The Shape of Difficulty: A Fan Letter to Unruly Objects - Couverture rigide

Rothstein, Bret L.

 
9780271082424: The Shape of Difficulty: A Fan Letter to Unruly Objects
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0271082429 ISBN 13 : 9780271082424
Editeur : Pennsylvania State University Press, 2019

Synopsis

What is it about puzzles that drives us to figure them out? In this unique and innovative book, Bret L. Rothstein explores how mechanical problems delight and frustrate us, distracting our attention from recognizably "useful" activities and directing it toward something that may be even more important.

All too often puzzles can seem like some kind of cruel test to be beaten or passed. But according to Rothstein, they really want nothing more than for us to drop what we are doing and play. In that way, they can actually enhance consciousness, as we are perhaps never more aware than when we grapple with an object that refuses to satisfy our expectations. The Shape of Difficulty is an ode to and exploration of these "unruly objects"--Rubik's cubes, geometric dissections, secret-opening boxes, string disentanglements, and so many more--that bring interpretive failure out of the shadows and allow it to take center stage in physical ways. While many puzzles may offer perceptible expressions of mathematical concepts, logical propositions, and logistical problems, this book urges readers to dwell for a while with objects that, built specifically to be misunderstood, demand that we reconsider our approaches to understanding--and, in the bargain, how we conceive of the interpretive self.

Drawing on landmark theories of play, Rothstein's richly illustrated meditation on our fascination with objects reveals the lasting allure of puzzles while underscoring the intellectual worth of doubt, failure, and idle time.

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À propos de l?auteur

Bret L. Rothstein teaches at Indiana University, where his courses address the cultural work of images and objects. He has published extensively on early Netherlandish devotional culture, sixteenth-century humanist wit, and the sociocultural ramifications of ludic objects.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Pennsylvania State University Press
Date d'édition
2019
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0271082429
ISBN 13 
9780271082424
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
228
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible