why no one is perfect and people are unique. Like Stephen said, people are also conscious of different things because life is subjective. However, I feel like I'm an example of a person that accidentally assumes 2 times 2 must always equals 4.
I think that Dostoevsky makes a good point when he says that 2*2=4 leaves no room for free will. Certainly, in terms of the argument he is attempting to make, it is a very good metaphor. We live in a world where science seems to threaten our free will sometimes. As I mentioned in class, Google now tries to predict what you are going to search next. Facebook serves as an "online passport," allowing new websites you have never visited before to know who you are. Many internet moguls, including Mark Zuckerberg, think that the standards for online privacy must necessarily change; in other words, people like the Underground Man, who are trying to confound the scientific formulas, will find it harder and harder to hide.
All is not lost, however. Last year, I read a book about Chaos Theory. As it turns out, our ability to predict the future using science is limited. Mathematically, some systems change "too quickly" for our models to keep up with them. I cannot explain this fully without going into too much detail, but it is safe to say that the next forty years of our lives cannot be calculated by computers.
As all of yall have said, Dostoyevsky challenges free will. Because mathematics tell us that 2 times 2 will always equal 4, it makes us feel as though we don't have the power to choose. The Underground Man believes freedom and the ability to make decisions for ourselves, whether they be good for us or bad, is the most important thing a human has.
I thought Steven's comment in class the other day really proved Dostoevsky’s point. How do we know that 2 x 2 doesn't equal 5? How do we know the colors we see are seen the same way by all? Life can be perceived differently by everyone. I think Dostoevsky is challenging the idea that we should never assume something to be true.
By postulating 2 times 2 equals 5, Dostoevsky challenges the conventions of human logic and reason. Dostoevsky believes human desire often outweighs human reason. 2*2 can sometimes equal 5 when man desires that to be the case. Like Steven has said, one man's perception may be different from another man's. Dostoevsky uses 2 times 2 equals 5 to demonstrate that even something as concrete and universally accepted as multiplication can be perceived differently by other people.
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