I was looking up a number in the phone book the other day and someone
said, "The names are in alphabetical order so Mumwat Hennel will be
under H". Man, I'd been starting at the beginning of the phone book and
working my way through for two weeks trying to find this guy. Suddenly
I realized why nothing I'd learned made any sense. Alphabetical order!
What an incredibly perverse way to to present information.
I had assumed that information was supposed to be sequential, one fact
leading to another in a nice tidy progression. I mean that's the way
the other books I've read were written. Except for the Encyclopedia of
course. Now there's one book (26 actually) that nearly made me despair
of ever learning anything. Now it all makes sense, it's in alphabetical
order! I spent three years reading an entire 26 volume encyclopedia
thinking it was revealing knowledge in some really strange sequence. I
figured that I'd eventually discover whatever magical code was secretly
embedded in all those apparently random articles (see this).
a cappella:
(Italian: "in the church style"), performance of a
polyphonic (multipart) musical work by unaccompanied voices. Originally
referring to sacred choral music, the term now refers to secular music
as well.
The a cappella style arose about the time of the composer
Josquin des Prez, in the late 15th century, and reached preeminence
with Palestrina in the late 16th century in the music ...
Followed by:
a lo divino:
(Spanish "in the sacred style" or "in sacred terms") in
Spanish literature, the recasting of a secular work as a religious
work, or, more generally, a treatment of a secular theme in religious
terms through the use of allegory, symbolism, and metaphor. Adaptations
a lo divino were popular during the Golden Age of Spanish literature
during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Now so far I could believe the first volume of the encyclopedia was
going to reveal some kind of religious Truth. But then comes:
a posteriori knowledge:
knowledge derived from experience, as opposed to a priori knowledge (q.v.).
And it gets worse:
a priori knowledge
'A'ishah
A'sha, al-
A-ch'eng
A-erh-chin Mountains
A-kuei
A-mdo
A-pao-chi
Aachen
Aakj‘r, Jeppe
Aalen
Aalsmeer
Aalst
Aalto
Alvar
Aarau
aardvark
aardwolf
Aare River
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I read volume one and kept on going believing I would find some
deep meaning in the bizarre ordering of apparent non sequiturs. I think
that explains why I can't maintain a conversation for more than the
time it takes to read two paragraphs. Why would the people in whom we
have entrusted with all human knowledge devise such a cruel deception?
Why would they force us to jump from here to there and back again to
learn even the simplest detail? Could it be that they are laughing at
our credulity the whole time, snickering at the thought of my
befuddlement?
I am on to them now though. Alphabetical order,
ha! Their foul conspiracy is exposed. Let's see just how smart they
really are and challenge them to create an encyclopedia in topical
order, a collection that can be read from front to back like any other
book! Take that!
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