Ed Zubrow wrote:

>Complimenting two young list members for their interest and perceptions
>on classical music, Mike makes an interesting analogy. He is explaining
>the reasons he needs to listen to a piece several times before he feels
>he "appreciates" it. My question is whether the same principles apply
>to reading. I agree with what he is saying, but does this mean one needs
>to read something several times to get it?

That's a very interesting question! I think that with reading, we don't
really need to consciously understand the underlying structures and
symmetries to get wrapped up in novels, whereas with music, the connections
that are formed by understanding the structures and symmetries can be
crucial for appreciating the piece.

To elaborate further, in a novel, when a loose end that was set up at
the beginning of a novel is tied up later in the novel, we usually make
the connection. A drastic example of this is when the murder is revealed
in a who-done-it. In music, it's not so easy to make the connection,
e.g. when a theme that was introduced early is recalled in the end.

Mike