Earth-Arbre Correlations
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This page documents suspected correlations between the world of Arbre and Earth. The major premise is the isolation of scholars for years, decades, or lifetimes in monasteries/concents, which causes significant differences in what might seem to be fairly direct connections. Some correlations are looser than others. As Stephenson's work frequently points out, you need to make your own judgments.
Contents |
People 
Edit
Specific Persons Edit
In addition to the "functional" correspondence between Arbrans and humans who made certain discoveries, the names of the Arbran characters in some cases recall the names of certain philosophers and scientists of Earth. For example, "Cartas" (especially in the form "Cartasian Discipline") recalls Descartes and his Cartesian method, and "Proc" recalls the Neoplatonist Proclus.
Roles, Occupations, or Positions Edit
| Arbre | Earth |
|---|---|
| Math | Cloister or Abbey |
| Avout | Scholar living in a Math. Strictly rational, as opposed to strictly religious as on Earth. |
| Saecular | A "regular" person, a person outside the walls of the Maths. Saeculars and Avouts mingle only at certain designated times, or in emergencies. It is normally used as a general term, as Saeculars can join the Maths (though in extremely metered and structured ways) and Avouts can leave a Math at Apert to rejoin Saecular society. |
| Deolater | Religious, God-believer = Theist. |
| Ita | System administrator. Probably "IT Analyst" or "IT Administrator". |
| Unarian | Someone who has dedicated a block of one year of service in a Math. This correlates to our collegiate system. Many join a Math for only a few years in order to receive a secondary education. Those who stay within a Math become teachers of the younger Unarians. Gifted young individuals are often graduated to the Decenarians. |
| Decenarian | Scholar who dedicates 10-year blocks of time to a Math. Can only join at a younger age. Sometimes they are bright but difficult offspring of Saeculars. They correlate to graduate students conducting research, along with professors who teach and conduct research. Those unable to keep up intellectually become the laborers and hobbyists in the Concent, although the least of these are still highly educated compared with Saeculars; this "Falling Back" occurs after the equivalent of a bachelor's or master's degree. |
| Centenarian | Someone who dedicates a 100-year block of lifetime isolation in a Math. Involved in extremely high-level research. The closest correlation is a research think tank. |
| Millenarian | The collegiate metaphor breaks down at the 1000-year level of service. The closest correlation is a highly enlightened monk or even a Buddha. See Fraa Jad. |
| Burger | Bourgeoisie, middle-class. Businessperson. Often involved with the Unarians. |
| Artisan | Craftsman or highly-skilled laborer. |
| Sline | Short for Baseline, usually refers to an uneducated person or peasant. This tends to be more clinical than derogatory, but is still a biased term. |
Ideas and Philosophies Edit
Concepts Edit
|
Arbre |
Earth |
|---|---|
|
A warning against Metaphysical Optimism | |
|
Aboutness Problem | |
|
Geometrodynamics | |
|
Peripatetic / Aristotelian method | |
| Many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics | |
| Conjecture of Saunt Mandaras | The Drake Equation |
Religions and Practices Edit
| Arbre | Earth |
|---|---|
| Orth | Latin |
| Fluccish | English, other vernacular languages |
| Theorics | Science, especially physics and mathematics |
| Metatheorics | Metaphysics, philosophy |
| Theor | Physicist, intelligentsia, intellectual |
| Enthusiast | Fideist |
| Deolator | Theist |
| Ark of Baz | Roman Catholic Church |
| Counter-Bazian arks | Protestant denominations |
| Kelx | Jehovah's Witnesses (evangelization), Trinitarianism (three base entities), One Thousand and One Nights (tales to avoid execution). |
| Moshiach | Millenialist, Evangelical, or Messianist ("Moshiach" is Hebrew for "Messiah") |
| Vale Lore | Martial Arts, approached and dealt with in a highly disciplined and almost religious manner. Very remnant of the histories and legends of Eastern monasteries like Shaolin and Wudang Mountain . |
Iconographies Edit
| Arbre | Earth |
|---|---|
| Doxian Iconography | Spock (from Star Trek) and maybe Querl Dox (Braniac 5 from Legion of Super Heroes) |
Places Edit
| Arbre | Earth |
|---|---|
| Ethras | Athens |
| Baz | Rome/Byzantium |
| Periklyne | Agora |
| Sea of Seas | Mediterranean |
| Ecba | Pompeii/Stromboli /Mt. Etna , Sicily/Crete, Santorini |
| Temple of Orithena | Pythagorean School |
Technology Edit
[[Sphere], [Chord] and [Bolt]]
| Arbre | Earth |
|---|---|
| Reticulum | Internet |
| Syntactic Device | Computer/Computing devices in general |
| Jeejah | Cellphone/PDA/Laptop |
| Speely | Video |
| Farspark | Analog TV (obsolete) |
| Allswell | Satire on concentrated antidepressants in environment and "bioceuticals". |
| Saunt Bucker's Basket | Faraday Cage |
| Saunt Grod's Machine | Non-deterministic Turing Machine |
| Everything Killer | Neutron Bomb, miniaturized |
| Technology of alien-ship nuclear-bomb propulsion | Project Orion , undertaken in the 50's |
| Cartabla | Handheld mapping device with integrated GPS (advanced GPS unit) |
| Saunt Orlon's Powder | Thermite |
| Sphere, Chord and Bolt | The only three things that are given to the avout - their only posessions. Sphere, Chord and Bolt symbolize the Point, Line and Plane, of Euclidian Geometry. All of Euclid's postulates about geometry are founded on these three "givens", which must be grasped intuitively, without definition. |
| Fetch | Passenger truck |
| Mobe |
Automobile |
Other Edit
Historical Events and Chronological References Edit
| Arbre | Earth |
|---|---|
| Bazian Empire | Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire |
| Old Mathic Age | Middle Ages |
| Rebirth | Renaissance |
| Praxic Age | Enlightment/Industrial Revolution to current technology |
| First Harbinger | European Revolutions, from the French to the Russian. More specifically, may correspond to European Revolutions of 1848. |
| Second Harbinger | World War I |
| Third Harbinger | World War II, Holocaust |
| Terrible events | Apocalyptic event or series of events, no Earth counterpart (yet); suggestive of worldwide thermonuclear war and/or biological/genetic/nanotech warfare |
| Sarthians | Parthians, Huns or other Eurasian nomads |
Cultural References Edit
| Arbre | Earth |
|---|---|
| Concent | Monastery, Convent, Concentration camp (?), University campus |
| Math | Monastery, University school, Cloister |
| Pin-prick Math | Hermitage |
| Polycosm | Many-worlds interpretation, Multiverse |
| Discipline | Rule of Saint Benedict |
| Blithe | St. John's wort |
| Atamant's Copper Bowl | Husserl's Copper Ashtray |
| Aut | Ritual, Rite |
| Convox | Convocation, Council |
| Tangle | Three-Sisters Planting |
