joi, 16 septembrie 2010

Mentat be thy name

First law of Mentat: A process cannot be understood by stopping it.

Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.

Frank Herbert, Dune


* * *

Above all else, the mentat must be a generalist, not a specialist. It is wise to have decisions of great moment monitored by generalists. Experts and specialists lead you quickly into chaos. They are a source of useless nit-picking, the ferocious quibble over a comma.

The mentat-generalist, on the other hand, should bring to decision-making a healthy common sense. He must not cut himself off from the broad sweep of what is happening in his universe. He must remain capable of saying: "There's no real mystery about this at the moment. This is what we want now. It may prove wrong later, but we'll correct that when we come to it."

The mentat-generalist must understand that anything which we can identify as our universe is merely a part of larger phenomena. But the expert looks backward; he looks into the narrow standards of his own specialty. The generalist looks outward; he looks for living principles, knowing full well that such principles change, that they develop.

It is to the characteristics of change itself that the mentat-generalist must look. There can be no permanent catalogue of such change, no handbook or manual. You must look at it with as few preconceptions as possible, asking yourself: "Now what is this thing doing?"

The Mentat Handbook, Frank Herbert, Children of Dune

* * *

A Mentat's real skill lay in that mental construct they called "the great synthesis." It required a patience that non-Mentats did not even imagine possible.

Mentat schools defined it as perseverance. You were a primitive tracker, able to read miniscule signs, tiny disturbances in the environment, and follow where these led.

At the same time, you remained open to broad motions all around and within. This produced naivete, the basic Mentat posture, akin to that of Truthsayers, but far more sweeping.

Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse: Dune

11 comentarii:

Peter spunea...

After all, you know what? It seems that we don't have neither specialists, nor generalists...
But this guy has a wise mind! Or a sharp one?

Anonim spunea...

Nu e mare chestie cu mentolatzii astia. Normal ca daca bagi in tine scortzishoara si busuioc faci impresie buna

capcaun spunea...

Tapirul: adica incepand din ~200 Before Guild ? Pfff, what a nerd! :)

Turambar spunea...

@ Tapirul: Neah. Nu citesc acum. L-am citit acum 20 de ani, inainte de 1989 (in franceza - that was weird). Pe urma l-am mai citit de vreo doua sau trei ori, ba in romana, ba in engleza.

Acum sint doar reverberatii periodice de amintiri care fac clonc in creerul meu.

Sfatul meu: citeste-le asa cum au fost scrise. Dune, Mesia de pe Dune, Copiii Dunei. Miezul seriei, trilogia initiala. Pe urma incepe sa se lalaie. Imparatul-zeu de pe Dune e relativ decenta, Ereticii de pe Dune este clar lalaita si rasuflata, aia ultima, nici nu mai imi amintesc cum se cheama, de-abia de-abia am reusit sa o termin.

Iar facaturile celelalte scrise impreuna cu fii-su, de fii-su, de negrisorii lui fii-su, nici nu catadicsesc sa le deschid.

Repet: incepe cu Dune. Si citeste-l in engleza.

Hai, ca potzi :) :wink:

Kilroy spunea...

De acord cu trilogia. Se cunoaste ca batranul mai avea multe de spus si in al doilea si in al treilea roman. Iar Imparatul-Vierme este un personaj cel putin interesant, dar parca este nitel neglijat restul universului Dune in acea carte.
Nici maicile alea rebele nu sunt personaje plictisitoare, dar parca prea intinde coarda, care e mai rapid, care e mai meserias, parca vizionam spaghetti western
Despre cele "scrise" de Herbert jr, chiar nu se merita discutat.
Ultima data am recitit iarna trecuta ciclul Dune. Ecologia avand rol determinant in evolutia planetei/universului respectiv e un concept oricum avant la lettre pentru acele vremuri. BG sunt atragatoare, dar dupa ceva timp cad nitel in desuetudinea societatilor secrete. In schimb mentatii si ghildarii, mmm. Oh boy, astea da idei si ce sa mai vorbim de cum sunt integrate in curgerea faptelor...

Turambar spunea...

Yup. You're completely right. Cine stie, cunoashte.

:wink:

Kilroy spunea...

Danke.
Speaking of Dune, David Lynch isi uraste ecranizarea. Pe ici, pe colo are dreptate. Dar zi daca Sting nu face un rol de ti se zbarleste pielea pe hm, cojones. :-)

0Z spunea...

Damn it, that's my personal perspective philosophy in words, right there!

Turambar spunea...

@ Kilroy: Sting? Cine'i Sting? Sabia lui Bilbo Baggins?

Cojones? Ce inseamna? Yo no tenga lenguas etranjeras.

:blink:

@ ZDragomir: :)

matusalem spunea...

Mentatul?
Primul functionar public transmis din tata-n fiu. Indispensabil. Pacat ca era vulnerabil la un ac cautator.
:)

Pongo spunea...

Mentatul era un surogat periculos pentru ceva ce a fost interzis. Inevitabil, a condus la aceleasi rezultate. Aviz amatorilor :-)