It is often simpler to settle for an understanding of the world and people around us instead of trying to know the truth. Truth has consequences; by knowing too much, one can lose a friend, learn a deadly secret, or become someone they do not want to be. To express his understanding of himself and the world around him, Crake in Oryx and Crake uses quote-bearing fridge magnets. One very important quote is “We understand more than we know”. It is important to recognize the difference between the terms "understand" and "know"; the Oxford English Dictionary defines "to understand" as to perceive the significance, explanation, or cause of, whereas "to know" is to be absolutely certain or sure about something. There is certainly a difference, as understanding suggests ideas, and knowledge suggests facts. Prior to the Crake's devastation of the human race in Oryx and Crake, characters understand more than they know in their awareness of human nature. However, the only survivors of this catastrophe are those who, inversely, know more than they understand. This means that Crake, Oryx, and Jimmy have an astute understanding of the world around them, but only later do Snowman and the Crakers show the importance of knowledge in surviving as a species.
Crake believes he knows the problems with humankind, and that he also has the solutions. He views humanity as destructive, inefficient, and unsatisfied, and uses his understanding of these flaws to destroy the human race. His scientific background leads him to very accurately understand the biological and psychological characteristics of the human mind and body, of humanity as a whole, but also specifically of his friend Jimmy.
Crake understands physical attraction and sex from a strictly ...
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...how a newfound capacity to know more than they understand, suggesting the success of humans as a species may rely on never reaching (or never reaching for) a full understanding. Perhaps we should be accepting simply knowing as principle.
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From the non-duality and interbeing view, one should see that full understanding is constituted of “non-understanding elements.” Understanding cannot exisits alone. Understanding and non-understanding are interbeing and the two are equal. Understanding cannot be created or destroyed. Finally, the “heart” of understanding is emptiness, and emptiness is understanding.
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In Margaret Atwood’s novel, Oryx and Crake, she constantly places the reader in an uncomfortable environment. The story takes place in a not so distant future where today’s world no longer exists due to an unknown catastrophe. The only human is a man who calls himself the Abominable Snowman or Snowman for short, but in his childhood days his name was Jimmy. If the thought of being all alone in the world is not uneasy enough, Atwood takes this opportunity to point out the flaws of the modern world through Snowman’s reminiscing about Jimmy’s childhood. The truths exposed are events that people do not want to acknowledge: animal abuse for human advancement, elimination of human interaction due to technology, and at the core of the novel is the disturbing imagery that slavery is still present. Modern day servitude is an unsettling topic that has remained undercover for far too long. However, the veracity is exposed in the traumatic story of Oryx. In order to understand the troubled societies of today, Atwood unmasks the dark world of childhood bondage through the character Oryx, but she gives subtle insights on how to change the world for the better before it is too late.
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“How can it be, after all this concentrated effort and separation, how can it be that I still resemble, so very closely, my own detestable mother?”
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Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” is far from the modern day fairy tale. It is a dark and twisted version of the classic tale, Snow White. His retelling is intriguing and unexpected, coming from the point of view of the stepmother rather than Snow White. By doing this, Gaiman changes the entire meaning of the story by switching perspectives and motivations of the characters. This sinister tale has more purpose than to frighten its readers, but to convey a deeper, hidden message. His message in “Snow, Glass, Apples” is that villains may not always be villains, but rather victims.