Thursday, May 3, 2018

Litmus tests

Litmus is an umbrella term for lichen extracts that were historically used in one of the oldest analytical chemistry tests. Typically, the extract is impregnated onto paper. Dipping the paper into a liquid can change the color of the paper, due to the presence of pH-sensitive pigments in the extracts. This technique can provide an approximate reading of the pH of the liquid. Because of the historical popularity and utility of this technique, the term "litmus test" has entered the cultural lexicon as a slang term for actions with social use that is considered analogous to the use of a real litmus test in chemistry. Often this kind of "litmus test" is applied to a person: a question is posed and the response is read to gauge characteristics about the person. More generally, it's a label applied to any method in which a reading of something tested indirectly provides information about the thing, perhaps when direct observation of the point of interest is not possible. It's a metaphor. I can't see the pH of a liquid, but the pH of a liquid affects the pigments in litmus, and I can see the color change in litmus. Through that color change, I gain knowledge about the pH. I can't directly observe the nuances of your mind, the contents of your thoughts, the worth of your wit and wisdom. But I can ask a question and observe your response to the question, and through your answer I gain knowledge about your character.

The previous paragraph is at least slightly tongue-in-cheek. If that is your introduction to this concept of a "litmus test" then I have not provided an adequate background for you to engage the concept. If, as is far more likely, you are already familiar with the concept, then I've told you what you already know and done so a few times in a few different ways. What's the use, then? Well, it's not a litmus test if that's what you're thinking! That'd be deliciously ironic, though. I should have found a way to do that. No, what I'm trying to do here is set the stage.

I've been thinking about entertainment in terms of litmus tests. The specific work that got me hung up on this was Anathem by Neal Stephenson, which I read last summer. And I'm only making this post just now because I'm very, very bad about updating my blog. I said I should probably change the format. Well yeah, that's true. Anyway, I loved the book. And while looking for something else, I happened to learn that I found the reactions of the critics of the book to be generally wrongheaded. To be clear here, the concept I'm talking about is not that this was my favorite book. It's good, but there are others I like even more. In fact, Anathem might not even be my favorite Neal Stephenson book. So I'm not saying it's a paragon, not really. And not every book is for everyone! I'm not saying that either. Hm...

I'll put it thusly, Anathem isn't for everyone, but it's a great book and also a rather long and intimidating one that appeals to a certain segment of the population. And it seems like the people who read it, finished it, and disliked it all display notable patterns of some sort of failure. I could be more or less generous in my analysis of that, but let's just call it a regrettable lack of appreciation. Shots fired? I mean, kind of.

Some of the works I really like, and they may or may not overlap with the ones that are my real favorites, turn out to be very useful for gauging people. For letting me, based on how they react, see how they think. I don't know how much to trust my instincts on this because I often say relatively little, or even nothing at all, about books I've read and such. But the more I mulled over this, the more convinced I became that it works reasonably well, at least for my purposes. I'm being too cryptic here, I know. Sorry.

What I should say by way of example is that for a book like Anathem, not everyone can read, not everyone who can read can read at a level to enjoy the book, and not everyone is into science fiction; but if you are intelligent and into reading longform science fiction and you do not like it, we have irreconcilable differences about what makes something good. That summary will have to suffice, although of course there's more to it.

Anyway, I want to identify some good litmus tests. I should have started this last summer, and now it's harder to think of them. But I'll try...

Books:
Anathem

Movies:
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Comics
???

Music
I, Robot [full album by The Alan Parsons Project]

Games
Fallout 4

Television
???

I'll try to think of more later...