Probability, Possibility And High Jinks

February 10, 2004 6:23 AM

What Are The Odds Against Hamlet? This wonderful piece, representative of British academia at its best, most tongue-in-cheek, inclusive and playful, still presents a problem which wasn't (probably can't be) solved. What are the odds that it could be taken seriously? Mathematicians and literary theorists enter at their peril. The rest of us can feel free!
posted by MiguelCardoso (5 comments total)

Thanks, Miguel. Instructive and witty at the same time. Reminded me of Schickele's baseball-annoucers-do-Beethoven's-Fifth or Monty Python's "Novel Writing." Also, of course, this.
posted by soyjoy at 7:20 AM on February 10, 2004

Excellent, thanks!
posted by kavasa at 9:08 AM on February 10, 2004

Good stuff, and deserving of as many comments as the "Catholic bashing" thread (especially considering that Mel Gibson has played Hamlet)
posted by wendell at 11:36 AM on February 10, 2004

Mel Gibson? My favorite version of Hamlet is the Kenneth Branagh version. There needs to be a DVD version out sans the Jack Lemmon. Oh man I can't wait till the DVD version. The whole 17th century Hamlet was so cool. I'm a nerd :(
posted by geoff. at 11:48 AM on February 10, 2004

I've met Schickele. Not a bad guy.
posted by abcde at 11:57 AM on February 10, 2004