June '10 Reading: Alice in Wonderland

[Shakira]

Last time I read Alice in Wonderland was in school. I recently saw the movie and was thinking to put it in my to-read-next list. I guess now would be a good time to start reading it and probably will discuss it here.

[MUMUKSHA]

Loved it

[TurquoiseSunset]

Ah man, there's so much to read!!!

I'm currently busy with Inferno and The Shadow of the Wind...the moment I finish Inferno I'll move on to this!

[TurquoiseSunset]

I'm starting it today!!

[StreetStyleCat]

Just lately have read both Alice-books (also "Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There"). As a fan of british humour I loved them, I mean Carroll's absurd and sarcasm are actually pretty similar to "Big Train" or "Little Britain", only more stylish and decent!

Some people actually do have such style conversations:

„There might be some sense of knocking,” the Footman went on without attending to her, „if we had the door between us. For instance, if you were inside, you might knock, and I could let you out, you know.”

[applepie]

Still reading away on Alice. I was trying to read it with my kids, but I think I'll have to finish it myself and work through it more slowly with my little ones. They seem to like it, but it is pretty long for them and we can't finish it in one night of bed time stories.

[TurquoiseSunset]

I finished it last night and, well, I think I was expecting more than I got... Not that it was bad, but it I remember it being much better when I was younger

I'd recommend it though!

[applepie]

I have to agree Turquoise It was much better when I was a kid, but there are still parts that made me laugh. I love the idea of the mouse telling a dry story to get them all dry after being in the water.

[kasie]

Has anyone on the Forum ever studied formal Logic, either in Philosophy or as a branch of Mathematics? I ask because 'Lewis Carroll' in real life as Charles Dodgson was an eminent mathematician - I feel, reading Alice as an adult that many of the surrealistic situations are examples of problems in Logic (the incident quoted above with the footman being just one) and I was wondering if anyone had any expertise in reading Alice and Through the Looking Glass in this light. Has anyone come across any critical works written in this light? I'm not sure I would understand all the formal Logic but I'm sure there is an unexplored element here.

[TurquoiseSunset]

Has anyone on the Forum ever studied formal Logic, either in Philosophy or as a branch of Mathematics? I ask because 'Lewis Carroll' in real life as Charles Dodgson was an eminent mathematician - I feel, reading Alice as an adult that many of the surrealistic situations are examples of problems in Logic (the incident quoted above with the footman being just one) and I was wondering if anyone had any expertise in reading Alice and Through the Looking Glass in this light. Has anyone come across any critical works written in this light? I'm not sure I would understand all the formal Logic but I'm sure there is an unexplored element here.

Well, actually if you go look on Wikipedia alone you'll find a few examples of how he incorporated mathematics and riddles, etc. I don't know/remember similar works although there probably are

[kasie]

Thanks for the link, Turquoise S - I belong to the generation that turns automatically to the printed page so I rarely, if ever, think of looking at Wikipedia. The entry was in line with the sort of thing I had been thinking. The thought of Carroll/Dodgson going around playing with these ideas in his head makes me think he must have been rather good company: I've met engineers with a quirky sense of humour based on their main area of expertise but the mathematicians I've met have been rather serious. I wonder if part of the appeal of the company of children for Dodgson was their acceptance of his bizarre humour which was perhaps regarded as somewhat infra dig for a professor by adults? Just a speculation.

[TurquoiseSunset]

Thanks for the link, Turquoise S - I belong to the generation that turns automatically to the printed page so I rarely, if ever, think of looking at Wikipedia. The entry was in line with the sort of thing I had been thinking. The thought of Carroll/Dodgson going around playing with these ideas in his head makes me think he must have been rather good company: I've met engineers with a quirky sense of humour based on their main area of expertise but the mathematicians I've met have been rather serious. I wonder if part of the appeal of the company of children for Dodgson was their acceptance of his bizarre humour which was perhaps regarded as somewhat infra dig for a professor by adults? Just a speculation.

Well, I don't know any mathematicians, but the engineers I know are quite sharp As for Carroll, well there's always been a bit of a debate as to why he liked children, etc. (click on his name in the Wiki article I gave you, it's all there) Who knows... Either way I think he understood the way kids think and children's stories were the perfect medium for him to work in his riddles, logic and hidden jokes.