Library of Babel Fish (Copy) — Science & Fiction Lab

Scroll down to learn about the library’s name, which honors writers Jorge Luis Borges and Douglas Adams:

Borges’ short story “The Library of Babel” describes the universe as a library where all possible combinations of letters and therefore all information – including misinformation – are bewilderingly available.

Adams’ novel *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* features the Babel Fish, “probably the oddest thing in the universe” (Adams 60), which gives its host the ability to “instantly understand anything said…in any form of language” (61).

The dual reference evokes both translation and a nearly infinite rearrangement of information.

The digital library’s purpose is to offer dozens of recombinations of course material with the capacity to “translate” comprehension across disciplines.

Borges’ short story “The Library of Babel” describes the universe as a library where all possible combinations of letters and therefore all information – including misinformation – are bewilderingly available.

Adams’ novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy features the Babel Fish, “probably the oddest thing in the universe” (Adams 60), which gives its host the ability to “instantly understand anything said…in any form of language” (61).

Science & Fiction Lab