영어로 읽는 고전 _ 로버트 셰클리의 어리석은 질문
로버트 셰클리의 "어리석은 질문"는 1950년대 초에 쓰인 과학소설입니다. 이 이야기는 우주의 모든 존재들이 던지는 어떤 질문에도 답변을 제공하도록 설계된 '응답자'라는 중심 개체를 통해 지식과 탐구의 철학적 의미를 탐구합니다. 작품은 지식 자체의 본질에 대한 흥미로운 질문들을 제기하며, 질문의 구성이 받게 되는 답변에 어떻게 크게 영향을 미칠 수 있는지를 부각시킵니다. 이야기에서 두 주요 인물인 모란과 링맨은 응답자를 찾기 위한 탐구에 나서며, 삶과 죽음에 대한 궁극적 진리를 간절히 추구합니다. 한편, 다양한 다른 존재들도 각자의 실존적 질문들에 대한 답을 구합니다. 하지만 마침내 응답자와 대면했을 때, 그들은 자신들의 질문이 종종 의미 있는 응답을 받기에는 필요한 깊이가 부족하다는 것을 발견합니다. 응답자는 방대한 지식을 소유하고 있지만 올바르게 구성된 질문에만 답할 수 있어, 질문자들의 이해의 한계를 드러냅니다. 이야기는 기초적 이해 없이는 제기된 질문들이 추구하는 심오한 진리를 필연적으로 밝혀내지 못할 것이라는 가슴 아픈 깨달음으로 끝나며, 지식, 탐구, 이해 간의 복잡한 관계를 강조합니다.
Classics Read in English _ Ask a Foolish Question by Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley's "Ask a Foolish Question" is a science fiction story written in the early 1950s. The narrative explores the philosophical implications of knowledge and inquiry through a central entity called the Answerer, designed to provide responses to any question posed by beings throughout the universe. The work raises intriguing questions about the nature of knowledge itself, highlighting how the formulation of a question can significantly influence the answer received. In the story, two main characters, Morran and Lingman, embark on a quest to find the Answerer, desperately seeking ultimate truths about life and death. Meanwhile, various other beings also seek answers to their own existential questions. However, when they finally confront the Answerer, they discover that their inquiries often lack the necessary depth to receive meaningful responses. The Answerer, while possessing vast knowledge, can only respond to properly formulated questions, revealing the limitations of the questioners' understanding. The story concludes with a poignant realization that without fundamental understanding, the questions posed will inevitably fail to reveal the profound truths they seek, emphasizing the complex relationship between knowledge, inquiry, and comprehension.
Among the contents
Answerer was built to last as long as was necessary?which was quite long, as some races judge time, and not long at all, according to others. But to Answerer, it was just long enough.
As to size, Answerer was large to some and small to others. He could be viewed as complex, although some believed that he was really very simple.
Answerer knew that he was as he should be. Above and beyond all else, he was The Answerer. He Knew.
Of the race that built him, the less said the better. They also Knew, and never said whether they found the knowledge pleasant.
They built Answerer as a service to less-sophisticated races, and departed in a unique manner. Where they went only Answerer knows.
Because Answerer knows everything.
