The function of a book or a poem or a story is to delight, to enchant, to beguile.
Philip PullmanRead
If a coin comes down heads, that means that the possibility of its coming down tails has collapsed. Until that moment the two possibilities were equal. But on another world, it does come down tails. And when that happens, the two worlds split apart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote illustrates the idea of parallel worlds and the nature of possibilities.
Philip Pullman's quote delves into the concept of alternate realities, suggesting that every decision or event leads to the segregation of possible outcomes into different worlds. When an event occurs, such as a coin landing on heads, it solidifies one possibility while simultaneously giving life to another potential reality where the opposite outcome occurs, leading to the splitting of worlds based on those decisions.
Themes
PossibilityParallel WorldsChoicesDecisionsOutcomes
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy class discussion about the nature of choice and reality.
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To get the best out of life here ...Good grief. There's plenty of it about, so indulge. Give yourself some thing to remember. Fall in love. Fall out of love. Gamble. Get drunk. See how long you can stay awake. Go for long walks at night. Discover what you're afraid of doing, and then do it.
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Lyra learns to her great cost that fantasy isn’t enough. She has been lying all her life, telling stories to people, making up fantasies, and suddenly she comes to a point where that’s not enough. All she can do is tell the truth. She tells the truth about her childhood, about the experiences she had in Oxford, and that is what saves her. True experience, not fantasy - reality, not lies - is what saves us in the end.
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