hazelm Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) Whenever I am digging through my bookshelves and come across E A Poe's Eureka, I find myself asking (silently) if anyone in any field of study ever reads this book. I have never yet spoken with anyone who even knew that he wrote such. I suppose that's because we are concentrated on his horror poems and fiction. Yet, I wonder why it would not be at least suggested reading somewhere along the line. If anyone has read it, I would like to hear thoughts about it and how it was received in what field of study. It is, of course, religion first but I would call it at least philosophy. Then, to a lesser degree, there is the science he speaks of. Critiques say he was wrong on some predictions and right on others. For example, he predicted that the universe was expanding from a single particle (true so far as we know at present). Then he added that, at a certain point, it would rebound and contract back to a single particle. (Does any scientific theory claim that at present?) His book received more condemnation than praise but it did receive praise from some outstanding people: "Albert Einstein in a letter written in 1934 noted that ..... Eureka was 'a beautiful achievement of an unusually independent mind'". The last half of the Wikipedia article is good reading. I have lost the URL but I shall go back to get it and see if I can get back in here with it. Meanwhile, it would be good to hear thoughts from someone who has really read the book with an open mind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka:_A_Prose_Poem Edited August 25, 2017 by hazelm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 ...For example, he predicted that the universe was expanding from a single particle (true so far as we know at present). Then he added that, at a certain point, it would rebound and contract back to a single particle. (Does any scientific theory claim that at present?)Yes; it is called the big crunch. His book received more condemnation than praise but it did receive praise from some outstanding people: "Albert Einstein in a letter written in 1934 noted that ..... Eureka was 'a beautiful achievement of an unusually independent mind'". The last half of the Wikipedia article is good reading. I have lost the URL but I shall go back to get it and see if I can get back in here with it. Meanwhile, it would be good to hear thoughts from someone who has really read the book with an open mind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka:_A_Prose_PoemNever heard of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazelm Posted August 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 The Big Crunch. I'd forgotten that. Thanks. Everyone I've spoken with says the same - they never heard of it. I don't know why but it has become sort of a fascination with me that it can be so unknown. We studied so much of his fiction and what some call his science fiction, although I never heard that until recently. But "Eureka" came as a surprise to me several years ago. I truly did enjoy reading it. Poe, himself called it a poem and wanted it taken that way. I live in hope I'll meet up with someone who has read it some day. Especially someone with more science knowledge than I have so he/she can express some thoughts from that angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.