Serendipities: Language and Lunacy

Umberto Eco's latest work unlocks the riddles of history in an exploration of the "linguistics of the lunatic, " stories told by scholars, scientists, poets, fanatics, and ordinary people in order to make sense of the world. Exploring the 'Force of the False, ' Eco uncovers layers of mistakes that have shaped human history, such as Columbus' assumption that the world was much smaller than it is, leading him to seek out a quick route to the East via the West and thus fortuitously 'discovering' America. In a careful unveiling of the fabulous and the false, Eco shows us how serendipities -- unanticipated truths -- often spring from mistaken ideas. From Leibniz's belief that the I Ching illustrated the principles of calculus to Marco Polo's mistaking a rhinoceros for a unicorn, Eco tours the labyrinth of intellectual history, illuminating the ways in which we project the familiar onto the strange.