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Measuring the World
The young Austrian writer Daniel Kehlmann conjures a brilliant and gently comic novel from the lives of two geniuses of the Enlightenment.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century, two young Germans set out to measure the world. One of them, the Prussian aristocrat Alexander von Humboldt, negotiates savanna and jungle, travels down the Orinoco, tastes poisons, climbs the highest mountain known to man, counts head lice, and explores every hole in the ground. The other, the barely socialized mathematician and astronomer Carl Friedrich Gauss, does not even need to leave his home in Göttingen to prove that space is curved. He can run prime numbers in his head. He cannot imagine a life without women, yet he jumps out of bed on his wedding night to jot down a mathematical formula. Von Humboldt is known to history as the Second Columbus. Gauss is recognized as the greatest mathematical brain since Newton. Terrifyingly famous and more than eccentric in their old age, the two meet in Berlin in 1828. Gauss has hardly climbed out of his carriage before both men are embroiled in the political turmoil sweeping through Germany after Napoleon’s fall.
Already a huge best seller in Germany, Measuring the World marks the debut of a glorious new talent on the international scene.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century, two young Germans set out to measure the world. One of them, the Prussian aristocrat Alexander von Humboldt, negotiates savanna and jungle, travels down the Orinoco, tastes poisons, climbs the highest mountain known to man, counts head lice, and explores every hole in the ground. The other, the barely socialized mathematician and astronomer Carl Friedrich Gauss, does not even need to leave his home in Göttingen to prove that space is curved. He can run prime numbers in his head. He cannot imagine a life without women, yet he jumps out of bed on his wedding night to jot down a mathematical formula. Von Humboldt is known to history as the Second Columbus. Gauss is recognized as the greatest mathematical brain since Newton. Terrifyingly famous and more than eccentric in their old age, the two meet in Berlin in 1828. Gauss has hardly climbed out of his carriage before both men are embroiled in the political turmoil sweeping through Germany after Napoleon’s fall.
Already a huge best seller in Germany, Measuring the World marks the debut of a glorious new talent on the international scene.
259 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
1000 people are currently reading
16382 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Kehlmann
82 books1,257 followersDaniel Kehlmann is a German-Austrian author.
His novel Measuring the World (German: Die Vermessung der Welt) was translated into more than forty languages. Awards his work has received include the Candide Prize, the Literature Prize of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Heimito von Doderer Literature Award, the Kleist Prize, the WELT Literature Prize, and the Thomas Mann Prize. Kehlmann divides his time between Vienna and Berlin.
His novel Measuring the World (German: Die Vermessung der Welt) was translated into more than forty languages. Awards his work has received include the Candide Prize, the Literature Prize of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Heimito von Doderer Literature Award, the Kleist Prize, the WELT Literature Prize, and the Thomas Mann Prize. Kehlmann divides his time between Vienna and Berlin.
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August 15, 2020
The Gene(ius) Pool
In the early 19th century Germany ruled the intellectual world. Or more accurately, given that Germany didn’t yet exist, German was the globally dominant language of science, philosophy, and most other cultural pursuits. Measuring the World is a light-hearted docudrama of the intersecting life of two of the most important intellectual leaders of the period: The explorer and naturalist (and Prussian) Alexander von Humboldt, and the mathematical prodigy Carl Friedrich Gauss (an Hanoverian). Together they transformed human understanding of both things and symbols, as well as the connection between things and symbols. That is to say, they created a new language.
The backgrounds of these two men show that genius is purely genetic. Humboldt was a member of a well-fed, well-educated, and well-connected elite. Gauss’s mother, on the other hand, was illiterate and his father was a labourer. Humboldt survived a young brother who tried to kill him, and being raised by the servants. Gauss survived the persecution of jealous teachers and a social awkwardness verging on the autistic. Both thrived because they were recognised and rewarded by monarchical rulers as contributing to German culture. One wonders what their fates might have been in the competitive academic milieu of a modern pragmatic democracy.
Above all two traits/principles/character flaws unite these two men. First, for them everything is connected to everything else. Distinctions between areas of knowledge are not simply arbitrary, they are irrelevant. Both defy classification into a definite academic niche. They are quite simply interested in everything that is, a sort of openness which is astounding in its apparent lack of limits. If they had taken up painting, they would be considered today greater than Michelangelo (thus the power of visual advertising!)
Second, both shared a passion for numbers. Numbers are what brought reality closer. They reduced the gap between what Kant (yes, another German) had called the thing-in-itself and our perception of it. Measurement was philosophy in action. Increasing precision in measurement meant progress, an improvement in understanding that was demonstrable. Numbers, as the ancient Greeks suggested, provided a sort of divine view of the world. Numbers were fixed in their relations to each other, unlike natural language which was fuzzy and required less than perfect translation out of the mother-tongue into barbaric dialects like English and French.
What the two men did was to create a new cultural era. Measurement was a metaphor for hope. Kant’s aporias didn’t imply an intellectual dead end. And hadn’t he put religion aside into a parallel world that seemed increasingly unnecessary? Numbers could improve the world not just describe it. Numbers formed the new foundation for human salvation. They were almost magical in their power to reveal and explain how the world came to be, to simplify its apparent complexity, and to predict its further development. Numbers were the future. Numbers touched reality:
The patterns revealed by numbers allowed the telling of stories which had never been told before. Stories of intense heat in the Earth, of antiquities older than ever before dreamed of, stories of parallel lines that meet, of bizarre celestial phenomena. The language of numbers wasn’t just more reliable than any other language, it was bigger. It permitted discussion of things no other languages knew about. It pointed to things that were hidden in normal speech. It resolved paradoxes and suggested previously unthought possibilities.
The world got used to being measured. The web of numbers imposed itself upon the world so thoroughly that it was taken as the world. This is what all languages do, and perhaps the language of numbers best of all. Human beings engage in this fantasy of language as reality in order to maintain hope or, more generally, to stay sane. Faith in measurement is even more intense than faith in God. As it turns out the object of the two faiths is exactly the same: language. Language is our fundamental technology and we worship it. Today, we have a new language - digital electronics - in which we have as deep a faith as Humboldt and Gauss had in theirs. Genius, it seems, even exceptional German genius is not immune to the temptation of idolatry.
In the early 19th century Germany ruled the intellectual world. Or more accurately, given that Germany didn’t yet exist, German was the globally dominant language of science, philosophy, and most other cultural pursuits. Measuring the World is a light-hearted docudrama of the intersecting life of two of the most important intellectual leaders of the period: The explorer and naturalist (and Prussian) Alexander von Humboldt, and the mathematical prodigy Carl Friedrich Gauss (an Hanoverian). Together they transformed human understanding of both things and symbols, as well as the connection between things and symbols. That is to say, they created a new language.
The backgrounds of these two men show that genius is purely genetic. Humboldt was a member of a well-fed, well-educated, and well-connected elite. Gauss’s mother, on the other hand, was illiterate and his father was a labourer. Humboldt survived a young brother who tried to kill him, and being raised by the servants. Gauss survived the persecution of jealous teachers and a social awkwardness verging on the autistic. Both thrived because they were recognised and rewarded by monarchical rulers as contributing to German culture. One wonders what their fates might have been in the competitive academic milieu of a modern pragmatic democracy.
Above all two traits/principles/character flaws unite these two men. First, for them everything is connected to everything else. Distinctions between areas of knowledge are not simply arbitrary, they are irrelevant. Both defy classification into a definite academic niche. They are quite simply interested in everything that is, a sort of openness which is astounding in its apparent lack of limits. If they had taken up painting, they would be considered today greater than Michelangelo (thus the power of visual advertising!)
Second, both shared a passion for numbers. Numbers are what brought reality closer. They reduced the gap between what Kant (yes, another German) had called the thing-in-itself and our perception of it. Measurement was philosophy in action. Increasing precision in measurement meant progress, an improvement in understanding that was demonstrable. Numbers, as the ancient Greeks suggested, provided a sort of divine view of the world. Numbers were fixed in their relations to each other, unlike natural language which was fuzzy and required less than perfect translation out of the mother-tongue into barbaric dialects like English and French.
What the two men did was to create a new cultural era. Measurement was a metaphor for hope. Kant’s aporias didn’t imply an intellectual dead end. And hadn’t he put religion aside into a parallel world that seemed increasingly unnecessary? Numbers could improve the world not just describe it. Numbers formed the new foundation for human salvation. They were almost magical in their power to reveal and explain how the world came to be, to simplify its apparent complexity, and to predict its further development. Numbers were the future. Numbers touched reality:
“At the base of physics were rules, at the base of rules there were laws, at the base of laws there were numbers; if one looked at them intently, one could recognize relationships between them, repulsions or attractions.”
The patterns revealed by numbers allowed the telling of stories which had never been told before. Stories of intense heat in the Earth, of antiquities older than ever before dreamed of, stories of parallel lines that meet, of bizarre celestial phenomena. The language of numbers wasn’t just more reliable than any other language, it was bigger. It permitted discussion of things no other languages knew about. It pointed to things that were hidden in normal speech. It resolved paradoxes and suggested previously unthought possibilities.
The world got used to being measured. The web of numbers imposed itself upon the world so thoroughly that it was taken as the world. This is what all languages do, and perhaps the language of numbers best of all. Human beings engage in this fantasy of language as reality in order to maintain hope or, more generally, to stay sane. Faith in measurement is even more intense than faith in God. As it turns out the object of the two faiths is exactly the same: language. Language is our fundamental technology and we worship it. Today, we have a new language - digital electronics - in which we have as deep a faith as Humboldt and Gauss had in theirs. Genius, it seems, even exceptional German genius is not immune to the temptation of idolatry.
May 13, 2017
"I want to explore the world!"
That is a quite common answer if you ask a group of motivated preteen students what they want to do when they grow up. Hungry little caterpillars, they eat their way through a mixed diet of knowledge and skills over the course of their education before entering the strange teenage cocoon stage when they can't be bothered with anything but their own physical and social development.
As a teacher, you look at all these potential explorers, and their diverse approaches to life, and to learning and interpretation of reality, and you think:
"I have no doubt that they will explore the world, but what EXACTLY that will mean, nobody can tell until they are fully developed butterflies, with their own individual patterns and flight routes!"
That is the core of the story Kehlmann tells, by using the examples of two famous adventurers of the Enlightenment. You can sit in your room and explore the abstract world of mathematics in your own isolated brain, like Gauss, or you can climb mountains, swim through rivers, march through swamps, and collect physical evidence of your journey, like Alexander von Humboldt. Either way, you will be exploring the world, according to your needs, your history, your education and your personality.
Genius has many shapes, and expresses itself in various ways, is the optimistic message (a life-saving one for teachers who work with the post-caterpillar, pre-butterfly cocoon-stage).
Geniuses are humans with specific talents and difficulties, and their own issues, is the realistic conclusion, and all it takes to cross the line between ordinary talent and genius may be a stubborn curious desire to move on towards an ever changing horizon.
Geniuses achieve great things with ordinary bodies and minds, and extraordinary belief in the possibilities of the world.
Geniuses can be grumpy and worried and arrogant and absent-minded and just plain funny, they come in all colours and shapes.
What do they have in common? They use their wings!
That is a quite common answer if you ask a group of motivated preteen students what they want to do when they grow up. Hungry little caterpillars, they eat their way through a mixed diet of knowledge and skills over the course of their education before entering the strange teenage cocoon stage when they can't be bothered with anything but their own physical and social development.
As a teacher, you look at all these potential explorers, and their diverse approaches to life, and to learning and interpretation of reality, and you think:
"I have no doubt that they will explore the world, but what EXACTLY that will mean, nobody can tell until they are fully developed butterflies, with their own individual patterns and flight routes!"
That is the core of the story Kehlmann tells, by using the examples of two famous adventurers of the Enlightenment. You can sit in your room and explore the abstract world of mathematics in your own isolated brain, like Gauss, or you can climb mountains, swim through rivers, march through swamps, and collect physical evidence of your journey, like Alexander von Humboldt. Either way, you will be exploring the world, according to your needs, your history, your education and your personality.
Genius has many shapes, and expresses itself in various ways, is the optimistic message (a life-saving one for teachers who work with the post-caterpillar, pre-butterfly cocoon-stage).
Geniuses are humans with specific talents and difficulties, and their own issues, is the realistic conclusion, and all it takes to cross the line between ordinary talent and genius may be a stubborn curious desire to move on towards an ever changing horizon.
Geniuses achieve great things with ordinary bodies and minds, and extraordinary belief in the possibilities of the world.
Geniuses can be grumpy and worried and arrogant and absent-minded and just plain funny, they come in all colours and shapes.
What do they have in common? They use their wings!
June 21, 2025
VAGABONDI DELLE STELLE
Ho l’impressione, disse Humboldt, che qui non si faccia altro che raccontare. A che scopo quell’ininterrotto tessere trame inventate da cui non si ricavava alcun insegnamento morale?
Daniel Kehlmann racconta e racconta. Ma le sue trame non sono inventate. O, se non altro, hanno buoni basi storiche e di verità. In quanto racconta di Humboldt che è proprio quello celebre, Alexander von Humboldt, nato a Berlino nel 1769 e morto sempre a Berlino nel 1859, naturalista, esploratore, geografo e botanico. E “qui” è l’Orinoco: è sul fiume Orinoco quando Humboldt fa la riflessione riportata sopra.
C’è un altro personaggio che Kehlamnn pone sotto la lente del suo microscopio: il suo racconto infatti avanza a capitoli alterni, in uno parla di Humboldt, nel successivo parallelamente di Gauss.
Nel senso di Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), matematico, fisico e astronomo tedesco, contemporaneo di Humboldt. Gauss produsse contributi determinanti in varie discipline, a cominciare dalla dimostrazione della curvatura dello spazio: analisi matematica, teoria dei numeri, statistica, calcolo numerico, geometria differenziale, geodesia, geofisica, magnetismo, elettrostatica, astronomia, ottica.
Kehlmann racconta entrambi con ironia, quasi giocando anche quando i fatti narrati sono più che seri, drammatici.
Così, per esempio si apprende che Gauss capisce come si possono correggere gli errori di misurazione delle orbite dei pianeti proprio nel cuore della sua prima notte di nozze: e prima di consumare, corre a scrivere appunti. Oppure che Gauss ignora che trasferendosi a Gottinga finiva in territorio francese: perché ignora che sono in guerra con Napoleone, e l’imperatore francese sta vincendo a man bassa.
A Humboldt sta stretto il castello di famiglia: ha bisogno di spazi, viaggi, avventure, scoperte di piante e animali sconosciuti. Per farlo rischia la vita e soffre disagi e fatiche.
Gauss è l’esatto contrario: non vuole allontanarsi dal nido, Gottinga è il suo universo. Ma pur senza muoversi, riuscì ad avere chiara la misura del mondo, e perfino dell’universo, anche dal suo cantuccio: un punto d’osservazione fisso gli spalanca la visione d’insieme del cosmo, che sa tradurre in formule matematiche.
Questi due approcci diversi e opposti sembrano quasi indicare due modi differenti di scrivere, che però convergono verso lo stesso obiettivo: fare letteratura.
Un po’ ricostruendo, un po’ inventando, Daniel Kehlmann, appena trentenne, da vita ai due scienziati - che più diversi non potrebbero essere – e li fa incontrare, ormai anziani, a Berlino nel 1828, nella Germania post-napoleonica, rappresentanti e icone di un modo di intendere la scienza e la ricerca che per diverse ragioni stava tramontando.
Ho l’impressione, disse Humboldt, che qui non si faccia altro che raccontare. A che scopo quell’ininterrotto tessere trame inventate da cui non si ricavava alcun insegnamento morale?
Daniel Kehlmann racconta e racconta. Ma le sue trame non sono inventate. O, se non altro, hanno buoni basi storiche e di verità. In quanto racconta di Humboldt che è proprio quello celebre, Alexander von Humboldt, nato a Berlino nel 1769 e morto sempre a Berlino nel 1859, naturalista, esploratore, geografo e botanico. E “qui” è l’Orinoco: è sul fiume Orinoco quando Humboldt fa la riflessione riportata sopra.
C’è un altro personaggio che Kehlamnn pone sotto la lente del suo microscopio: il suo racconto infatti avanza a capitoli alterni, in uno parla di Humboldt, nel successivo parallelamente di Gauss.
Nel senso di Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), matematico, fisico e astronomo tedesco, contemporaneo di Humboldt. Gauss produsse contributi determinanti in varie discipline, a cominciare dalla dimostrazione della curvatura dello spazio: analisi matematica, teoria dei numeri, statistica, calcolo numerico, geometria differenziale, geodesia, geofisica, magnetismo, elettrostatica, astronomia, ottica.
Kehlmann racconta entrambi con ironia, quasi giocando anche quando i fatti narrati sono più che seri, drammatici.
Così, per esempio si apprende che Gauss capisce come si possono correggere gli errori di misurazione delle orbite dei pianeti proprio nel cuore della sua prima notte di nozze: e prima di consumare, corre a scrivere appunti. Oppure che Gauss ignora che trasferendosi a Gottinga finiva in territorio francese: perché ignora che sono in guerra con Napoleone, e l’imperatore francese sta vincendo a man bassa.
A Humboldt sta stretto il castello di famiglia: ha bisogno di spazi, viaggi, avventure, scoperte di piante e animali sconosciuti. Per farlo rischia la vita e soffre disagi e fatiche.
Gauss è l’esatto contrario: non vuole allontanarsi dal nido, Gottinga è il suo universo. Ma pur senza muoversi, riuscì ad avere chiara la misura del mondo, e perfino dell’universo, anche dal suo cantuccio: un punto d’osservazione fisso gli spalanca la visione d’insieme del cosmo, che sa tradurre in formule matematiche.
Questi due approcci diversi e opposti sembrano quasi indicare due modi differenti di scrivere, che però convergono verso lo stesso obiettivo: fare letteratura.
Un po’ ricostruendo, un po’ inventando, Daniel Kehlmann, appena trentenne, da vita ai due scienziati - che più diversi non potrebbero essere – e li fa incontrare, ormai anziani, a Berlino nel 1828, nella Germania post-napoleonica, rappresentanti e icone di un modo di intendere la scienza e la ricerca che per diverse ragioni stava tramontando.
July 23, 2020
This novel was very popular in Germany when it came out (titled Die Vermessung der Welt) and it along with another book he wrote in 2003, Ich und Kaminski [Me and Kaminski], won the Kleist Prize for literature in 2006. This is the second book I have tried by this author, and I gave Fame a ‘solid’ 3 stars. This one was a tough one to get through…I was waiting for it to finally get over which is a not a good sign. 2 stars. ☹
How does one credibly review a book when one reads this on Wikipedia: His novel Die Vermessung der Welt (translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway as Measuring the World, 2006) is the best-selling book in the German language since Patrick Süskind's Perfume was released in 1985. According to The New York Times, it was the world's second best-selling novel in 2006.
What the hell is wrong with me?!
In this book the lives of two famous German people are depicted: Dr. Carl Friedrich Gauss, the world famous mathematician/physicist. We are told their life stories in the third person. Later on in the novel they meet. As far as I can tell this is not a work of historical fiction, although from briefly looking at Wikipedia certainly their professional actions are duly noted and described in the book.
It is Kehlmann’s depiction of their personal lives and those they interacted with I did not like. Two examples then I will gracefully leave:
• Jim: Humboldt is exploring in Venezuela and came across a mission (I guess a missionary living with the natives)… “The inhabitants of the mission were turning spits over a fire with the head of a child, three tiny hands, and four little feet with what were clearly toes. Not human, explained the missionary. They stopped whatever they could. Just little monkeys from the forest. Bonpland refused to eat any. Humboldt hesitated, but took a hand and bit into it. It didn’t taste bad but he didn’t feel well. Would people be offended of he didn’t eat it all? The missionary shook his head, mouth full. Nobody would notice!”
Later that evening ensues a conversation between Kehlmann and his fellow explorers debating over whether what they were eating was human flesh. The way Kehlmann presented the dialog was in a comical sort of way. I was just grossed out. One, if cannibalism had taken place, I know nothing about why cannibalism occurs…how the practice originated, why it occurs….but I don’t find it to be a laughing matter. Cannibalism occurs/occurred — don’t portray it as funny and don’t put it on the shoulders of the “natives”.
• One of Humboldt’s fellow explorers has sex with a chieftain’s daughter. Humboldt and his fellow explorers just came upon this group of people that same day. Was the sex consensual? Am I supposed to find this also cute or humorous…I know these kind of events occurred and how explorers sometimes treated those they came upon…but the way Kehlmann presented it just disturbed me. His style of writing was not dark in this novel…it was supposed to be witty…so coming across this and the way he presented it just bothered me.
...And this was less than halfway through the book. The putative cannibalism was less than halfway through the book. So these two events really disturbed me and I still had over half of a book to go through. And one of the protagonists, Gauss, was a prick…after his wife died in childbirth within that hour he was literally thinking about finding another wife (“He pushed back the chair and tried to accustom himself to the thought that he would have to marry again. He had children. He had no idea how one brought them up. He couldn’t run a household. Servants cost money").
So there. I have vented my spleen. 😕
Note: this is the fifth book I have read that has been translated by Carol Brown Janeway. Wow, she was an impressive translator!!! 😊 She translated the following:
• My Prizes, by Thomas Bernhard
• The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
• Embers, by Sándor Márai
• Crime, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Guilt, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann
• Fragments. Memories of a Wartime Childhood, by Binjamin Wilkomirski
From Yiddish[edit]
• Yosl Rakover Talks to God, by Zvi Kolitz.
From Dutch[edit]
• The Storm, by Margriet de Moor
From French[edit]
• Desolation, by Yasmina Reza
Reviews of Measuring the World
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• from a blog site: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Measuring_W...
How does one credibly review a book when one reads this on Wikipedia: His novel Die Vermessung der Welt (translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway as Measuring the World, 2006) is the best-selling book in the German language since Patrick Süskind's Perfume was released in 1985. According to The New York Times, it was the world's second best-selling novel in 2006.
What the hell is wrong with me?!
In this book the lives of two famous German people are depicted: Dr. Carl Friedrich Gauss, the world famous mathematician/physicist. We are told their life stories in the third person. Later on in the novel they meet. As far as I can tell this is not a work of historical fiction, although from briefly looking at Wikipedia certainly their professional actions are duly noted and described in the book.
It is Kehlmann’s depiction of their personal lives and those they interacted with I did not like. Two examples then I will gracefully leave:
• Jim: Humboldt is exploring in Venezuela and came across a mission (I guess a missionary living with the natives)… “The inhabitants of the mission were turning spits over a fire with the head of a child, three tiny hands, and four little feet with what were clearly toes. Not human, explained the missionary. They stopped whatever they could. Just little monkeys from the forest. Bonpland refused to eat any. Humboldt hesitated, but took a hand and bit into it. It didn’t taste bad but he didn’t feel well. Would people be offended of he didn’t eat it all? The missionary shook his head, mouth full. Nobody would notice!”
Later that evening ensues a conversation between Kehlmann and his fellow explorers debating over whether what they were eating was human flesh. The way Kehlmann presented the dialog was in a comical sort of way. I was just grossed out. One, if cannibalism had taken place, I know nothing about why cannibalism occurs…how the practice originated, why it occurs….but I don’t find it to be a laughing matter. Cannibalism occurs/occurred — don’t portray it as funny and don’t put it on the shoulders of the “natives”.
• One of Humboldt’s fellow explorers has sex with a chieftain’s daughter. Humboldt and his fellow explorers just came upon this group of people that same day. Was the sex consensual? Am I supposed to find this also cute or humorous…I know these kind of events occurred and how explorers sometimes treated those they came upon…but the way Kehlmann presented it just disturbed me. His style of writing was not dark in this novel…it was supposed to be witty…so coming across this and the way he presented it just bothered me.
...And this was less than halfway through the book. The putative cannibalism was less than halfway through the book. So these two events really disturbed me and I still had over half of a book to go through. And one of the protagonists, Gauss, was a prick…after his wife died in childbirth within that hour he was literally thinking about finding another wife (“He pushed back the chair and tried to accustom himself to the thought that he would have to marry again. He had children. He had no idea how one brought them up. He couldn’t run a household. Servants cost money").
So there. I have vented my spleen. 😕
Note: this is the fifth book I have read that has been translated by Carol Brown Janeway. Wow, she was an impressive translator!!! 😊 She translated the following:
• My Prizes, by Thomas Bernhard
• The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
• Embers, by Sándor Márai
• Crime, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Guilt, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann
• Fragments. Memories of a Wartime Childhood, by Binjamin Wilkomirski
From Yiddish[edit]
• Yosl Rakover Talks to God, by Zvi Kolitz.
From Dutch[edit]
• The Storm, by Margriet de Moor
From French[edit]
• Desolation, by Yasmina Reza
Reviews of Measuring the World
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• from a blog site: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Measuring_W...
October 16, 2017
تخرج من الإمتحان بعد ثلاث ساعات كاملة .. آلام في الرأس .. آلام في الكتفين من الوضع المنحني على الورقة .. آلام في العينين .. تذهب إلى أقرب زاوية لتبتعد عن الكلام .. تريد أن تستعيد تواجدك في العالم الحقيقي تدريجيا .. بعد أن كنت متواجدا في عالم الأرقام والمعادلات .. تسترخي قليلا محاولا إبعاد نفسك عن التفكير في إحاباتك على الورقة .. خمس دقائق تمضي .. عشر دقائق .. الآن تتمشى قليلا لتعيد ضخ الدماء إلى رجليك اليابستين من أثر الجلوس لمدة طويلة .. تمر ببعض الأصدقاء .. تحييهم بابتسامة .. يردها بعضهم والبعض الآخر لا .. لأنهم منهمكون في جدال عقيم .. تحاول الإبتعاد بأقصى سرعة .. ثم فجأة تسمع كلمة .. كلمة واحدة فقط تمر كتيار كهربائي لتستقر في عمودك الفقري .. تسير خطوتين ثم تتوقف .. " غوس !!" .. تحاول أن تتأكد أن ما سمعته صحيح .. يقول آخر " نعم غوس " .. تسأل نفسك ما دخل غوس ؟ ولماذا هم يتحدثون عنه ؟ .. ترجع للوراء قليلا وتسأل أحدهم : غوس ؟؟!! .. وقبل أن يجيبك .. وقبل أن تتحرك شفاهه .. ترتجف قليلا لأنك تعرف الإجابة .. نعم تعرفها حق المعرفة .. لم أستعمل نظرية غوس .. لم استعمل نظرية غوس !! .. وبالتالي أخطأت في الإجابة عن السؤال .. وبالتالي أخطأت في الإجابة عن باقي الأسئلة لأنها مترابطة .. وبالتالي يجب أن أعترف :
إنني أكرهك يا غوس :D
مسح العالم .. قياس الممالك في دروب المهالك .. رواية أو سير ذاتية لعالمين من كبار العلماء الذين أنجبتهم ألمانيا " كارل فريدريش غاوس أو غوس " و " ألكسندر فون هومبولت " الأول عبقري بكل ما تحمل الكلمة من معنى .. تسارعت نظرياته الرياضية واكتشافاته وهو لم يبلغ العشرين من العمر، والثاني شخص مثابر، مجاهد، محب للعلم وشغوف به .. جال وصال في براري الأمازون وأمريكا اللاتينية في سبيل العلم .
رواية جميلة وفيها معلومات متنوعة أرشحها لمن يحبون القراءة عن العلماء وحياتهم وأهم مكتشفاتهم .
إنني أكرهك يا غوس :D
مسح العالم .. قياس الممالك في دروب المهالك .. رواية أو سير ذاتية لعالمين من كبار العلماء الذين أنجبتهم ألمانيا " كارل فريدريش غاوس أو غوس " و " ألكسندر فون هومبولت " الأول عبقري بكل ما تحمل الكلمة من معنى .. تسارعت نظرياته الرياضية واكتشافاته وهو لم يبلغ العشرين من العمر، والثاني شخص مثابر، مجاهد، محب للعلم وشغوف به .. جال وصال في براري الأمازون وأمريكا اللاتينية في سبيل العلم .
رواية جميلة وفيها معلومات متنوعة أرشحها لمن يحبون القراءة عن العلماء وحياتهم وأهم مكتشفاتهم .
August 13, 2020
U osnovi fizike su pravila, u osnovi pravila zakoni, a na osnovi zakona su brojevi.
Premjeravanje svijeta je jedan ambiciozan roman. Većina ljudi koji su se susreli s Gausom znali su ga samo kroz sistem formalnog obrazovanja, osim ako se nisu van njega interesovali za takve stvari. Gaus je tada važio za nevidljivog imperatora, kao neko ko nepotrebno nanosi štetu, vjerovatno većini. Obično se u takvom obrazovanju on spominje kao neki čikica koji je stvoritelj metode eliminisanja nepoznatih u sistemu linearnih jednačina. A kada ljudi ne mogu da dopru do njegove spoznaje i ono što je on radio, gledaju ga sa nekim strahopoštovanjem, suviše postaje apstraktan. Jer tako je on u tom obrazovanju predstavljen. Jako, jako loše. Skoro pa depresivno.
Naime, u ovom romanu Kelman će prići dvojici naučnika s jednom dječijom radošću i ozbiljnošću kakvo ono ima dok se igra u pjesku. Karl Fridrih Gaus, matematičar i Aleksandar fon Humbolt, geodeta i geograf su sasvim obični ljudi, svako sa svojim namjerama i idejama. Oni će često govoriti o budućem vremenu, i kako će mnogi eksperimenti nekada kasnije uspjeti, ali prije toga moraće poći na razna putovanja ne bi li tako nešto uočili. Njhovo putovanje će se ogledati kroz Južnu Ameriku, Rusiju i druge dijelove Evrope, odakle će mnoge misli da naviru. Iako ovo nije knjiga iz koje se može štošta naučno izvući, ona ipak pomalo kojegdje sagledava jezgro Zemlje, vulkane kao zemljini prirodni ventili i morske i vazdušne struje i opstanak biljaka uprkos njihovoj potpunoj izloženosti i nezaštićenosti. Njih dvojica takođe imaju svoje životne probleme. I to je ono što ovu knjigu čini radoznalom i punom. Ona čitaocima približava dvojicu naučnika kao neke momke koje svaki dan možemo susresti i sa njima proćaskati, bez neprijatnosti. Mnoge prepreke kroz koje Gaus i Humbolt prolaze daju romanu na čitljivosti i zanimljivosti, posebno kada Kelman još malo sve to začini humorom.
July 6, 2017
"It was both odd and injust, said Gauss, a real example of the pitiful arbitrariness of existence, that you were born into a particular time and held prisoner there whether you wanted it or not. It gave you an indecent advantage over the past and made you a clown vis-a-vis the future."
I'm not sure what to make of this one: I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It certainly was not what I expected.
I do admire Kehlmann for trying a different angle on a historical novel about two eminent characters in their own time. The novel style and focus on what basically is a sequence of vignettes work well to bring out the character in Kehlmann's two subjects - Humboldt and Gauss.
However, this is at the expense of any historical facts (other than that the two people existed):
There is one (or maybe two) references to dates in this book, and I felt this was only to give the reader a timeframe to anchor the story in.
Other than this, there are very few facts in this story that could be referenced back to anything. Yet, this is not due to a lack of research on the part of the author. To draw a picture of both characters in as much detail as he does would have required a lot of research. The book just does not bring this across which makes this more a novel that featured two characters with the names of actual people and some enterprises these people may have set out to, but little else makes this book feel like a historical novel.
And this is where my problem is again: If I want to read about actual people, I want facts, I want references, I want to be able to go away and read more about something they did.
I do not want speculation about what they have thought or felt, or whether their brother tried to kill them when they were little. Unless I can go away and find other supporting material about any of this, I am simply not interested.
The upside to the book was that there was no love triangle, which so often spoils historical fiction books.
2.5*
I'm not sure what to make of this one: I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It certainly was not what I expected.
I do admire Kehlmann for trying a different angle on a historical novel about two eminent characters in their own time. The novel style and focus on what basically is a sequence of vignettes work well to bring out the character in Kehlmann's two subjects - Humboldt and Gauss.
However, this is at the expense of any historical facts (other than that the two people existed):
There is one (or maybe two) references to dates in this book, and I felt this was only to give the reader a timeframe to anchor the story in.
Other than this, there are very few facts in this story that could be referenced back to anything. Yet, this is not due to a lack of research on the part of the author. To draw a picture of both characters in as much detail as he does would have required a lot of research. The book just does not bring this across which makes this more a novel that featured two characters with the names of actual people and some enterprises these people may have set out to, but little else makes this book feel like a historical novel.
And this is where my problem is again: If I want to read about actual people, I want facts, I want references, I want to be able to go away and read more about something they did.
I do not want speculation about what they have thought or felt, or whether their brother tried to kill them when they were little. Unless I can go away and find other supporting material about any of this, I am simply not interested.
The upside to the book was that there was no love triangle, which so often spoils historical fiction books.
2.5*
March 2, 2022
I don't read a lot of fiction, but this is fictionalised - and appears to contain a lot of fact related to the travel and the science (and mathematics) of the two central characters - Alexander von Humboldt & Carl Friedrich Gauss. Both German, and contemporary, it is not clear to me if they ever met or were colleagues / friends, as they are in this book.
Both fascinating men, but very different in their approach to their fields. Humboldt embodies inductive science - based on observation and experience - he is the explorer - the climber, the measurer, the scientist taking samples - plants, animals, rocks. Gauss is pure deductive science an academic, at his desk performing calculations, producing formulae, viewing the stars in his telescope.
Similarly both geniuses, but very much presented here as quite human - flaws well captured in the flow of the novel. The larger crossover with Humboldt and Gauss is surveying - measuring the world. They both develop technique and carry out a significant amount of surveying and cartography.
The third character in the novel is Aimé Bonpland, who travels with Humboldt, and provides a lot of the wit in Humboldt's chapters.
The other constant character is Gauss' son Eugen. Despite being the son of a genius, Eugen is of average intellect. Eugen is a disappointment to Gauss, and shares none of the interests of his father.
This was an enjoyable novel - funny in many parts, well paced, and interesting. The first half was much stronger, and from the midpoint onwards I found myself considering how it would be resolved, or in fact what the storyline here was to resolve. I suspect the storyline is somewhat light, and we are looking at a comparison between the two characters, and their approach to their work, and their lives, rather than pure plot.
In a few other reviews I read, those who read it in its original German and in English have said the humour and tone didn't always translate successfully. I found it pretty amusing, so I was pretty surprised by that.
Difficult to rate, as I haven't the intimate knowledge to know how much liberty the author took with the fictionalisation. I enjoyed it enough to be between three and four stars. Rounded up.
Both fascinating men, but very different in their approach to their fields. Humboldt embodies inductive science - based on observation and experience - he is the explorer - the climber, the measurer, the scientist taking samples - plants, animals, rocks. Gauss is pure deductive science an academic, at his desk performing calculations, producing formulae, viewing the stars in his telescope.
Similarly both geniuses, but very much presented here as quite human - flaws well captured in the flow of the novel. The larger crossover with Humboldt and Gauss is surveying - measuring the world. They both develop technique and carry out a significant amount of surveying and cartography.
The third character in the novel is Aimé Bonpland, who travels with Humboldt, and provides a lot of the wit in Humboldt's chapters.
The other constant character is Gauss' son Eugen. Despite being the son of a genius, Eugen is of average intellect. Eugen is a disappointment to Gauss, and shares none of the interests of his father.
This was an enjoyable novel - funny in many parts, well paced, and interesting. The first half was much stronger, and from the midpoint onwards I found myself considering how it would be resolved, or in fact what the storyline here was to resolve. I suspect the storyline is somewhat light, and we are looking at a comparison between the two characters, and their approach to their work, and their lives, rather than pure plot.
In a few other reviews I read, those who read it in its original German and in English have said the humour and tone didn't always translate successfully. I found it pretty amusing, so I was pretty surprised by that.
Difficult to rate, as I haven't the intimate knowledge to know how much liberty the author took with the fictionalisation. I enjoyed it enough to be between three and four stars. Rounded up.
September 14, 2021
Die ersten 3/4 der Buches sind wirklich humorvoll und unterhaltsam geschrieben. Das letzte viertel fand ich aber außerordentlich zäh und langweilig.
Ich habe mir mehr davon versprochen gehabt...
Ich habe mir mehr davon versprochen gehabt...
December 11, 2019
Aslında tam olarak 3,864 yıldız :)
Jean Echenoz'unkine benzettiğim uçuşmalı üslubu, güçlü kara mizah duygusu ve derinlikli özüyle nefis bir roman bu.
Jean Echenoz'unkine benzettiğim uçuşmalı üslubu, güçlü kara mizah duygusu ve derinlikli özüyle nefis bir roman bu.
July 24, 2022
Diese Form der Doppelbiografie zweier herausragender deutscher Wissenschaftler hat mich hervorragend unterhalten. Daniel Kehlmann ist ein großartiger und vor allem humorvoller Erzähler. Die Lebenswege des Mathematikers Gauß und des Naturwissenschaftlers Humboldt sind von Beginn an sehr unterschiedlich. Durch das ständige Springen zwischen der Erzählsträngen lassen sich die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede der Beiden gut erkennen. Auf den ersten Blick sieht man nicht viel Übereinstimmung, aber letztlich ist doch beiden gemeinsam, dass sie sich als Wissenschaftler gänzlich auf die Fakten konzentrieren. Und Kehlmann übernimmt diese Einstellung, in dem er das Reflektieren und geistige Erschließen reduziert und einen unerwartet stark handlungsorientierten Roman schreibt. Dadurch wirkt die Vermessung der Welt durch die Beiden spannend und amüsant zu gleich. Eines meiner liebsten zeitgenössischen deutschsprachigen Bücher. Die Romanverfilmung von 2012 versucht den humorvollen Ton Kehlmanns umzusetzen und scheitert dabei meines Erachtens kläglich, da Buck die Personen ins Alberne und Überdrehte karikiert.
May 30, 2019
در یک کلام یک کتاب تفریحی که به نظر تعهدی را نسبت به دونابغهی آلمانی- کارل فردریش گاوس و الکساندر فوت هومبلت- به جا آورده.
نویسنده، خاطرات جسته گریختهی این دو دانشمند را در قالب داستانی با تمپوی بالا و جذاب روایت(بازسازی) کرده.
گاوس یک ریاضیدان و هومبلت کاشف سرزمینهای نو و جغرافی دان ، هر یک سرگذشت جذاب خودشان را دارند و در جایی از زندگی با هم ملاقات میکنند.
از نکات مثبتش همین که دونفر از مفاخر کشورشون روتونسته بود معرفی کنه. از طرفی هم سعی در بت سازی و تقدس گرایی مفاخر نداشت. تا جایی که شخصیت گاوس رو خیلی از مواقع از نظر اخلاقی تخریب هم میکنه.
دوستش داشتم ولی برای اینکه بتونه امتیازی بیشتر از ۳ بگیره نیاز به درگیریهای عمیقتری داشت.
حاشیه:
بنده در دوران تحصیل بسیار فراوان این جناب گاوس رو نفرین و دشنام داده بودم. به خاطر قوانین، فرمولها و روشهای حلی که به نام خودش ثبت کرده، و ما رو به زحمت انداخته بود.
نویسنده، خاطرات جسته گریختهی این دو دانشمند را در قالب داستانی با تمپوی بالا و جذاب روایت(بازسازی) کرده.
گاوس یک ریاضیدان و هومبلت کاشف سرزمینهای نو و جغرافی دان ، هر یک سرگذشت جذاب خودشان را دارند و در جایی از زندگی با هم ملاقات میکنند.
از نکات مثبتش همین که دونفر از مفاخر کشورشون روتونسته بود معرفی کنه. از طرفی هم سعی در بت سازی و تقدس گرایی مفاخر نداشت. تا جایی که شخصیت گاوس رو خیلی از مواقع از نظر اخلاقی تخریب هم میکنه.
دوستش داشتم ولی برای اینکه بتونه امتیازی بیشتر از ۳ بگیره نیاز به درگیریهای عمیقتری داشت.
حاشیه:
بنده در دوران تحصیل بسیار فراوان این جناب گاوس رو نفرین و دشنام داده بودم. به خاطر قوانین، فرمولها و روشهای حلی که به نام خودش ثبت کرده، و ما رو به زحمت انداخته بود.
December 5, 2017
Don't like this book. The characters of the historical figures of Gauss and Von Humboldt are flat, like in a graphic novel. As a result it is even difficult to keep the two apart. I do not see the sense of using real people in a novel if you do not try to develop their psychology, not try to understand their motives, doubts, struggles. In this novel it remains superficial. There is some humor, yes, but again, what is this book meant to be? A satire? Of what? As a historical novel I cannot take it seriously.
June 11, 2023
Mi se pare nepotrivita, extrem de subiectiva si plictisitoare abordarea scriitorului. Nu mi-a placut stilul narativ, atatea gesturi si dialoguri inchipuite...nu asa se contureaza personalitatea unor oameni mari precum Gauss si Humboldt, as fi vrut sa iasa in evidenta maretia descoperirilor lor, preferam o biografie neromanțata sau in stilul lui Stefan Zweig, care a stiut sa surprinda caracterul uman cu un profund simt analitic.
May 13, 2018
I just wanted to take a short break from two extremely serious and depressing books I'm reading at the moment and thought that plunging into the worlds of two geniuses would be perfect. Re-reading this novel is as fascinating as it was while reading it for the first time.
August 14, 2010
Fascinating read. A scientific historical novel (first published in 2005) originally written in German by young author, Daniel Kehlmann (born 1975). It is said to be the worldwide bestselling German novel since Patrick Suskind's Perfume in 1985.
This is a story of a two scientists during the time of Napoleon reign in Europe. The first scientist is Alexander von Humboldt who is a botanist, geologist and an explorer. He has an elder brother Wilhelm von Humboldt who lives a "normal" life, i.e., study, work, marry, raise a family and die while Humboldt pursues his dream of proving the scientific theory called "Neptunism" or the belief that the core of the earth is solid rock. That mountain ranges are created by the chemical precipitations left as the primordial ocean shrinks. That the fire in volcanoes doesn't come from deep in the earth but is fed by burning coalfields. This theory was championed by both churches and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
(Remember that this was during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821 and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was a German writer and polymath, 1749-1832. By the way, as this is a historical scientific novel, both the Humboldt brothers were also real German famous personalities)
The second scientist is Carl Friedrich Gauss who is a mathematician and scientist. He is also the author of the book Disquisitiones which deals with the number consolidating theory that shaped several mathematical theories known today. He is a boy genius in mathematics. I particularly enjoyed the classroom scene when his "terror" butt-spanking teacher asks him to add all the numbers from 1 to 100 thinking that the young Gauss will manually write and add all the numbers from 1 to 100. What he does, to the astonishment of the said teacher, is that he starts with a hundred and one. A hundred plus one equals a hundred and one. Ninety-nine plus two equals a hundred and one. Always a hundred and one. Ninety-eight plus three equals a hundred and one. You could do that fifty times. So, fifty times a hundred and one." Answer: five thousand and fifty!
Unlike Humboldt, Gauss has a family, he got married twice and has 6 children. One of his children, his son Eugen, is one of the main characters in the novel. He feels unloved because Gauss is disappointed that they do not share the same interest. Gauss is a genius while his son Eugen has an average intellect.
The novel is divided into several chapters with the life and times of Gauss and Humboldt alternating until the fifth to the last chapter when they meet. The novel shows what scientist in the 18th century go through (almost spending their whole life and even their family and social life) to pursue their careers and academic passions. The book is full of anecdotes and scientific theories and explanations that Kehlmann was able to tell in a light and even funny way. Something that only gifted storytellers can successfully pull off.
My favorite quote comes at the last part of the story when Humboldt was in his "sunset" year as a scientist and his sister-in-law, the wife of his elder brother died. This is part of his speech prior to visiting the deathbed:
In the same chapter, Gauss receives a letter from his elder brother (remember that they are both old and gray already). This is after the funeral and the elder Humboldt is thanking him for his visit and support during the death of his wife. Part of the letter is this:
For me, the message of the novel is how we will be "measured" in terms of how we lived our lives at the end of our stay in this world. More than financial wealth and highest position we reach in our careers, it is how we loved and how we were loved back by those who we shared our lives with.
Also posted in here.
This is a story of a two scientists during the time of Napoleon reign in Europe. The first scientist is Alexander von Humboldt who is a botanist, geologist and an explorer. He has an elder brother Wilhelm von Humboldt who lives a "normal" life, i.e., study, work, marry, raise a family and die while Humboldt pursues his dream of proving the scientific theory called "Neptunism" or the belief that the core of the earth is solid rock. That mountain ranges are created by the chemical precipitations left as the primordial ocean shrinks. That the fire in volcanoes doesn't come from deep in the earth but is fed by burning coalfields. This theory was championed by both churches and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
(Remember that this was during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821 and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was a German writer and polymath, 1749-1832. By the way, as this is a historical scientific novel, both the Humboldt brothers were also real German famous personalities)
The second scientist is Carl Friedrich Gauss who is a mathematician and scientist. He is also the author of the book Disquisitiones which deals with the number consolidating theory that shaped several mathematical theories known today. He is a boy genius in mathematics. I particularly enjoyed the classroom scene when his "terror" butt-spanking teacher asks him to add all the numbers from 1 to 100 thinking that the young Gauss will manually write and add all the numbers from 1 to 100. What he does, to the astonishment of the said teacher, is that he starts with a hundred and one. A hundred plus one equals a hundred and one. Ninety-nine plus two equals a hundred and one. Always a hundred and one. Ninety-eight plus three equals a hundred and one. You could do that fifty times. So, fifty times a hundred and one." Answer: five thousand and fifty!
Unlike Humboldt, Gauss has a family, he got married twice and has 6 children. One of his children, his son Eugen, is one of the main characters in the novel. He feels unloved because Gauss is disappointed that they do not share the same interest. Gauss is a genius while his son Eugen has an average intellect.
The novel is divided into several chapters with the life and times of Gauss and Humboldt alternating until the fifth to the last chapter when they meet. The novel shows what scientist in the 18th century go through (almost spending their whole life and even their family and social life) to pursue their careers and academic passions. The book is full of anecdotes and scientific theories and explanations that Kehlmann was able to tell in a light and even funny way. Something that only gifted storytellers can successfully pull off.
My favorite quote comes at the last part of the story when Humboldt was in his "sunset" year as a scientist and his sister-in-law, the wife of his elder brother died. This is part of his speech prior to visiting the deathbed:
What, ladies and gentlemen, is death? Fundamentally it is not extinction and those seconds when life ends, but the slow decline that precedes it, that creeping debility that extends over years: the time in which a person is still there and yet not there, in which he can still imagine that although his prime is long since past, it lingers yet. So circumspectly, ladies and gentlemen, has nature organized our death!"
In the same chapter, Gauss receives a letter from his elder brother (remember that they are both old and gray already). This is after the funeral and the elder Humboldt is thanking him for his visit and support during the death of his wife. Part of the letter is this:
Whether we see each other again or not, now once more, it is just we two, as it always was fundamentally. We were inculcated early with the lesson that life requires an audience. We both believed that the whole world was ours. Little by little the circles became smaller, and we were forced to realize that the actual goal of all our efforts was not the cosmos but merely each other. Because of you I wanted to become a minister, because of me you had to conquer the highest mountain and the deepest caverns, for you I founded the greatest university, for me you discovered South America, and only fools who fail to understand the significance of a single life in double form would describe this as a rivalry..."
For me, the message of the novel is how we will be "measured" in terms of how we lived our lives at the end of our stay in this world. More than financial wealth and highest position we reach in our careers, it is how we loved and how we were loved back by those who we shared our lives with.
Also posted in here.
January 20, 2018
Non basta un’idea
Bella pensata ha fatto il filosofo Daniel Kehlmann decidendo di scrivere un doppio romanzo sulla vita di due eminenti scienziati tedeschi vissuti a cavallo del diciottesimo e diciannovesimo secolo! Sì, perché l’idea di raccontare due personalità antitetiche, e quindi complementari, sia dal punto di vista caratteriale che storico, è proprio accattivante.
Da un lato von Humboldt, geografo, naturalista ed esploratore, ricco aristocratico, eccentrico, curioso ed espansivo. Uno che è stato dappertutto e che il mondo lo ha misurato concretamente. Dall’altro Gauss, un genio della matematica e dell’astronomia, di umili origini, cupo e schivo. Uno che detesta l’idea di mettersi in viaggio anche solo per brevi distanze e che il mondo (e di più, visto che si è dedicato anche a studi riguardanti lo spazio) lo ha misurato standosene a casa sua.
Ma soprattutto due personalità con modi antitetici di intendere la scienza: v.H. è uno scienziato vecchio stile, un empirista che deve toccare tutto con mano per convalidare qualunque teoria; uno che ha passato la vita a raccogliere dati e a catalogarli. G. invece Rappresenta una concezione più moderna, ha una visione della scienza basata sull’astrazione e sul calcolo. Il suo è un mondo complesso, fatto di difficoltà, un mondo che nasconde enigmi e misteri, al di là dell’esperibile e finanche dell’immaginabile. Un mondo che, come afferma egli stesso addentrandosi in campo filosofico, una volta misurato non è più lo stesso, si è modificato.
Il libro però, basato su dati biografici e aneddotici ampiamente romanzati, non è all’altezza delle premesse. La scrittura è piatta, noiosa, ripetitiva e, nell’intento di giocare sugli aspetti comici dei due eccentrici personaggi, Kehlmann finisce col banalizzare i due protagonisti e renderli delle macchiette. Si arriva a un certo punto della lettura a domandarsi se fossero davvero così interessanti v.H e G. da scriverci un romanzo. Forse più semplicemente si può affermare che l’autore sia solo uno scrittore mediocre con velleità di umorista da cabaret. Un libro quindi non pessimo, ma trascurabile.
Bella pensata ha fatto il filosofo Daniel Kehlmann decidendo di scrivere un doppio romanzo sulla vita di due eminenti scienziati tedeschi vissuti a cavallo del diciottesimo e diciannovesimo secolo! Sì, perché l’idea di raccontare due personalità antitetiche, e quindi complementari, sia dal punto di vista caratteriale che storico, è proprio accattivante.
Da un lato von Humboldt, geografo, naturalista ed esploratore, ricco aristocratico, eccentrico, curioso ed espansivo. Uno che è stato dappertutto e che il mondo lo ha misurato concretamente. Dall’altro Gauss, un genio della matematica e dell’astronomia, di umili origini, cupo e schivo. Uno che detesta l’idea di mettersi in viaggio anche solo per brevi distanze e che il mondo (e di più, visto che si è dedicato anche a studi riguardanti lo spazio) lo ha misurato standosene a casa sua.
Ma soprattutto due personalità con modi antitetici di intendere la scienza: v.H. è uno scienziato vecchio stile, un empirista che deve toccare tutto con mano per convalidare qualunque teoria; uno che ha passato la vita a raccogliere dati e a catalogarli. G. invece Rappresenta una concezione più moderna, ha una visione della scienza basata sull’astrazione e sul calcolo. Il suo è un mondo complesso, fatto di difficoltà, un mondo che nasconde enigmi e misteri, al di là dell’esperibile e finanche dell’immaginabile. Un mondo che, come afferma egli stesso addentrandosi in campo filosofico, una volta misurato non è più lo stesso, si è modificato.
Il libro però, basato su dati biografici e aneddotici ampiamente romanzati, non è all’altezza delle premesse. La scrittura è piatta, noiosa, ripetitiva e, nell’intento di giocare sugli aspetti comici dei due eccentrici personaggi, Kehlmann finisce col banalizzare i due protagonisti e renderli delle macchiette. Si arriva a un certo punto della lettura a domandarsi se fossero davvero così interessanti v.H e G. da scriverci un romanzo. Forse più semplicemente si può affermare che l’autore sia solo uno scrittore mediocre con velleità di umorista da cabaret. Un libro quindi non pessimo, ma trascurabile.
July 29, 2016
اینقد درهم برهم بود که یه جاهایی داستان از زیر دستم در میرفت! ولی طنزش تو بعضی جمله ها و جریانات خیلی خوش نشسته بود. ریتم خوبش باعث میشد بتونی باهاش همراهی کنی. شخصیت ها ولی، نمدونم چرا جز یه سری چیزهای برجسته، نتونستن تو ذهنم بمونن.
" هر چیز مربوط به بدن، منبع واقعی تمام نکبت هاست."
" هر چیز مربوط به بدن، منبع واقعی تمام نکبت هاست."
February 1, 2008
Daniel Kehlmann's Measuring the World was one of my birthday presents last year, and I waited almost a year to finally read it. Even though it had been on my wishlist, when it suddenly sat there on my shelf, the idea of reading about pre-industrialization Germany, about Humboldt and Gauß, two boring old scientist, seemed rather dreadful.
I should have known better. Measuring the World is not a science book. It's not about two boring old men either, though it is about two old scientist. And the way Kehlmann describes them, you feel as if you had known them forever from the first moment. Humboldt's enthusiam, his absolute NEED to measure things, to experience, not to miss anything no matter at what cost, is as palpable as Gauß's displeasure at traveling, a cranky old geezer is, I think, what one would call him (or "ein griesgrämiger alter Kauz"). Kehlmann makes both of them exceptionally human, with all the flaws, and at the same time manages to describe their genius without forcing it on the reader. Their stories become cleverly interwoven and mixed up with Kehlmann's excellent dialogues.
The book captivated me and made me laugh out loud more than once. Historical or scientific value or accuracy may have been sacrificed for entertainment in many cases, but that seems only fitting in the time we live. ;-)
P.S.: I read the original German version, so I don't know if the English translation is any good. I'd be interested in opinions.
I should have known better. Measuring the World is not a science book. It's not about two boring old men either, though it is about two old scientist. And the way Kehlmann describes them, you feel as if you had known them forever from the first moment. Humboldt's enthusiam, his absolute NEED to measure things, to experience, not to miss anything no matter at what cost, is as palpable as Gauß's displeasure at traveling, a cranky old geezer is, I think, what one would call him (or "ein griesgrämiger alter Kauz"). Kehlmann makes both of them exceptionally human, with all the flaws, and at the same time manages to describe their genius without forcing it on the reader. Their stories become cleverly interwoven and mixed up with Kehlmann's excellent dialogues.
The book captivated me and made me laugh out loud more than once. Historical or scientific value or accuracy may have been sacrificed for entertainment in many cases, but that seems only fitting in the time we live. ;-)
P.S.: I read the original German version, so I don't know if the English translation is any good. I'd be interested in opinions.
January 18, 2013
Prima di leggere il libro, conoscevo di nome Gauss, mentre quello di Humboldt potrebbe essere apparso nei miei studi scolastici ma subito è stato dimenticato. Quindi la lettura è stata utile principalmente per conoscere questi due scienziati, di cui vengono narrate le avventure in capitoli alterni: ambedue tedeschi, di origini diversissime -popolare il primo, figlio di un giardiniere; di famiglia nobile il secondo- hanno vissuto vite del tutto diverse, l’uno, “enfant prodige” della matematica, scrisse giovanissimo la sua opera più famosa, le Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, e trascorse la sua esistenza sopra i libri dedito ai calcoli numerici e alle misurazioni dei movimenti dei pianeti; l’altro, invece, ha viaggiato per il mondo, immerso nelle esplorazioni di terre sconosciute, nelle misurazioni delle altezze di colline e montagne e nello studio di minerali e animali. Alla fine i due scienziati si incontrano, e dall’incontro emerge che, pur se un abisso li separa, li accomuna lo spirito scientifico, inteso come il desiderio di dare a sé stessi e all’umanità una spiegazione dell’universo e delle leggi che lo regolano, di misurare il mondo per renderlo “a misura” dell’uomo.
Le loro avventure, spesso stravaganti e singolari, vengono narrate da Daniel Kehlmann con senso dell’umorismo ed una fine ironia, e questa è stata l’impronta principale della lettura: far conoscere divertendo il lettore. Un romanzo intelligente, pieno di humour ma che al contempo fa riflettere.
Le loro avventure, spesso stravaganti e singolari, vengono narrate da Daniel Kehlmann con senso dell’umorismo ed una fine ironia, e questa è stata l’impronta principale della lettura: far conoscere divertendo il lettore. Un romanzo intelligente, pieno di humour ma che al contempo fa riflettere.
September 13, 2020
Nachdem ich vor einem Jahr "Alexander von Humboldt und die Entdeckung der Natur" von Andrea Wulf gelesen habe, war das eine gute Ergänzung, die Humboldt auch von anderen Perspektiven betrachtet hat. Wieviele davon fiktiv ist, kann ich nicht beurteilen.
Interessant fand ich auch die Gegensätze zwischen Gauß und Humboldt. Der eine entdeckt die Welt aus seinem "Wohnzimmer" und der andere bereist sie und beide vermessen sie, jeder auf seine Art.
Von Daniel Kehlmann habe ich bereits Tyll gelesen, das mir auch sehr gut gefallen hat und 5 Sterne bekommen hat. Mir mag die Art von Humor von Daniel Kehlmann. Das wird sicherlich nicht das letzte Buch sein, das ich von ihm lese.
Interessant fand ich auch die Gegensätze zwischen Gauß und Humboldt. Der eine entdeckt die Welt aus seinem "Wohnzimmer" und der andere bereist sie und beide vermessen sie, jeder auf seine Art.
Von Daniel Kehlmann habe ich bereits Tyll gelesen, das mir auch sehr gut gefallen hat und 5 Sterne bekommen hat. Mir mag die Art von Humor von Daniel Kehlmann. Das wird sicherlich nicht das letzte Buch sein, das ich von ihm lese.
December 15, 2011
So 200 years ago the world was a pretty big place. Not any bigger than it is now but it had the feel of a larger ball of rock as many humans were still scrambling about "discovering" places. Note - most of these places had already been discovered by the people who lived in them. They just didn't shout about it in quite the same way. It is also interesting to note that the people doing the scrambling about were, for the most part, European. Is this because all Europe-ers are massive nosy bastards? Or maybe everyone else is happy where they are, mainly because fate/god/evolution saw to it that they got a warmer and more exotic spot on the big ball of rock. Another hypothesis might be that some parts of Europe were actually quite late off the mark with regards to general international nosiness. Empires from China, Persia, Greece, Italy and the Middle East had already got a lot of wandering out of their system prior to the time many Europeans were just stretching their legs and wondering exactly what was over the next hill.
The "nosey Europe-ers" in question in this book are Gauss and Humboldt, both of whom were real gentlemen who did lots of simultaneous wandering and pondering. At this point, I suppose it would be good to present people with some hard facts that I may have learned (or Googled) about Gauss or Humboldt but I don't have any so I am unable to pass comment on how much artistic license Kehlmann took with the main characters. Essentially they are both stupendously clever but Gauss is cleverer than Humboldt what with being your more bog-standard genius and all. Humboldt is pretty smart, incredibly observant and probably an early example of someone with undiagnosed low latent inhibition (if you watched Prison Break then you'll know what I mean). Humboldts determination to be a genius actually almost puts him on level pegging with Gauss who is a bit lazier and less inclined to travel outside of Prussia.
Is there a moral to this slightly comedic tale of exploration by two men, both with issues? Not really. Doesn't make it a bad read though, just means you'll walk away thinking "ok well that was quite nice" rather than "wow I am a better and more well rounded sentient entity for reading that".
The "nosey Europe-ers" in question in this book are Gauss and Humboldt, both of whom were real gentlemen who did lots of simultaneous wandering and pondering. At this point, I suppose it would be good to present people with some hard facts that I may have learned (or Googled) about Gauss or Humboldt but I don't have any so I am unable to pass comment on how much artistic license Kehlmann took with the main characters. Essentially they are both stupendously clever but Gauss is cleverer than Humboldt what with being your more bog-standard genius and all. Humboldt is pretty smart, incredibly observant and probably an early example of someone with undiagnosed low latent inhibition (if you watched Prison Break then you'll know what I mean). Humboldts determination to be a genius actually almost puts him on level pegging with Gauss who is a bit lazier and less inclined to travel outside of Prussia.
Is there a moral to this slightly comedic tale of exploration by two men, both with issues? Not really. Doesn't make it a bad read though, just means you'll walk away thinking "ok well that was quite nice" rather than "wow I am a better and more well rounded sentient entity for reading that".
April 11, 2018
Fictional account of the lives and meeting (towards the end of their lives at a scientific congress that Humboldt holds) of two great German scientists – the naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt (whose brother was also a great politician and linguist) – who explored and opened up and the mathematician and physicist Gauss. The translated English is written in a simple and slightly stilting style but is easy to read and the range of ideas and concepts covered is what makes the book.
As the title suggests both are obsessed with measurement – but whereas Humboldt travels far and wide and seems to believe that the world is better understood by discovery, measurement, reporting and charting; Gauss in contrast resents the time he has to spend as a surveyor (although approaching the task with drive and mathematical rigour) and is more interested in the insights it gives him into mathematical reality – e.g. the concept that parallel lines meet in infinity and that space and time are curved.
The book is also set against the background of brewing political rebellion in Germany in the mid-1800’s with both scientists not just revolutionary thinkers in their scientific thinking but both also magnificently unaware of what is going on around them – from mundane concerns to wider geo-political events such as the Napoleonic wars. Humboldt’s travels to the Americas allows Kehlmann to integrate high science and German culture with magic realism – with Humboldt still persistently seeking to explain, assess and categorise even in bizarre and surreal surroundings.
As the title suggests both are obsessed with measurement – but whereas Humboldt travels far and wide and seems to believe that the world is better understood by discovery, measurement, reporting and charting; Gauss in contrast resents the time he has to spend as a surveyor (although approaching the task with drive and mathematical rigour) and is more interested in the insights it gives him into mathematical reality – e.g. the concept that parallel lines meet in infinity and that space and time are curved.
The book is also set against the background of brewing political rebellion in Germany in the mid-1800’s with both scientists not just revolutionary thinkers in their scientific thinking but both also magnificently unaware of what is going on around them – from mundane concerns to wider geo-political events such as the Napoleonic wars. Humboldt’s travels to the Americas allows Kehlmann to integrate high science and German culture with magic realism – with Humboldt still persistently seeking to explain, assess and categorise even in bizarre and surreal surroundings.
April 8, 2025
ein kluger, unaufdringlich gebildeter, lässiger, lakonischer, leise ironischer, humorvoller, unaufgeregt temporeicher Geschichtenerzähler erzählt Geschichte. Chapeau.
"Geschichten wisse er keine, sagte [der Naturforscher Alexander] Humboldt und schob seinen Hut zurecht, den der [aus einem Käfig auf dem Forschungsschiff entflohene] Affe umgedreht hatte. Auch möge er das Erzählen nicht. Aber er könne das schönste deutsche Gedicht vortragen, frei ins Spanische übersetzt. Oberhalb aller Bergspitzen sei es still, in den Bäumen kein Wind zu fühlen, auch die Vögel seien ruhig, und bald werde man tot sein.
[...]
Fertig, sagte Humboldt."
"Geschichten wisse er keine, sagte [der Naturforscher Alexander] Humboldt und schob seinen Hut zurecht, den der [aus einem Käfig auf dem Forschungsschiff entflohene] Affe umgedreht hatte. Auch möge er das Erzählen nicht. Aber er könne das schönste deutsche Gedicht vortragen, frei ins Spanische übersetzt. Oberhalb aller Bergspitzen sei es still, in den Bäumen kein Wind zu fühlen, auch die Vögel seien ruhig, und bald werde man tot sein.
[...]
Fertig, sagte Humboldt."
October 11, 2023
Almanya'nın gözde yazarlarından Daniel Kehlmann'nın daha önce "Gitmeliydin" isimli mini romanını okumuştum ve epey ilgimi çekmişti; ilişkimizi daha da ilerletmek adına bir çılgınlık yapıp Türkçede basılmış bütün eserlerini almıştım. Bu minvalde yeni okumam "Dünyanın Ölçümü", acaba hata mı ettim diye kendimi sorgulamama sebep oldu. Beğenmediğimi söyleyemem ama apaçık şekilde sevmedim de. Normalde bir okuma beni yorsa bile, iyi olduğunu düşünüyorsam onun hakkında olumsuz bir şey söylemeye dilim gitmez fakat burada arafta kaldım.
Romanda, yaşamış en büyük matematikçilerden kabul edilen Gauss ile yine önemli bir bilim adamı olan Humbolt'un hikayesine odaklanıyor. Olduğu yerden ayrılmadan dünyanın en önemli matematiksel keşiflerini yapan Gauss ile dünyanın her köşesine ayak basarak, sahada araştırmalar yaparak bilimselliğini kanıtlamış olan Humbolt'un öyküsü Kehlmann tarafından oldukça mizahi bir dil ile kaleme alınmış. İki bilim adamının hayatını da çok fazla bilmediğimden romanda anlatılanların, gerçekten beslenen ancak belgesel niteliği taşımayan bilgilerden yola çıkışmış yarı fantezi bir belge-kurmaca olduğunu varsayıyorum. İki bilim adamının gerçek insanlar olmasını bir kenara bırakırsak, ortaya konan bilimsel araştırmanın zorluğu ve bilimsel yöntemin ilk bulunmuşluklarına dair anlatılan ayrıntılar son derece keyifli. Birikimli ilerleyen bir disiplinin bir nevi başlangıç noktasına gitmek ve bulunduğumuz zamandan o zamanı izlemek son derece ilginç bir okuma hissi yaşatıyor. Fakat diğer yandan hikayenin gerçekçi unsurlarının son derece döküntü olması, hikaye anlatıcısında daha çok maharet görmeyi arzulatıyor. Halbuki "Gitmeliydin" bir gerilim gibi ilerleyen, olayın belirsizliğinden gücünü alan etkileyici bir cinnet öyküsü olarak kaleme alınmıştı. O romandaki yazarlık mahareti burada ne yazık yok bana göre. Son derece ayrıntılı bir araştırmanın ürünü olduğuna eminim, yazarın kendini tamamen gösterdiği etkileyici mizahi dili de romanı daha değerli kılıyor fakat yine de eksik bir şeylerin yarattığı histen roman boyunca (özellikle son çeyrekte) kurtulamadım.
Orijinal metin 2005'te yayımlanmış. O günden beri de özellikle Almanca dili okurlarında son derece büyük beğeni toplamış. Genç yazarı dünya çapında üne kavuşturan da yine bu roman olmuş. O yüzden belki de ben bir şey kaçırmışımdır diyorum. Özellikle Alman mizahını yakalayamamış olmam mümkün.
Diğer yandan bilime meraklı okurlar için kitap çok daha ilgi çekici olacaktır. Hatta neresinden bakarsanız bir hazine sayılabilir. İki bilim adamının dünyanın ölçümü üzerinden kurdukları hayat pratikleri aslında son derece büyük bir adanmışlıktan ibaret ve kitabı Kehlmannca yazılmış buna bir saygı duruşu olarak görebiliriz. İlgisini çekenlere önereceğim bir kitap, iyi okumalar.
Romanda, yaşamış en büyük matematikçilerden kabul edilen Gauss ile yine önemli bir bilim adamı olan Humbolt'un hikayesine odaklanıyor. Olduğu yerden ayrılmadan dünyanın en önemli matematiksel keşiflerini yapan Gauss ile dünyanın her köşesine ayak basarak, sahada araştırmalar yaparak bilimselliğini kanıtlamış olan Humbolt'un öyküsü Kehlmann tarafından oldukça mizahi bir dil ile kaleme alınmış. İki bilim adamının hayatını da çok fazla bilmediğimden romanda anlatılanların, gerçekten beslenen ancak belgesel niteliği taşımayan bilgilerden yola çıkışmış yarı fantezi bir belge-kurmaca olduğunu varsayıyorum. İki bilim adamının gerçek insanlar olmasını bir kenara bırakırsak, ortaya konan bilimsel araştırmanın zorluğu ve bilimsel yöntemin ilk bulunmuşluklarına dair anlatılan ayrıntılar son derece keyifli. Birikimli ilerleyen bir disiplinin bir nevi başlangıç noktasına gitmek ve bulunduğumuz zamandan o zamanı izlemek son derece ilginç bir okuma hissi yaşatıyor. Fakat diğer yandan hikayenin gerçekçi unsurlarının son derece döküntü olması, hikaye anlatıcısında daha çok maharet görmeyi arzulatıyor. Halbuki "Gitmeliydin" bir gerilim gibi ilerleyen, olayın belirsizliğinden gücünü alan etkileyici bir cinnet öyküsü olarak kaleme alınmıştı. O romandaki yazarlık mahareti burada ne yazık yok bana göre. Son derece ayrıntılı bir araştırmanın ürünü olduğuna eminim, yazarın kendini tamamen gösterdiği etkileyici mizahi dili de romanı daha değerli kılıyor fakat yine de eksik bir şeylerin yarattığı histen roman boyunca (özellikle son çeyrekte) kurtulamadım.
Orijinal metin 2005'te yayımlanmış. O günden beri de özellikle Almanca dili okurlarında son derece büyük beğeni toplamış. Genç yazarı dünya çapında üne kavuşturan da yine bu roman olmuş. O yüzden belki de ben bir şey kaçırmışımdır diyorum. Özellikle Alman mizahını yakalayamamış olmam mümkün.
Diğer yandan bilime meraklı okurlar için kitap çok daha ilgi çekici olacaktır. Hatta neresinden bakarsanız bir hazine sayılabilir. İki bilim adamının dünyanın ölçümü üzerinden kurdukları hayat pratikleri aslında son derece büyük bir adanmışlıktan ibaret ve kitabı Kehlmannca yazılmış buna bir saygı duruşu olarak görebiliriz. İlgisini çekenlere önereceğim bir kitap, iyi okumalar.
June 12, 2021
Kehlmann’s talents as a novelist present themselves from time to time, but the occasional moment of dry humor was not enough to supplant a somewhat tedious story. Gauss and Humboldt are depicted as too clever by half, and while Gauss’s insults directed at the simpletons he must endure are entertaining, the two main characters become a little tiresome by the end of the novel. I did enjoy the final chapters when Gauss and Humboldt confront mortality and complete each other’s thoughts about legacy (there is a touch of magical realism here). These are the chapters in which Kehlmann’s writing really shines. Having already read ‘Tyll’, however, this novel struck me as a work of a talented writer who has not yet found his stride. Pretty good, but I was expecting a little more from Kehlmann. Three stars. Highly recommend Kehlmann’s ‘Tyll’ though.
December 27, 2009
Ein wunderschöner Roman über Gauß und Humboldt, der einem die Zeit der großen Dichter und Denker näherbringt und den eigentlich leeren Namen deutscher Genies aus dem Geschichtsunterricht wie Humboldt, Gauß, Kant, Goethe... Leben einhaucht und sie sehr sehr menschlich macht.
December 12, 2020
“Whenever things were frightening, it was a good idea to measure them.”
April 1, 2022
Unterhaltsam und mit viel Humor erzählt.
Tyll hat mir persönlich besser gefallen. Liegt vielleicht daran, dass Mathematik, Physik und ähnliche Naturwissenschaften nicht so meins sind.
Tyll hat mir persönlich besser gefallen. Liegt vielleicht daran, dass Mathematik, Physik und ähnliche Naturwissenschaften nicht so meins sind.
September 14, 2015
I read this back in 2007 in English, now in German for a book club. Here is my 2007 review.
It is not uncommon to find fictional accounts of the lives of famous historical figures, nor of encounters between them. Kehlmann's book is unusual in its choice of personalities and in the way in which he creates an entertaining description of the two. In the late eighteenth century, Carl Friedrich Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt had both embarked on the same quest: finding a new way of measuring the world. The two heroes couldn't be more different in character and approach. Gauss believed that "a man alone at his desk" represented the real scientist whereas von Humboldt saw him as a world traveler, collecting the evidence in the field and taking measurements wherever he went. Basing himself on the historical records of their lives and work, Kehlmann has created a tongue-in-cheek intimate portrait of these two scientific giants of their time.
Gauss was a child prodigy from poor lower class background. He became known as the "Prince of Mathematicians" for his mathematical genius and who wrote his major scientific work at the age of 21. His name has been attached to many scientific discoveries including magnetism and astronomy. Not much is known of his private life, though, except for the bare facts of family and jobs that he had to support himself. He treated many of his scientific deductions as too easy and commonsensical to write about, only to be annoyed when somebody else published something related. Today we would say he was a curmudgeon kind of character. Count von Humboldt, on the other hand, came from a well-off aristocratic family and was spoiled for options what to do with his life. He and brother Wilhelm, a diplomat and linguist, have been a household name then and now, at least in German speaking countries. Alexander's work as a naturalist and explorer were well publicized during his lifetime. He was the first to explore the geological and botanical diversity of remote regions of Central and Latin America and wrote detailed scientific reports about his findings. He is seen as one of the fathers of biogeography. Later on, his travel bug took him all the way across Russia and almost to China. Late in life, the geniuses meet at the 1828 science congress in Berlin. However, the encounter didn't quite live up to the expectations built over many years of knowing of each other's work in the same area of science.
Kehlmann brings his subjects close to the reader by focusing on a series of episodes from each of their lives, alternating between the two. Written in a lively style, he endears us to their personalities, bringing out their strengths and foibles. He introduces us to their scientific findings in a light-hearted easy-going way that capture the essence without overburdening the reader. Rather than creating long section of dialogue, he lets his protagonists express themselves in indirect dialogue. Allusions to contemporary events and issues are sprinkled throughout the narrative and add an often funny commentary. Measuring the World is a great read and highly recommended.
It is not uncommon to find fictional accounts of the lives of famous historical figures, nor of encounters between them. Kehlmann's book is unusual in its choice of personalities and in the way in which he creates an entertaining description of the two. In the late eighteenth century, Carl Friedrich Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt had both embarked on the same quest: finding a new way of measuring the world. The two heroes couldn't be more different in character and approach. Gauss believed that "a man alone at his desk" represented the real scientist whereas von Humboldt saw him as a world traveler, collecting the evidence in the field and taking measurements wherever he went. Basing himself on the historical records of their lives and work, Kehlmann has created a tongue-in-cheek intimate portrait of these two scientific giants of their time.
Gauss was a child prodigy from poor lower class background. He became known as the "Prince of Mathematicians" for his mathematical genius and who wrote his major scientific work at the age of 21. His name has been attached to many scientific discoveries including magnetism and astronomy. Not much is known of his private life, though, except for the bare facts of family and jobs that he had to support himself. He treated many of his scientific deductions as too easy and commonsensical to write about, only to be annoyed when somebody else published something related. Today we would say he was a curmudgeon kind of character. Count von Humboldt, on the other hand, came from a well-off aristocratic family and was spoiled for options what to do with his life. He and brother Wilhelm, a diplomat and linguist, have been a household name then and now, at least in German speaking countries. Alexander's work as a naturalist and explorer were well publicized during his lifetime. He was the first to explore the geological and botanical diversity of remote regions of Central and Latin America and wrote detailed scientific reports about his findings. He is seen as one of the fathers of biogeography. Later on, his travel bug took him all the way across Russia and almost to China. Late in life, the geniuses meet at the 1828 science congress in Berlin. However, the encounter didn't quite live up to the expectations built over many years of knowing of each other's work in the same area of science.
Kehlmann brings his subjects close to the reader by focusing on a series of episodes from each of their lives, alternating between the two. Written in a lively style, he endears us to their personalities, bringing out their strengths and foibles. He introduces us to their scientific findings in a light-hearted easy-going way that capture the essence without overburdening the reader. Rather than creating long section of dialogue, he lets his protagonists express themselves in indirect dialogue. Allusions to contemporary events and issues are sprinkled throughout the narrative and add an often funny commentary. Measuring the World is a great read and highly recommended.
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