You might be a flat-earther if...

I see a lot of flat-earth stuff on Facebook. I don't know how if any of it is sincere, or if most or all of it is just engagement farming or flamebait. I just know I can't look away. The amount of utter ignorance apparently on display astounds me.

It's been well understood for millennia that the earth was spherical. Simple observation proved that: ships leaving port didn't just appear to get smaller as they sailed away; they disappeared from the bottom up as though going over a hill. The shadow cast on the moon during a lunar eclipse was always a circle; only a sphere casts a circular shadow from all angles.

In the third century BC, Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the earth using a couple of sticks and high-school geometry. Some of his assumptions were off (for example, the exact distance and bearing from Alexandria and Syene), but his methodology was sound. Columbus wasn't trying to prove the world was round; that was understood. The dispute was over its size, and whether Asia wa reachable by sailing west from Europe. (Obviously, it wasn't. It was fortunate for Columbus that North America was in the way. He thought the globe was much smaller.) Enlightenment intellectuals in the 18th and 19th centuries concocted the myth that the ancients believed the world to be flat, in order to portray religion as anti-reason. In reality, educated people knew the earth was a sphere. That people today will seriously entertain the notion that we live on a planar surface just goes to show how un-educated we have become.

And now ... this (Sept. 24/25)

Did anyone get raptured yesterday? Anyone?

According to Joshua Mhlakela, a South African pastor, the Rapture was supposed to take place yesterday. Mhlakela claims he had a visit from Jesus, who personally revealed that he would come for his church on September 23 or 24, aligning with this year's Rosh Hashana. The Rapture prediction got traction on social media, mainly TikTok.

Mhlakela claimed to be "a billion percent sure" of his prediction. Perhaps he should have exercised just a little more skepticism.

At least he just outright lied and claimed Jesus told him. So we can be thankful we didn't have to wade through something like the late Harold Camping's impenetrable math proofs to find out he was full of bull.

No Perelandra chapter this week

I mean, you may have noticed.

Basically, between some personal matters and the news cycle of the last week or so, I've found myself either too busy or too preoccupied with other things to get beyond reading chapter 7 of Perelandra. So with next Sunday now closer than the last, I've decided just to leave it until this weekend rather than effectively double up. It's a significant chapter, anyway, and the extra time will be beneficial. It's worth doing right.

Perelandra: Chapter 6

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend you support your local bookseller or public library, and read the book first.

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Ransom has been sent on a voyage to Perelandra, or Venus, by the Oyarsa of Mars. There, he discovered that Venus is an ocean planet with giant floating mats of vegetation that serve as land. There, he also met a green-skinned woman, and through conversing with her in Old Solar, the lingua franca of the solar system outside of Earth, discovered that she is destined to be the mother of all Perelandrians: the Venusian Eve, as it were.

The archipelago of floating islands have joined into a temporary continent. Still exploring, Ransom comes to the edge of the "land" and, across the sea, spots what appears to be proper land: an actual island with a giant stone column or mountain. The Lady calls it the Fixed Land, and informs Ransom that while she may visit it, Maleldil has forbidden her or the King to sleep there. She is confused, and somewhat horrified, when Ransom informs her that all the land on Earth is fixed, and they have no such rule there.

Perelandra: Chapter 5

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend reading the book first. It's short, I promise.

Yes, late yet again. I should just aim for Sunday and make the official release date Tuesday. (Except then I'll probably slip until Thursday.)

Elwin Ransom, philologist, was sent to Venus by Oyarsa, the spirit that rules Mars, which planet Ransom visited in captivity in Out of the Silent Planet, the first volume of the Space Trilogy. Venus (known outside of Earth as Perelandra) is an ocean world with giant floating vegetation mats. On his first day he discovered forests with trees bearing food; on his second, he became acquainted with a dragon-like creature that also inhabited his island. He also discovered that Venus has intelligent life: a green woman visiting a neighbouring island, who apparently mistook him for someone else. They could speak to each other in the universal tongue of the solar system, and he resolved to visit her island.

September, again

It's September, and that means it's time for the annual science-fiction moratorium. Originally I thought this idea up because my reading diet was almost exclusively sci-fi; however, this year, of the approximately 60 books I've read so far, only 10 of them have been. So as I branch out my literary interests, a moratorium seems to become increasingly irrelevant; but it's a habit I keep up, nonetheless.

Typically, I use September to broaden my literary horizons a bit: try something I've never read before or wouldn't pick up on impulse. This year, I've decided to keep it simple: get through William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. It's a classic work of World War II history that weighs approximately one anvil. I've owned my paperback copy for somewhat over 20 years and never read more than the first few chapters.

I just started Patrick O'Brian's The Surgeon's Mate, one of the volumes in his Aubrey-Maturin series of naval historical novels. I'll finish that before digging into Shirer. In the unlikely event that I finish Rise and Fall prematurely, I've still got about half of Ishiguro's The Unconsoled to finish off, and a whole bunch of classic Westerns I have yet to sample.

This won't affect my readthrough of Perelandra. The spirit of the rule is to open my mind a bit more, not to be abstemious, and not to cut short any projects I happen to have already in progress. I'm working on the installment for chapter 5 now, late as ever, and it should be posted shortly.

Let September begin!

Perelandra: Chapter 4

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

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Late again! My fault, this time. Sorry.

Ransom has been sent on a space voyage to Perelandra, Venus in our language, by Oyarsa, the spiritual being that rules Malacandra, or Mars. He was propelled through space by supernatural means in a translucent casket. When he landed on Venus, the casket dissolved and he was left afloat in the ocean that apparently covered Perelandra, where the climate is warm and perpetually overcast with golden clouds. Soon he discovered the several large floating mats of vegetation that act as land on Perelandra. Climbing onto one, he found some food, consisting of some delicious golden gourds, and then he slept.

When Ransom awakens, he continues exploring. He finds a grove of the golden fruit, and for the first time discovers animal life: a red dragon-like creature, which appears friendly but not intelligent. Some large flowers whose stalks accumulate bubbles of water serve as an impromptu perfumed shower. He also finds some large berries for food that taste very good and satisfy his hunger, but as with the golden fruit the previous day, he feels an impulse not to overindulge.

As Ransom explores, the dragon (which has been making a nuisance of itself in the meantime) zooms past him and flies to another island floating about half a mile away. He sees that the air and the oceans are teeming with life, and it’s all heading in that direction. In particular, he sees a pod of dolphin-like fish, and on the back of one, a human figure. He gets the being’s attention, and he sees that the figure is a green-skinned woman—who, evidently, was expecting someone else.

Perelandra: Chapter 3

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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I'm late! Oh my ears and whiskers.

Narrator-C. S. Lewis was summoned to the country cottage of Elwin Ransom, who informs him he was commissioned by Oyarsa, the spiritual being that rules Malacandra (Mars), to go on a journey to Perelandra (Venus) for reasons as yet unknown. His transportation was a featureless casket, propelled there by Oyarsa himself. Lewis was charged with helping him into the casket, and helping him out again when he returns—if he returns.

Over a year later, Oyarsa summoned Lewis back to the cottage. He and Humphrey, a mutual doctor friend whom Lewis also recruited to help Ransom, witness the return of the casket and help Ransom out again. Ransom began telling the story of his trip to them.

Perelandra: Chapter 2

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. If you don't want me ruining the experience for you, put this post down and go read Perelandra now. I promise I won't be offended.

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The story so far: The narrator (a fictional version of Lewis himself) was summoned by his friend Professor Ransom on "business," which he understood to mean business having to do with Ransom's trip to Malacandra (Mars), as narrated in the previous novel, Out of the Silent Planet. Walking along the darkened road from the train to Ransom's cottage, he experienced a heavy feeling of oppression. When Lewis arrived at the cottage, he found it deserted, but in Ransom's hallway was a translucent, coffin-like box, and a strange shaft of light he recognized as an eldil, one of the spiritual inhabitants of Malacandra, with whom Ransom still communicated.

At the very end, Ransom finally returns to his cottage. He is relieved to learn that Lewis was not hindered by the "barrage" along the way: the oppressive feelings were real, caused by the dark eldila of Earth. He tells Lewis that they have gotten wind of what he is doing. The Oyarsa of Mars is sending Ransom on a voyage to Perelandra (Venus)—conveying him personally—and the vehicle is the coffin in the cottage.

Ransom does not know how long his trip will last or if he will even return. Lewis is there to pack him into the box. Ransom also charges him with coming back to unpack him, if and when he returns, and with recruiting a trusted successor in case Lewis himself is no longer alive. Lewis also decides to confide in Humphrey, a mutual doctor friend.

Perelandra: Chapter 1

Today I begin my readthrough of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, the second book of his Space Trilogy (also known as the "Cosmic Trilogy" or "Ransom Trilogy" in some editions). Sometimes alternatively titled "A Voyage to Venus," this short novel was originally published in 1943.

The story begins with the narrator (a fictionalized version of Lewis himself, presumably) travelling by train, then by foot, to the country cottage of Elwin Ransom, summoned there for "business"—which Lewis understands as something mysterious, and probably having to do with Ransom's previous voyage to Mars, aka Malacandra, as told in Out of the Silent Planet.

The road to Ransom's is dark. Perelandra was published in 1943 and presumably set in about the same time, so blackout regulations were in effect to prevent ground lighting from aiding enemy aircraft. There are darkened cottages and abandoned factories along the road, creating a foreboding atmosphere.

Lewis himself is gripped by unease. He realizes he has left his pack on the train and his first instinct is to return to the station, in spite of the fact that the train is long gone and there's nothing he can accomplish by returning rather than phoning the station in the morning. He is thinking constantly about the eldila, the incorporeal (spiritual?) intelligences Ransom met on Malacandra and apparently still speaks with from time to time. Lewis's fears, it seems, may not be entirely natural: perhaps some supernatural influence is holding him back.