Thinking in Circles - An Essay on Ring Composition

Summary

Anthropologist Mary Douglas argues many ancient texts, from Homer’s ‘Iliad’ to the Book of Numbers, are misread because they’re built as rings: the meaning sits at the centre, framed by an opening and ending that mirror each other, and a modern linear reading misses it. The form turns up worldwide; she wonders whether it comes from how brains work.

Rationale

Douglas shows that reading in straight lines is learned, and can make whole traditions of writing look like muddle: a caution for us, reading across traditions as we do.