The Shape of Time by Kubler George

Author:Kubler, George [Kubler, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2008-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

REPLICATION

This age dedicated to change for its own sake has also discovered the simple hierarchy of the replicas that fill the world. We shall merely mention the staggering replication present in energy with only thirty some particles, or in matter which consists of about a hundred atomic weights, or in the genetic transmission of life, which since the beginning now comprises only about two million described species of animals.

The replication that fills history actually prolongs the stability of many past moments, allowing sense and pattern to emerge for us wherever we look. This stability, however, is imperfect. Every man-made replica varies from its model by minute, unplanned divergences, of which the accumulated effects are like a slow drift away from the archetype.

The term “replication” is a respectable old-fashioned word long in disuse, and we revive it here not only to avoid the negative judgment that adheres to the idea of “copying” but also to include by definition that essential trait of repeating events which is trivial variation. Since sustained repetition of any sort is impossible without the drift occasioned by tiny unwanted variations, this slow historical motion engages our main interest here.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.