"Henry Kuttner - Mimsy Were The Borogoves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

High Wind in Jamaica?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩve got it.тАЭ Paradine secured the little book from its shelf. Holloway extended a hand, took the book and flipped
the pages till he had found the place he wanted. He read aloud:

Babies, of course, are not humanтАФthey are animals, and have a very ancient and ramified culture, as cats have,
and fishes, and even snakes; the same in kind as these, but much more complicated and vivid, since babies are, after
all, one of the most developed species of the lower vertebrates. In short, babies have minds which work in terms and
categories of their own, which cannot be translated into the terms and categories of the human mind.

Jane tried to take that calmly, but couldnтАЩt. тАЬYou donтАЩt mean that EmmaтАФтАЭ
тАЬCould you think like your daughter?тАЭ Holloway asked. тАЬListen: тАШOne can no more think like a baby than one can
think like a bee.тАЭ
Paradine mixed drinks. Over his shoulder he said, тАЬYouтАЩre theorizing quite a bit, arenтАЩt you? As I get it, youтАЩre
implying that babies have a culture of their own, even a high standard of intelligence.тАЭ
тАЬNot necessarily. ThereтАЩs no yardstick, you see. All I say is that babies think in other ways than we do. Not
necessarily betterтАФthatтАЩs a question of relative values. But with a different matter of extension.тАЭ He sought for words,
grimacing.
тАЬFantasy,тАЭ Paradine said, rather rudely but annoyed because of Emma. тАЬBabies donтАЩt have different senses from
ours.тАЭ
тАЬ\?\Tho said they did?тАЭ Holloway demanded. тАЬThey use their minds in a different way, thatтАЩs all. But itтАЩs quite
enough!тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm trying to understand,тАЭ Jane said slowly. тАЬAll I can think of is my Mixmaster. It can whip up batter and potatoes,
but it can squeeze oranges, too.тАЭ
 тАЬSomething like that. The brainтАЩs a colloid, a very complicated ma-chine. We donтАЩt know much about its
potentialities. We donтАЩt even know how much it can grasp. But it is known that the mind becomes conditioned as the
human animal matures. It follows certain familiar theorems, and all thought thereafter is pretty well based on patterns
taken for granted. Look at this.тАЭ Holloway touched the abacus. тАЬHave you experimented with it?тАЭ
тАЬA little,тАЭ Paradine said.
тАЬBut not much, eh?тАЭ
тАШWellтАФтАЭ
тАЬWhy not?тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs pointless,тАЭ Paradine complained. тАЬEven a puzzle has to have some logic. But those crazy anglesтАФтАЭ
тАЬYour mind has been conditioned to Euclid,тАЭ Holloway said. тАЬSo this
тАФthingтАФbores us, and seems pointless. But a child knows nothing of Euclid. A different sort of geometry from ours
wouldnтАЩt impress him as being illogical. He believes what he sees.тАЭ
тАЬAre you trying to tell me that this gadgetтАЩs got a fourth-dimensional extension?тАЭ Paradine demanded.
тАЬNot visually, anyway,тАЭ Holloway denied. тАЬAll I say is that our minds, conditioned to Euclid, can see nothing in this
but an illogical tangle of wires. But a childтАФespecially a babyтАФmight see more. Not at first. ItтАЩd be a puzzle, of course.
Only a child wouldnтАЩt be handicapped by too many preconceived ideas.тАЭ
тАЬHardening of the thought arteries,тАЭ Jane interjected.
Paradine was not convinced. тАЬThen a baby could work calculus bet-ter than Einstein? No, I donтАЩt mean that. I can
see your point, more or less clearly. OnlyтАФтАЭ
тАШWell, look. LetтАЩs suppose there are two kinds of geometry; weтАЩll limit it, for the sake of the example. Our kind,
Euclidean, and another, weтАЩll call x. X hasnтАЩt much relationship to Euclid. ItтАЩs based on different thee-rems. Two and
two neednтАЩt equal four in it; they could equal y 2 , or they might not even equal. A babyтАЩs mind is not yet conditioned,
except by certain questionable factors of heredity and environment. Start the in-fant on EuclidтАФтАЭ
тАЬPoor kid,тАЭ Jane said.
Holloway shot her a quick glance. тАЬThe basis of Euclid. Alphabet blocks. Math, geometry, algebraтАФthey come
much later. WeтАЩre familiar with that development. On the other hand, start the baby with the basic principles of our x
logic.тАЭ