"I don't think I've seen or heard, after my own research, any of these events occurring."
      • SirSamuel@lemmy.worldEnglish
        71·
        3 months ago

        Ya know, sometimes I marvel at technology. Think about it. What once took a primate, a long length of string, and a LOT of bananas can now be accomplished through a simple browser interface. We can navigate L-space from the comfort of our couches without have to go ask a monkey for help

        I mean an orangutan!

        Oh shi-

        • threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
          2·
          3 months ago

          What once took a primate, a long length of string, and a LOT of banana

          I’m not very familiar with Prachett’s work, so I’m probably missing a reference here. What was the long string used for?

          • SirSamuel@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            3 months ago

            So this is a couple layers deep.

            L-space, or Library space, is what happens when you get an accumulation of a critical mass of knowledge*, which begins to bend space-time. Such a mass as that found in the Unseen University library. The Librarian (an orangutan), in the book Guards Guards, navigates l-space using, if I recall correctly, a length of string to find his way back. I might be misremembering though. The bananas, of course, were for lunch.

            *knowledge = power, power = energy, energy = mass. Making libraries as dense as a black hole and forming a singularity