giada’s Reviews > A Short Stay in Hell > Status Update

okay nevermind someone just made the same point i made

if there are such strict rules for books in the library of babel (all are 410 pages with 80 characters per row and 40 rows per page) it would be possible to count them by calculating every possible placement of any sign (spaces included) in these 1312000 places per book

this, of course, only works if the font and its size are always the same - and if we have to account for capital letters and ligatures

-can we get borges for dinner?????

-no, we got borges at home

the borges at home:

"By my count (which I know is accurate, for my memory in this place, it seems, is incapable of forgetting even the smallest detail) I have climbed innumerable light-years[...]"

i was already skeptic as the narrator is trying too hard to sound old and wise by using faux profound words, but this bothers me so much, how can you say you accurately counted something you yourself define innumerable... words have meanings!