Commentary on a unique book: "Sophie's World" / Chapter 1

SOPHIE'S WORLD

(Sofies verden), by Jostein Gaarder (JG), translated from Norwegian into American by Paulette Møller (PM)

Commentary on a unique book

Chapters:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

CH = chapter, P = page, L = line, C = comment, N = Norwegian,
T = (alternative) translation, usually closer to the original text,
TTR = Two-Tier Reality (metaphysical system bridging East and West)

CHAPTER 1: THE GARDEN OF EDEN (PP3-9)

«		There are no free lunches.	»

Title: something must have come from nothing C: No. Basic universal law: There Are No Free Lunches

P4 L9: Who are you? C: Foolish question. Who is asking?

P5 L2: exactly the same C: Try winking with your left eye, Sophie. What does the girl in the mirror do? L21: living with this straight hair T: to have this black hair hanging straight down for the whole of one's life C: A Norwegian girl with black hair?! L26: she didn't know who she was C: Silly girl

P6 L4: red-currant bushes C: Under which, ironically, Norwegian mothers traditionally find their babies (especially in midsummer) L42: Where does the world come from? C: The perceived world comes from its human creators

P7 L12: glider T: garden swing-seat

P8 L3: Where does the world come from? C: The 'world', meaning cosmos/universe (= all that exists, cf. German 'das All', 'das Weltall'), is not a thing and has always existed. The 'world', meaning planet Earth, is a thing and has not always existed. Its origin is a scientific, not a philosophical, question L5: Where did space come from? C: 'Space' is used here as a synonym for 'the universe'. Either way, it is a foolish question L6: space had always existed C: Yes L9: everything that exists must have had a beginning C: Every thing, yes. But space/the universe, being boundless, is not a thing (things have bounds) NB: The word 'universe', like 'cosmos' and 'all', has no legitimate plural L24: one possibility left: God had always existed C: Two possibilities: (1) always (2) never L26: Everything ... had to have a beginning C: 'God' is not a thing L34: the great riddles of the universe C: the great pseudo-puzzles L38: postcard of a tropical beach T: with a picture of a southerly beach C: Lebanon is not in the tropics.