Skip to content

Earth Concave Quote by Thomas Pynchon

“Once the solar parallax is known,' they told me, 'once the necessary Degrees are measur'd, and the size and weight and shape of the Earth are calculated inescapably at last, all this will vanish. We will have to seek another Space.' No one explain'd what that meant, however ...? 'Perhaps some of…” quote by Thomas Pynchon
Download Open image
““Once the solar parallax is known,' they told me, 'once the necessary Degrees are measur'd, and the size and weight and shape of the Earth are calculated inescapably at last, all this will vanish. We will have to seek another Space.' No one explain'd what that meant, however ...? 'Perhaps some of us will try living upon thy own Surface. I am not sure that everyone can adjust from a concave space to a convex one. Here have we been sheltered, nearly everywhere we look is no Sky, but only more Earth. -- How many of us, I wonder, could live the other way, the way you People do, so exposed to the Outer Darkness? Those terrible Lights, great and small? And wherever you may stand, given the Convexity, each of you is slight pointed away from everybody else, all the time, out into that Void that most of you seldom notice. Here in the Earth Concave, everyone is pointed at everyone else, -- ev'rybody's axes converge, -- forc'd at least thus to acknowledge one another,-- an entirely different set of rules for how to behave.””

Thomas Pynchon

About This Quote

Source Novel: Gravity's Rainbow, 1973

Human perception of space is limited; shifting perspectives reveal new realities.

In simple terms: Our view of space changes with perspective.

Key Takeaway

Question assumptions about reality.

Themes

perception space reality philosophy

Mood

thought‑provoking introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • architectural design
  • virtual reality
  • cultural exchange

Key Concepts

relativism cosmology

Questions to Reflect On

  • What would change if you saw the world from a convex view?
  • How do cultural lenses shape your reality?
A Different Perspective

Perspective shifts can cause disorientation.

4.9 out of 5 (8 ratings)

More by Thomas Pynchon

Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes