Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
" To talk of many things;
Of shoes. - and ships - and sealing wax -.
Of cabbages - and kings -
And why the sea is boiling hot-
And whether pigs have wings."
Yesterday, I reread a book called Diversions and Digressions of Lewis Carroll...
edited by Stuart Dodgson Collingwood....(Lewis Carroll's "real" name was
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.)
This book was originally published under the title The Lewis Carroll Picture Book.. and there are over one hundred copied photographs contained in the book. Mr. Carroll was a "master photographer" at a time (late 1800's) when few people knew how to take a "photo portrait." Remember that in order to get a good picture, one had to hold a pose for a long time. I was told that this is why most people look grumpy in such old photos.
Lewis Carroll was also quite a mathematician, with theories on the value of "pi." He also discovered new ways to do long division and multiplication. His "steps" to solution were quite well thought out, but, to my mind too much trouble to put into effect. I think that it would be better just to do the math the old way. (I wonder what he would have thought about pocket computers.)
He also discovered the magic number 142857
285714 twice that number
428571 three times that number
571428 four times that number
714285 five times that number
857142 six times that number
999999 seven times that number
(Begin at the "1" in each line and it will be the same order of figures except for the last line.)
Mr. Carroll invented "doublets".. one of the puzzle types that I like to work on. Here is an example:
Change one letter in each link until you reach the end word:
HEAD
-------
-------
-------
-------
TAIL
Carroll's solution:
HEAD
HEAL
TEAL
TELL
TALL
TAIL
You know, of course, that Mr. Carroll wrote "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." These books are supposed to be for kids, but as a book called "The Annotated Alice" reports, there were lots of hidden "inside"material within those stories.
And, Mr. Carroll was the inventor of words, remember:
"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
the jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Banderswnatch!"
Mr. Carroll does give some clues about his words, and I mess around here with a few of them:
"brillig" comes from the verb to bryl or broil. "The time of broiling dinner, i.e., the close of the afternoon."
"slithy" a compound of slimy and lithe.
"tove" a species of badgers... with smooth white hair, long hind legs, and horns like a stag. They were reported to subsist on cheese.
"gyre" "to scratch like a dog
"gimble" .. from gimblet "to screw out holes in anything."
"wabe" from swab and soak... meaning the side of the hill soaked from the rain.
That's enough, don't you think?
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P.S. Here is my favorite Lewis Carroll poem:
"How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!
This poem probably was the inspiration for this song: (First stanza)
Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile.
Don't be taken in by his welcome grin
H's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin.
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