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Hejno bez ptáků
Flock Without Birds
A genre-bending, mind-altering novel about the illusions that make up our world.
Flock Without Birds comes in two volumes, with neither one first or second - it's up to the reader to start with the Story or the Book.
In the Story, an aging philosopher tells the tale of the Book - a tale of love that spans centuries, continents, and precious texts. Adam, who will one day write the Book, is a young PhD student torn between love and his obsession - coding an algorithm to sift the world's data and find God, dead or alive. But a series of mysterious paintings lead him on a winding journey from Cambridge through a Faustian bargain to the edge of reason. Meanwhile in his library, Toito the philosopher calls into question everything there is to believe about Adam - and our world.
The Book - Adam's journal from a foreign prison - promises to cure the divisions that plague the world. Their root cause isn't politics, capitalism, race, religion, or media. A deeper layer, obvious and invisible, forms what we think, believe, and do. It shapes our wars and our relationships. Unless we confront these illusions, we will remain slaves to the obvious and lose the greatest freedom - the freedom to create a different world. The code - and the key - is within the human mind. But will Adam himself manage such a feat? Can he escape the prisons of the body and of the mind, and regain his love?
After reading both volumes, Adam's story - and our society - will look very different in the end. Two tales, separate and intertwined, ask the question: where does the whole end and the part begin? What is a flock without birds?
Flock Without Birds comes in two volumes, with neither one first or second - it's up to the reader to start with the Story or the Book.
In the Story, an aging philosopher tells the tale of the Book - a tale of love that spans centuries, continents, and precious texts. Adam, who will one day write the Book, is a young PhD student torn between love and his obsession - coding an algorithm to sift the world's data and find God, dead or alive. But a series of mysterious paintings lead him on a winding journey from Cambridge through a Faustian bargain to the edge of reason. Meanwhile in his library, Toito the philosopher calls into question everything there is to believe about Adam - and our world.
The Book - Adam's journal from a foreign prison - promises to cure the divisions that plague the world. Their root cause isn't politics, capitalism, race, religion, or media. A deeper layer, obvious and invisible, forms what we think, believe, and do. It shapes our wars and our relationships. Unless we confront these illusions, we will remain slaves to the obvious and lose the greatest freedom - the freedom to create a different world. The code - and the key - is within the human mind. But will Adam himself manage such a feat? Can he escape the prisons of the body and of the mind, and regain his love?
After reading both volumes, Adam's story - and our society - will look very different in the end. Two tales, separate and intertwined, ask the question: where does the whole end and the part begin? What is a flock without birds?
450 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2012
30 people are currently reading
3387 people want to read
About the author
Filip Dousek
1 book52 followersFilip is an AI & analytics expert. He was the founder and CEO of Stories.bi, one of the first startups in the world to automate big data analysis. The company was acquired, the technology is used by the largest US enterprises and the team is still pioneering AI-powered analytics.
But before Stories, Filip wrote a novel. It took him 12 years to complete and was about a Cambridge PhD coding AI to find God, the order of the Universe, or at least the mother of all fractals. It was also about the centurial shift from objects to relationships and how it will change everything we know. In short, he wrote Flock Without Birds in 2012 as fiction. A few years later he built Stories and made it real.
But before Stories, Filip wrote a novel. It took him 12 years to complete and was about a Cambridge PhD coding AI to find God, the order of the Universe, or at least the mother of all fractals. It was also about the centurial shift from objects to relationships and how it will change everything we know. In short, he wrote Flock Without Birds in 2012 as fiction. A few years later he built Stories and made it real.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
April 14, 2013
Ambiciózní.
Filip Doušek se v Hejnu bez ptáků pokusil zabít sedm jednou ranou. A shromáždil úctyhodný arzenál. Průlet vývojem myšlení od Aristotela po Nietzscheho a Wittgensteina, od Fibonnaciho po Gödela a Hilberta. Román o lásce. Faustovský motiv. Šamanské mýty, tarot a další esoterické propriety. Východní moudrost, zen a satori. Cyklickou a rekurzivní strukturu celého díla. Uf. Místy ohromující, ale Překomplikované.
Pod palbou myšlenkové ekvilibristiky se potápí lodička příběhu. V navršených závějích slov, citátů, úryvků z knih existujících i vymyšlených autorů se ztrácí sdělení. V knize nebo v knihách, protože hejno bez ptáků se skládá jednak z černého a bílého svazku (kniha a příběh) a bílá pak obsahuje ještě jakýsi metapříběh vypravěče, který je do knihy vložen otočen o 90° (zjistil sem, že číst takto knihu je možná neobvyklé, ale docela příjemné) se přitom dá najít několik velice zajímavých, relativně originálních a inspirativních nápadů a pohledů na naši civilizaci, její přístup k pravdám, poznání, její “slepou skvrnu”. Kapitoly “Filozofové” a “Matematikové” v bílé jsou parádní. “Iluze Pravdy” a “Iluze Hierarchie” v černé snad ještě lepší. Některé obraty a slovní spojení si ponesu dál a děkuji autorovi za ně. “Pasáček memů”, “filozouf”, “mazel Vesmír”... skvělé. Na druhou stranu nepochopitelná klišé s “zenovými hotýlkem”, dobrosrdečnými tibetskými domorodci, podivná fascinace kondomem a ruzní bozi ve stroji v pravou chvíli vyskakující, aby hrdinu či příběh postrčili vpřed. Nevyvážené. Perličky v bahně.
Už jsem říkal, že ta kniha je krásná? Je. Černo/bílé dualita, skvostná typografická práce, pidiptáčci, papír, napříč vložený příběh, hejna u názvů kapitol...
Samotný příběh Adama a Niny mě spíš rozčiloval než bavil. Adam, neschopný unést tíhu svého díla, se občas chová jako vztekající klučík, jindy jako sociopat. Jeho “experimenty” ve vztazích, které totálně nezvládá, jsou pubertální a nedomyšlené, neví co chce, potácí se životem jak mátoha. Údajně milující Nina se chová spíš jako puťka a ne sebevědomá umělkyně se svobodnou duší. Markýz je pak už úplně vycucaný z prstu. Odjezdy neodjezdy, rozchody shody i neshody... ne ne, tudy cesta nevede. A přitom, skoro pominout lásku při hledání smyslu života? Neodpustitelné. Jak každý čtenář Endymionu ví, láska je prázdnota, která spojuje. Láska je hejno bez ptáků.
Vlastně se mi ta kniha nelíbila. Na knihu o smyslu života je tam filozofie málo (GEB!), a román autor nezvládl. Přesto mě donutila hodně přemýšlet a dlouho ve mně zůstane. To není rozhodně málo. Takže? Není to černobílé.
Pravda je omyl. Pravda je zavádějící zjednodušení přesnějšího termínu ne nepravda, čili ne-omyl. To důležitější slovo, které má v životě skutečnou hodnotu je totiž omyl.
...
Vidím v právech, že co není zakázáno, je dovoleno (a to co je dovoleno, nelze popsat výčtem). Vidím v medicíně, že zdraví nelze uchopit jinak než jako absenci nemoci. A jako se právo se soustředí na eliminaci zla a medicína na eliminaci nemoci, filozofie se potřebuje soustředit na eliminaci omylu. Je to vkročení do omylu, co je důležité studovat. Omyl ohrožuje život, ne-omyl je...nuže, život sám, přírosa, realita jsou-li ta slova nutní. Každé z nich stejně zase určujeme pomocí jejich opaku: život je absence smrti, realita je absence nicoty, zdraví je absence nemoci, pravda je absence omyu. Dočasná, fluidní, chaotická, nejistá a hrubě přeceněná absence omylu.
Opakuji, abych otevřel pravdu: Pravda je omyl, Pravda je absence omylu.
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Síť podrývá svět od chvíle, kdy se zrodil internet, její digitální orgán. I software byl zprvu chápán jako objekt: uzavřený a prodávaný v krabici. Jenže každý objekt se dá jednoduchým mentálním krokem změnit v síť.
---
Navazovat vztahy je mnohem uspokojivější než vyrábět objekty.
---
Hierarchie je strážce objektů. Síť je dítě vztahů.
---
Komunismus je forma Hierarchie. Demokracie je forma Hierarchie. Politický model Sítě, až jednou vykrystalizuje, bude mít s jedním i druhým málo společného.
---
“Člověk bez víry nemůže být dobrý” můj sluch překládá jako “člověk beze strachu se nebude řídit příkazy vladaře”. Morálka sítě nezná žádné morální imperativy ani neměnná přikázání. Její morálka se vyjednává ve vztazích. Její morálkou je hledání harmonie.
“Miluj a vzkvétej,” řekla Síť.
“Miluj bližního svého jako sebe sama,” odpověděl jí mazel Vesmír.
Filip Doušek se v Hejnu bez ptáků pokusil zabít sedm jednou ranou. A shromáždil úctyhodný arzenál. Průlet vývojem myšlení od Aristotela po Nietzscheho a Wittgensteina, od Fibonnaciho po Gödela a Hilberta. Román o lásce. Faustovský motiv. Šamanské mýty, tarot a další esoterické propriety. Východní moudrost, zen a satori. Cyklickou a rekurzivní strukturu celého díla. Uf. Místy ohromující, ale Překomplikované.
Pod palbou myšlenkové ekvilibristiky se potápí lodička příběhu. V navršených závějích slov, citátů, úryvků z knih existujících i vymyšlených autorů se ztrácí sdělení. V knize nebo v knihách, protože hejno bez ptáků se skládá jednak z černého a bílého svazku (kniha a příběh) a bílá pak obsahuje ještě jakýsi metapříběh vypravěče, který je do knihy vložen otočen o 90° (zjistil sem, že číst takto knihu je možná neobvyklé, ale docela příjemné) se přitom dá najít několik velice zajímavých, relativně originálních a inspirativních nápadů a pohledů na naši civilizaci, její přístup k pravdám, poznání, její “slepou skvrnu”. Kapitoly “Filozofové” a “Matematikové” v bílé jsou parádní. “Iluze Pravdy” a “Iluze Hierarchie” v černé snad ještě lepší. Některé obraty a slovní spojení si ponesu dál a děkuji autorovi za ně. “Pasáček memů”, “filozouf”, “mazel Vesmír”... skvělé. Na druhou stranu nepochopitelná klišé s “zenovými hotýlkem”, dobrosrdečnými tibetskými domorodci, podivná fascinace kondomem a ruzní bozi ve stroji v pravou chvíli vyskakující, aby hrdinu či příběh postrčili vpřed. Nevyvážené. Perličky v bahně.
Už jsem říkal, že ta kniha je krásná? Je. Černo/bílé dualita, skvostná typografická práce, pidiptáčci, papír, napříč vložený příběh, hejna u názvů kapitol...
Samotný příběh Adama a Niny mě spíš rozčiloval než bavil. Adam, neschopný unést tíhu svého díla, se občas chová jako vztekající klučík, jindy jako sociopat. Jeho “experimenty” ve vztazích, které totálně nezvládá, jsou pubertální a nedomyšlené, neví co chce, potácí se životem jak mátoha. Údajně milující Nina se chová spíš jako puťka a ne sebevědomá umělkyně se svobodnou duší. Markýz je pak už úplně vycucaný z prstu. Odjezdy neodjezdy, rozchody shody i neshody... ne ne, tudy cesta nevede. A přitom, skoro pominout lásku při hledání smyslu života? Neodpustitelné. Jak každý čtenář Endymionu ví, láska je prázdnota, která spojuje. Láska je hejno bez ptáků.
Vlastně se mi ta kniha nelíbila. Na knihu o smyslu života je tam filozofie málo (GEB!), a román autor nezvládl. Přesto mě donutila hodně přemýšlet a dlouho ve mně zůstane. To není rozhodně málo. Takže? Není to černobílé.
Pravda je omyl. Pravda je zavádějící zjednodušení přesnějšího termínu ne nepravda, čili ne-omyl. To důležitější slovo, které má v životě skutečnou hodnotu je totiž omyl.
...
Vidím v právech, že co není zakázáno, je dovoleno (a to co je dovoleno, nelze popsat výčtem). Vidím v medicíně, že zdraví nelze uchopit jinak než jako absenci nemoci. A jako se právo se soustředí na eliminaci zla a medicína na eliminaci nemoci, filozofie se potřebuje soustředit na eliminaci omylu. Je to vkročení do omylu, co je důležité studovat. Omyl ohrožuje život, ne-omyl je...nuže, život sám, přírosa, realita jsou-li ta slova nutní. Každé z nich stejně zase určujeme pomocí jejich opaku: život je absence smrti, realita je absence nicoty, zdraví je absence nemoci, pravda je absence omyu. Dočasná, fluidní, chaotická, nejistá a hrubě přeceněná absence omylu.
Opakuji, abych otevřel pravdu: Pravda je omyl, Pravda je absence omylu.
---
Síť podrývá svět od chvíle, kdy se zrodil internet, její digitální orgán. I software byl zprvu chápán jako objekt: uzavřený a prodávaný v krabici. Jenže každý objekt se dá jednoduchým mentálním krokem změnit v síť.
---
Navazovat vztahy je mnohem uspokojivější než vyrábět objekty.
---
Hierarchie je strážce objektů. Síť je dítě vztahů.
---
Komunismus je forma Hierarchie. Demokracie je forma Hierarchie. Politický model Sítě, až jednou vykrystalizuje, bude mít s jedním i druhým málo společného.
---
“Člověk bez víry nemůže být dobrý” můj sluch překládá jako “člověk beze strachu se nebude řídit příkazy vladaře”. Morálka sítě nezná žádné morální imperativy ani neměnná přikázání. Její morálka se vyjednává ve vztazích. Její morálkou je hledání harmonie.
“Miluj a vzkvétej,” řekla Síť.
“Miluj bližního svého jako sebe sama,” odpověděl jí mazel Vesmír.
May 24, 2022
Flock Without Birds by Filip Doušek is both a book and a story. Or, to be more precise, it is a book in two volumes called The Book and The Story.
The main character is a Cambridge PhD student, Adam, whose dissertation is a pattern-seeking algorithm sifting through seemingly random events around the world, seeking proof of God's existence. Not by philosophy as Aquinas, Anselm or Calam would, but by drawing on legally and illegally available data. But the ineffable doesn't give an F about our attempts to prove its existence, nor will it give up its secrets for free. Strange things begin to happen, and Adam's struggle for knowledge becomes a fight to save his sanity and relationship.
Flock Without Birds is filled with reflections on philosophy, thought, and mathematics. In some aspects, it reminded me of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, only a bit more spiritual. The story is captivating and develops beautifully. Reading was a delight. All in all, it was one of the best novels I've read in a long time.
The main character is a Cambridge PhD student, Adam, whose dissertation is a pattern-seeking algorithm sifting through seemingly random events around the world, seeking proof of God's existence. Not by philosophy as Aquinas, Anselm or Calam would, but by drawing on legally and illegally available data. But the ineffable doesn't give an F about our attempts to prove its existence, nor will it give up its secrets for free. Strange things begin to happen, and Adam's struggle for knowledge becomes a fight to save his sanity and relationship.
Flock Without Birds is filled with reflections on philosophy, thought, and mathematics. In some aspects, it reminded me of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, only a bit more spiritual. The story is captivating and develops beautifully. Reading was a delight. All in all, it was one of the best novels I've read in a long time.
March 1, 2020
Priemerný človek počas svojho života prečíta niekoľko kníh. Väčšina sú jednorazovky, ktoré potom založí na poličke, zopár z nich sú úplne prepadáky, no a potom sú tu knihy osudové, ktoré menia ľudské zmýšľanie, zanechávajú hlbokú stopu a dá sa k nim ešte veľakrát vrátiť, lebo sa v nich dá nájsť vždy niečo nové.
Hejno bez ptáků chce byť práve takouto knihou.
Celá recenzia: http://www.monicqa.sk/knihy/filip-dou...
Hejno bez ptáků chce byť práve takouto knihou.
Celá recenzia: http://www.monicqa.sk/knihy/filip-dou...
May 21, 2022
Flock Without Birds
By Filip Dousek
I tried very hard to work my way through this book. It was a really tough go, and I must admit that I finally skipped around trying to determine where the author was going here – and finally gave up.
It seems to me that this book is either so packed with ideas, insights, contradictions that it is almost incomprehensible or it has no point at all.
By Filip Dousek
I tried very hard to work my way through this book. It was a really tough go, and I must admit that I finally skipped around trying to determine where the author was going here – and finally gave up.
It seems to me that this book is either so packed with ideas, insights, contradictions that it is almost incomprehensible or it has no point at all.
September 5, 2014
Po dočtení mi trvalo asi 2 měsíce než jsem se rozhodl napsat nějakou recenzi. Buď je autor tak geniální a nebo toho opravdu hodně vyhulil :-) Líbilo se mi to. Místy to bylo opravdu těžké čtení, pokud to nemají oči jen přeletět, ale pokud se to hlava snaží i pochopit. Autor říká, že je celkem jedno, kterou ze těch dvou knih se začne (Příběh - Kniha), ale já bych teď zpětně preferoval začít příběhem. Začal jsem však knihou. Po dočtení Příběhu bych si ji mohl vystřihnout skoro znovu.
Nemám paměť na citáty, ale narážka na gravitační sílu držící velý vesmír pohromadě: "Vesmír je mazel." mi zůstala v hlavě doteď :-)
Nemám paměť na citáty, ale narážka na gravitační sílu držící velý vesmír pohromadě: "Vesmír je mazel." mi zůstala v hlavě doteď :-)
May 26, 2022
Flock Without Birds is a Book and a Story - quite literally - a two-piece literary text that gives you the agency to choose where you want to start (which will, inevitably, influence your reading experience.) Two volumes: The Book and The Story.
Flock bends genres. On one hand, it is a novel, but at the same time, it’s so much more - it takes apart all the illusions that make up human life and Western civilisation, questioning the notions and paradigms that we usually take for granted - the blind spots. The Story part of the book follows Adam, a Cambridge PhD student whose dissertation revolves around an algorithm seeking a proof of existence of God. This part is, of course, central, yet everything else yields the same importance in the writing as well. Reflections on human life, beliefs, religion, philosophy and mathematics. The Book is much more raw, filled with so many thoughts and ideas you can’t really attempt to read it quickly.
What amazed me then (and does not cease to do so) is the complexity of it all, all the different references you get to read and explore. On the other hand, you as a reader are the one who gets to decide what you want to focus on and what will function as a side-note in your reading experience.
I read these books some 4/5 years ago during a phase in my life where I was approaching a path in life I thought was the correct one, and this book formed a lot of beliefs and ideas I still have nowadays and I remember my then-journal being filled with a lot of ideas I had that were generated by this very work. And one quote was stuck to my walls in 3 flats: “Language is a cage.”
Flock bends genres. On one hand, it is a novel, but at the same time, it’s so much more - it takes apart all the illusions that make up human life and Western civilisation, questioning the notions and paradigms that we usually take for granted - the blind spots. The Story part of the book follows Adam, a Cambridge PhD student whose dissertation revolves around an algorithm seeking a proof of existence of God. This part is, of course, central, yet everything else yields the same importance in the writing as well. Reflections on human life, beliefs, religion, philosophy and mathematics. The Book is much more raw, filled with so many thoughts and ideas you can’t really attempt to read it quickly.
What amazed me then (and does not cease to do so) is the complexity of it all, all the different references you get to read and explore. On the other hand, you as a reader are the one who gets to decide what you want to focus on and what will function as a side-note in your reading experience.
I read these books some 4/5 years ago during a phase in my life where I was approaching a path in life I thought was the correct one, and this book formed a lot of beliefs and ideas I still have nowadays and I remember my then-journal being filled with a lot of ideas I had that were generated by this very work. And one quote was stuck to my walls in 3 flats: “Language is a cage.”
May 25, 2022
One of the best books I've read so far. Beautifully written, full of inspiring ideas and likeable characters. The story takes place (among others) in romantic city of Prague. Every time I walk along the St. Nicholas church in Lesser Town I cannot help myself but imagine the music echoing in its premises, and to search for flocks without birds when looking down on this beautiful city from Petřín.
When reading this book, my mind was rushing, I was fascinated, it was so refreshing! And even after four years after reading it, I still recommend it to everyone. Thank you, Filip!
The Universe is cuddly and it's true🤍
When reading this book, my mind was rushing, I was fascinated, it was so refreshing! And even after four years after reading it, I still recommend it to everyone. Thank you, Filip!
The Universe is cuddly and it's true🤍
June 3, 2022
I always had an uncanny attraction toward philosophy as a general. It may seem strange to the average reader since on multiple occasions I made it clear that I am a fantasy and Sci-fi lover in terms of books of course. I do not know why this is, though I always had the belief that humans in general, have a side that is more inclined to believe in general or sometimes even radical philosophical ideas.
Anyways, let's talk about the book. This book has many great insights and an equally great storyline. In books like this reviewing it while comparing its different aspects to an otherwise ordinary book is not the right thing to do. This book is an excellent representation of ideas well embedded in a storyline. To fully understand this book, it is best to read it firsthand. I assure you will not be disappointed.
Again, Thanks to the author for writing such a great book. All support and love to you.
Regards
Happy Reading
Anyways, let's talk about the book. This book has many great insights and an equally great storyline. In books like this reviewing it while comparing its different aspects to an otherwise ordinary book is not the right thing to do. This book is an excellent representation of ideas well embedded in a storyline. To fully understand this book, it is best to read it firsthand. I assure you will not be disappointed.
Again, Thanks to the author for writing such a great book. All support and love to you.
Regards
Happy Reading
January 20, 2020
Myslela som si, že je to kniha, ktorú dám za 1 popoludnie.. nie.. niektoré strany som čítala viac krát. Referencie v každej vete, kumulácia odkazov robí z tejto knihy kvalitné čítanie. Veľmi náročné na 100% pozornosť.
May 29, 2015
Knizka, ktera donuti cloveka k premysleni. Trvalo mi skoro rok, nez jsem si k ni nasel cestu, ale jak jsem se do ni ponoril, tak jsem ji mel prectenou za par dni.
February 1, 2015
Zvláštní kniha: dvě v jedné, a někdy jsem nenáviděl ty filozofické pasáže, v nichž jsem se napůl ztrácel a napůl je osočil z prázdnoty, začal jsem černou a až poté vstřebával bílou, a když jsem byl tak ve třetině té druhé a delší, začalo mě to opravdu bavit, našel jsem s větami a odstavci společnou řeč, stejná vlnová délka myšlenek, četl jsem dál, přemýšlel, chápal i nechápavě kroutil hlavou, listoval a dočetl nakonec do poslední strany a říkal si pak, že bílá bílá je a černá opravdu černou, ty knihy na sebe zcela nelícují, jedna dává naději a je zalitá sluncem, druhá dává odpovědi a končí jinak, opravdověji, reálně.
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Černá:
A nesmíme zapomínat, že nic nezačíná tak obtížně a nic nepřináší tak pramalou naději na úspěch, jako zavádění nového řádu. Tomu, kdo jej zavádí, jsou nepřáteli všichni, kteří se měli dobře. Jeho stoupenci ho hájí opatrně a vlažně, i když si v budoucnu od něj mnoho slibují.
- Niccolò Machiavelli, Vladař
„Podívej, Adame, dej se do pořádku. Já teď jsem opravdu šťastná, víš.“
„No, štěstí je relativní –“
„Kdyby ses slyšel! Ty jsi opravdu pořád stejný. S takovým člověkem já žít nechci, jasný?“
Jasné to bylo – celá sadistická ironie mého života: můj fanatický výzkum vztahů zničil jediný vztah, na kterém mi skutečně záleželo. Svezl jsem se do prázdna. Došlo mi, kolikrát jsme si vyměnili ty stejné role: jeden dostupný, druhý ne, jeden šíleně zamilovaný, druhý prost potřeby. Milovali jsme se opravdově a hluboce, ale bohužel nikdy oba dva zároveň. Uvízli jsme v protikladech místo v harmonii.
Bílá:
Lidová moudrost říká, že celek je víc než součet částí. Ale je-li tomu tak, jak zachytíme ten rozdíl? Co je hejno bez ptáků?
Necítím se povinen věřit, že ten samý Bůh, co nás obdařil smysly, rozumem a myšlením, očekával, že je necháme ladem.
- Galileo Galilei
Někdy příliš dlouho hledíme na dveře, které se zavírají, takže si pozdě povšimneme těch, které jsou otevřené.
- Alexander Graham Bell
Žití je ta nejvzácnější věc na světě. Většina lidí jen je, nic víc.
- Oscar Wilde
Nebývá zvykem, že by nový vědecký názor převládl proto, že ho odpůrci přijmou, nebo se sami prohlásí za přesvědčené, ale spíš proto, že odpůrci postupně vymřou a následující generace je s novou pravdou srozuměna už od počátku.
- Max Planck
To podstatné je: být kdykoli schopni obětovat, kým jsme, za to, kým bychom mohli být.
- Charles DuBois
Nezměníš-li směr, mohl bys skončit tam, kam máš namířeno.
- Lao-c‘
Ideální graf životního úspěchu, takový, jaký by si sebejistý člověk mohl v mládí připíchnout nad postel, by byla stoupající exponenciála podepřená dobrými rozhodnutími. Jejich efekty by se nesčítaly jako u lineární křivky, ale násobily, jako složený úrok násobí všechny předchozí částky. Každé jedno rozhodnutí by bylo důležité nejen samo o sobě, ale též jako násobitel těch minulých i jako násobenec budoucích. Dobrá volba se úročí po zbytek života, špatná volba po zbytek života škodí.
Lidová moudrost říká, že se protiklady přitahují. Lidová moudrost říká, že vrána k vráně sedá. Přísloví je rada bez kontextu, pointa bez příběhu. Nezodpovědný rádce. Huš, lidová moudrosti!
Čas, zkušený mučitel. Vždy kráčí vpřed právě tou rychlostí, kterou působí největší bolest, což tentokrát znamenalo sotva znatelně se šourat.
Neurči si vlastní cíle, tvrdil, a určí ti je někdo jiný. Tvá matka, tvá žena, tvůj šéf. Snad je to normální a snad je to i nutné. Na lidech bez vlastního cíle ostatně korporátní svět stojí. Sežeň do houfu tisícovku uvědomělých seberealizátorů hledících ke hvězdám a pokus se z nich sestavit společnost, která bude ve výsledku tvořit cosi smysluplného. Nemáš šanci. Ve firmě o tisíci hlavách může mít právě a přesně tu práci, kterou si vysnili, snad dvacet vizionářů. Zbylých devět set osmdesát musí volky nevolky pomáhat roztáčet soukolí vymezené těmi dvaceti. Jejich povolání: lubrikant.
Až v jednom z mezipater na schodech do jejího bytu pomalu vypadl z ochablého objetí přítomného okamžiku a tažen vzhůru jen stiskem její ruky spočítal šance na úspěšnou soulož: viděl kondom, proti kterému se bude muset postavit v tuhém zápase, svůj nahý zadek mezi jejími beztvarými stehny, Veroniku útrpně shlížející na tu Gomoru odkudsi z nebes, svoji dysfunkční mysl násilně překrucující prostou pohlavní reprodukci v existenciální koncept... dvacet procent. A to na schodech do jejího bytu, po všech už dosud překonaných překážkách. Impotentia inteligentis: kde jsou ty doby, kdy zachování rodu bylo ještě ohrožené počtem spermií a ne počtem neuronů!
V samém jádru nic než vzpoura člověka sevřeného mezemi, srdnatý pokus vyrvat se z lidské situace a osvobodit se od svobody – jedinečné napnutí sil do skoku k nedosažitelnému, či dokonce neexistujícímu ideálu, skoku nad propast marnosti, který, ať dopadne jakkoliv, ať zláme údy a sedře maso pádem do hloubek, ať tvůrci zlomí vahou vaz, zůstane tím nejladnějším a nejvznešenějším vzepětím lidské mysli, marným, nelidským a svou nelidskostí paradoxně právě nejlidštějším počinem, skokem do slunce: rozhodnutím krásně a velkolepě selhat.
Nepamatoval si jediné slovo, které by matka kdy řekla o smrti, o sexu nebo o Bohu vyjma „nevím“. Tři tabu jejich rodiny, tři voskem zapečetěné urny, do nichž je zapovězeno nahlížet, předávané z generace na generaci. Neposlušné dítě, které by se je odvážilo otevřít, by tak činilo navzdory varování, bez rady a podpory stařešinů a na vlastní riziko.
Tlustým tělem zuřivě obrání společenský úzus, ten systém nepsaných pravidel, na němž nelpí z jakéhosi ušlechtilého principu, ale proto, že právě tímto systémem se vyšplhali vzhůru, že právě v něm jsou oni ti silní. Starý akademik bude bránit akademický systém opřený o publikování článků, protože jich má publikovaných nejvíc. Starý politik bude bránit parlamentní systém, protože je v parlamentu. Starý bankéř bude bránit finanční systém, protože ho vlastní.
„Miluješ mě?“ ptala se Nina Adama kolikrát. Chtěla slyšet jasnou odpověď: ano, nebo ne. A Adam se mlčky potil urputným bojem. Ta holka koukala až na dno očí a on věděl, co potřebuje slyšet. Jenže ani jedna odpověď nevystihovala, co cítil. Potřeboval jí říct, že jednoduchá matematická logika se k debatě o lásce nehodí. Že zatímco matematik zná jen prostý logický důkaz, každý normální člověk ovládá také důkaz pamětí, když je pravda to, co si pamatuje, důkaz květnatou řečí, důkaz silou, důkaz ňadrem (když by slíbil cokoliv) a důkaz stádem, když je pravdou ta blbost, co si myslí většina. Ovšem to se v takovou chvíli vysvětluje těžko.
Ale cosi je fundamentálně špatně, když popisujeme, kam směřujeme, dvěma směry, kterými nesměřujeme. Pro Adamovu dobu jsou příznačné války, v nichž lidé opovrhují oběma stranami. Nechtějí ideál a nechtějí žít bez ideálu. Nechtějí být svázaní jen jedinou možností a nevědí, jak volit z mnoha. Nevěří v Boha a děsí se smrti. Nemají rádi kárání církve a nemají rádi představu, že by si každý mohl dělat, co se mu zlíbí. Nechtějí policejní stát a zlobí se, když jim zloděj vykrade byt. Považují za nesmyslnou myšlenku absolutního díla, ale postmoderní umění na ně nedělá dojem. Nestačí jim jeden partner, ale nevěru nesnesou. Absolutismus jim smrdí příkazem, relativismus zase bezvýchodností. Levicové utopie je zklamávají, pravicové jim nestačí.
-----
Černá:
A nesmíme zapomínat, že nic nezačíná tak obtížně a nic nepřináší tak pramalou naději na úspěch, jako zavádění nového řádu. Tomu, kdo jej zavádí, jsou nepřáteli všichni, kteří se měli dobře. Jeho stoupenci ho hájí opatrně a vlažně, i když si v budoucnu od něj mnoho slibují.
- Niccolò Machiavelli, Vladař
„Podívej, Adame, dej se do pořádku. Já teď jsem opravdu šťastná, víš.“
„No, štěstí je relativní –“
„Kdyby ses slyšel! Ty jsi opravdu pořád stejný. S takovým člověkem já žít nechci, jasný?“
Jasné to bylo – celá sadistická ironie mého života: můj fanatický výzkum vztahů zničil jediný vztah, na kterém mi skutečně záleželo. Svezl jsem se do prázdna. Došlo mi, kolikrát jsme si vyměnili ty stejné role: jeden dostupný, druhý ne, jeden šíleně zamilovaný, druhý prost potřeby. Milovali jsme se opravdově a hluboce, ale bohužel nikdy oba dva zároveň. Uvízli jsme v protikladech místo v harmonii.
Bílá:
Lidová moudrost říká, že celek je víc než součet částí. Ale je-li tomu tak, jak zachytíme ten rozdíl? Co je hejno bez ptáků?
Necítím se povinen věřit, že ten samý Bůh, co nás obdařil smysly, rozumem a myšlením, očekával, že je necháme ladem.
- Galileo Galilei
Někdy příliš dlouho hledíme na dveře, které se zavírají, takže si pozdě povšimneme těch, které jsou otevřené.
- Alexander Graham Bell
Žití je ta nejvzácnější věc na světě. Většina lidí jen je, nic víc.
- Oscar Wilde
Nebývá zvykem, že by nový vědecký názor převládl proto, že ho odpůrci přijmou, nebo se sami prohlásí za přesvědčené, ale spíš proto, že odpůrci postupně vymřou a následující generace je s novou pravdou srozuměna už od počátku.
- Max Planck
To podstatné je: být kdykoli schopni obětovat, kým jsme, za to, kým bychom mohli být.
- Charles DuBois
Nezměníš-li směr, mohl bys skončit tam, kam máš namířeno.
- Lao-c‘
Ideální graf životního úspěchu, takový, jaký by si sebejistý člověk mohl v mládí připíchnout nad postel, by byla stoupající exponenciála podepřená dobrými rozhodnutími. Jejich efekty by se nesčítaly jako u lineární křivky, ale násobily, jako složený úrok násobí všechny předchozí částky. Každé jedno rozhodnutí by bylo důležité nejen samo o sobě, ale též jako násobitel těch minulých i jako násobenec budoucích. Dobrá volba se úročí po zbytek života, špatná volba po zbytek života škodí.
Lidová moudrost říká, že se protiklady přitahují. Lidová moudrost říká, že vrána k vráně sedá. Přísloví je rada bez kontextu, pointa bez příběhu. Nezodpovědný rádce. Huš, lidová moudrosti!
Čas, zkušený mučitel. Vždy kráčí vpřed právě tou rychlostí, kterou působí největší bolest, což tentokrát znamenalo sotva znatelně se šourat.
Neurči si vlastní cíle, tvrdil, a určí ti je někdo jiný. Tvá matka, tvá žena, tvůj šéf. Snad je to normální a snad je to i nutné. Na lidech bez vlastního cíle ostatně korporátní svět stojí. Sežeň do houfu tisícovku uvědomělých seberealizátorů hledících ke hvězdám a pokus se z nich sestavit společnost, která bude ve výsledku tvořit cosi smysluplného. Nemáš šanci. Ve firmě o tisíci hlavách může mít právě a přesně tu práci, kterou si vysnili, snad dvacet vizionářů. Zbylých devět set osmdesát musí volky nevolky pomáhat roztáčet soukolí vymezené těmi dvaceti. Jejich povolání: lubrikant.
Až v jednom z mezipater na schodech do jejího bytu pomalu vypadl z ochablého objetí přítomného okamžiku a tažen vzhůru jen stiskem její ruky spočítal šance na úspěšnou soulož: viděl kondom, proti kterému se bude muset postavit v tuhém zápase, svůj nahý zadek mezi jejími beztvarými stehny, Veroniku útrpně shlížející na tu Gomoru odkudsi z nebes, svoji dysfunkční mysl násilně překrucující prostou pohlavní reprodukci v existenciální koncept... dvacet procent. A to na schodech do jejího bytu, po všech už dosud překonaných překážkách. Impotentia inteligentis: kde jsou ty doby, kdy zachování rodu bylo ještě ohrožené počtem spermií a ne počtem neuronů!
V samém jádru nic než vzpoura člověka sevřeného mezemi, srdnatý pokus vyrvat se z lidské situace a osvobodit se od svobody – jedinečné napnutí sil do skoku k nedosažitelnému, či dokonce neexistujícímu ideálu, skoku nad propast marnosti, který, ať dopadne jakkoliv, ať zláme údy a sedře maso pádem do hloubek, ať tvůrci zlomí vahou vaz, zůstane tím nejladnějším a nejvznešenějším vzepětím lidské mysli, marným, nelidským a svou nelidskostí paradoxně právě nejlidštějším počinem, skokem do slunce: rozhodnutím krásně a velkolepě selhat.
Nepamatoval si jediné slovo, které by matka kdy řekla o smrti, o sexu nebo o Bohu vyjma „nevím“. Tři tabu jejich rodiny, tři voskem zapečetěné urny, do nichž je zapovězeno nahlížet, předávané z generace na generaci. Neposlušné dítě, které by se je odvážilo otevřít, by tak činilo navzdory varování, bez rady a podpory stařešinů a na vlastní riziko.
Tlustým tělem zuřivě obrání společenský úzus, ten systém nepsaných pravidel, na němž nelpí z jakéhosi ušlechtilého principu, ale proto, že právě tímto systémem se vyšplhali vzhůru, že právě v něm jsou oni ti silní. Starý akademik bude bránit akademický systém opřený o publikování článků, protože jich má publikovaných nejvíc. Starý politik bude bránit parlamentní systém, protože je v parlamentu. Starý bankéř bude bránit finanční systém, protože ho vlastní.
„Miluješ mě?“ ptala se Nina Adama kolikrát. Chtěla slyšet jasnou odpověď: ano, nebo ne. A Adam se mlčky potil urputným bojem. Ta holka koukala až na dno očí a on věděl, co potřebuje slyšet. Jenže ani jedna odpověď nevystihovala, co cítil. Potřeboval jí říct, že jednoduchá matematická logika se k debatě o lásce nehodí. Že zatímco matematik zná jen prostý logický důkaz, každý normální člověk ovládá také důkaz pamětí, když je pravda to, co si pamatuje, důkaz květnatou řečí, důkaz silou, důkaz ňadrem (když by slíbil cokoliv) a důkaz stádem, když je pravdou ta blbost, co si myslí většina. Ovšem to se v takovou chvíli vysvětluje těžko.
Ale cosi je fundamentálně špatně, když popisujeme, kam směřujeme, dvěma směry, kterými nesměřujeme. Pro Adamovu dobu jsou příznačné války, v nichž lidé opovrhují oběma stranami. Nechtějí ideál a nechtějí žít bez ideálu. Nechtějí být svázaní jen jedinou možností a nevědí, jak volit z mnoha. Nevěří v Boha a děsí se smrti. Nemají rádi kárání církve a nemají rádi představu, že by si každý mohl dělat, co se mu zlíbí. Nechtějí policejní stát a zlobí se, když jim zloděj vykrade byt. Považují za nesmyslnou myšlenku absolutního díla, ale postmoderní umění na ně nedělá dojem. Nestačí jim jeden partner, ale nevěru nesnesou. Absolutismus jim smrdí příkazem, relativismus zase bezvýchodností. Levicové utopie je zklamávají, pravicové jim nestačí.
June 20, 2022
Writing a novel about Big Ideas without being boring or pedantic is really hard. Filip Dousek has managed to pull it off. Like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, or Sophie's World, Flock Without Birds focuses on the story of its central character in order to explore how we relate to the world around us, managing to weave the philosophy into the narrative rather than the other way around. The main character is a data scientist attempting to write his PhD on a unified computer theory that will explain and predict anything. His two main antagonists are his romantic girlfriend and a professor of cultural studies who is a shaman and a tarot reader. The narrator moves through the complications of love and challenges to his rational authority, realizing in the end that relationships are truth rather than a static logical order. Highly recommended for philosophy and theology nerds who need to get into their heads in order to get out of their heads.
June 30, 2022
A Brilliant start, unusual premise, and lofty claims of what the book contained. I was buzzing with excitement but wary, I’ve been let down before. This however, did not disappoint. I'm grateful to Netgalley for the chance to review this stunning work! Beautifully intertwined themes play through the course of this book, arguably books. As we follow Adam on his search for timeless questions about humanity and if the unquantifiable can in fact be quantified. I could see a lot of some of my friends in the characters and they all felt real, though some exchanges felt forced or overly simplified. But there’s a way to interpret the writing where it makes sense. It’s hard to say more without spoilers and in my opinion, you should read this spoiler free.
June 17, 2025
This novel means everything to me.
I don't know if I've ever related to anything more.
I don't know if I've ever related to anything more.
May 24, 2022
If you want to understand a book, does that mean you should read it?
The prologue triggered me immediately. It also made me wish that I could follow more than one path and read both the book and the story first, mix them up or maybe read them at the same time. In the end, I started with the story because that was the first part in the ebook.
In the story, Adam tests his understanding of the world through his relationships with other people, such as his girlfriend Nina whose artistic project turns out to be rather interesting. He searches for universal order with his programming of the Faustomat and goes in search of the Cambridge archives with alumni data to use as human input for calculating karma. But what is he really looking for with this project?
Who is telling the story?
The storyteller is a competent narrator, but who is he? Where does the author end and Adam begin? There are chapters nestled in between that don’t “fit,” mixing another voice with one that is Adam’s. Time and story lines are fluid and so is the boundary between what is inside the story and what is outside it. Flock Without Birds combines many of my interests as it touches on topics such as technology, philosophy, myths, religion, social intelligence, art and science.
“Intuitively, their disparate time and space fractals had to merge in order to thrust the self into a new dimension.”
The possibility of alternate realities weighs heavily on Adam as he considers how hundreds of surrogate infidel Adams crowd the only faithful one. His dilemma makes you think about the things you do and the things you give up. The idea is that even if you do only half of the calculated sum totals of your life, you might avoid boredom. Although you lose all other paths when you choose, the old portraits that fascinate Adam for a long time show that with time come new possibilities.
The many lives not lived remain as unexplored as the many possible stories in Mallarmé’s book Le Livre. It shows that when what you are trying to accomplish has a gigantic scope, it can prevent you from accomplishing smaller parts and you might never deliver anything at all. Even myths are built from smaller tropes. It’s good to dream big and have the audacity to go for the absolute. The elderly version of you is not better than you: he or she has only experienced what you decide to do.
Infinite possibilities
“Perhaps the enigma of the world hides not in what escapes me, but in what I see.”
After the story comes the book, with some deliberate self-reflection and more philosophy. I won’t say more as not to ruin your chance to find out how they go together. I want to reread Flock Without Birds to catch what I missed on the first read, so I ordered the hardcover edition to do just that; that’s how intrigued I was by this book. It is a book full of terminal paradoxes. How would you explain Adam?
I enjoyed trying to see the world as Adam sees it. The story is well-crafted. The author introduces many concepts and illustrates them in different ways. I like the narrative tone, the scope of the topics, and the choices and challenges the author voices. Flock Without Birds is focused on the future.
Recommendation
Filip Dousek wrote a fascinating book; one that is thoroughly unique. It’s been a while since I read a book that made me pause and consider what’s being said this much. So far my favorite read of this year. Read this if you crave something challenging that can serve as inspiration for your future.
One last takeaway (not per se groundbreaking): if you take a step away from pursuing your individual dreams and convictions, you may discover that you are right in the middle of where you aspired to be unintentionally.
Many thanks to Toito Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
The prologue triggered me immediately. It also made me wish that I could follow more than one path and read both the book and the story first, mix them up or maybe read them at the same time. In the end, I started with the story because that was the first part in the ebook.
In the story, Adam tests his understanding of the world through his relationships with other people, such as his girlfriend Nina whose artistic project turns out to be rather interesting. He searches for universal order with his programming of the Faustomat and goes in search of the Cambridge archives with alumni data to use as human input for calculating karma. But what is he really looking for with this project?
Who is telling the story?
The storyteller is a competent narrator, but who is he? Where does the author end and Adam begin? There are chapters nestled in between that don’t “fit,” mixing another voice with one that is Adam’s. Time and story lines are fluid and so is the boundary between what is inside the story and what is outside it. Flock Without Birds combines many of my interests as it touches on topics such as technology, philosophy, myths, religion, social intelligence, art and science.
“Intuitively, their disparate time and space fractals had to merge in order to thrust the self into a new dimension.”
The possibility of alternate realities weighs heavily on Adam as he considers how hundreds of surrogate infidel Adams crowd the only faithful one. His dilemma makes you think about the things you do and the things you give up. The idea is that even if you do only half of the calculated sum totals of your life, you might avoid boredom. Although you lose all other paths when you choose, the old portraits that fascinate Adam for a long time show that with time come new possibilities.
The many lives not lived remain as unexplored as the many possible stories in Mallarmé’s book Le Livre. It shows that when what you are trying to accomplish has a gigantic scope, it can prevent you from accomplishing smaller parts and you might never deliver anything at all. Even myths are built from smaller tropes. It’s good to dream big and have the audacity to go for the absolute. The elderly version of you is not better than you: he or she has only experienced what you decide to do.
Infinite possibilities
“Perhaps the enigma of the world hides not in what escapes me, but in what I see.”
After the story comes the book, with some deliberate self-reflection and more philosophy. I won’t say more as not to ruin your chance to find out how they go together. I want to reread Flock Without Birds to catch what I missed on the first read, so I ordered the hardcover edition to do just that; that’s how intrigued I was by this book. It is a book full of terminal paradoxes. How would you explain Adam?
I enjoyed trying to see the world as Adam sees it. The story is well-crafted. The author introduces many concepts and illustrates them in different ways. I like the narrative tone, the scope of the topics, and the choices and challenges the author voices. Flock Without Birds is focused on the future.
Recommendation
Filip Dousek wrote a fascinating book; one that is thoroughly unique. It’s been a while since I read a book that made me pause and consider what’s being said this much. So far my favorite read of this year. Read this if you crave something challenging that can serve as inspiration for your future.
One last takeaway (not per se groundbreaking): if you take a step away from pursuing your individual dreams and convictions, you may discover that you are right in the middle of where you aspired to be unintentionally.
Many thanks to Toito Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2013
The good:
Hejno bez ptaku ("A Flock without birds") is a philosophical novel in the truest sense. The story line - a love story between Adam, the statistics PhD student and Nina, his artist girlfriend is embedded in ruminations on the west-east thinking dichotomy, philosophy of art and dedication, mathematics and history.
The scope is incredibly broad and skillfully weaves many topics together while keeping the narrative exciting. Adam is the hyper-rational reductionist scientist, but Dousek fortunately doesn't fall in the trap of caricature ("straw vulcan"). I think many PhDs will be able do identify with his constant struggles with his project and maybe even his world-view (God knows that parsing everyday events and interactions in terms of decision theory and micro-economics is not something I would never been guilty of. Oddly sometimes with exactly opposite conclusions to Adam's :)).
Nina is not given quite as much space, but is still a very interesting character. She is an artist, also ambitious, but unlike Adam's laser sharp focus on his research, Nina is confused, looking for her herself and paralyzed by all the choices.
Both their relationship and Adam's world-view eventually suffer very serious blows and things take a very tense and mysterious direction. I am deeply impressed by Dousek's description of their relationship. I really do not recall a more honest, deep view of a relationship between two young people.
The love triangle and mystery story (yes there is also a mystery story!) is interwoven with snappy dialogues, discussions of foundation of mathematical logic, capitalism, art (wonderfully funny dialogue between Wagner and Messerchmidt on absolute aesthetic values vs. relative), fidelity (both opportunity costs and narrative imperative are taken into consideration!), open source software, role of mathematics in society and Hilbert's program, Siberian shamanism, Mallarme's Le Livre and many, many other things. Just wonderful.
The bad:
It is clear that this is Dousek's precocious baby and as such it spent a bit too long in his loving womb and it got a bit overcooked. :) The book is overwritten in places and here and there slips from thoughtful to unfocused to completely rambling.
Especially the Black Book (see bellow) feels a bit unsatisfactory and maybe even redundant (but is only some 100 pages).
Still - given its breadth, ambitions and excellent structuring I am not willing to subtract points. A flawed masterpiece it is then!
The form:
Dousek (partially under the influence of philosophy exposed in the book) published the book on-line as pay-as-much-as-you-want (http://www.hejnobezptaku.cz/). Along the ebook a printed version was published consisting of two beautifully designed, illustrated books (black and white, "book" and "story") in a common box sleeve.
It is a very beautiful object worth having! Again just showing how much this was a labor of love.
Conclusions:
Absolutely recommended! It is inspiring that something like this got accomplished and here is now hoping he will get the attention. It is mostly for the dedicated, patient reader, but it offers a lot in return.
Should be considered for translation - since David Foster Wallace is being sold, I think this could have a chance too!
Hejno bez ptaku ("A Flock without birds") is a philosophical novel in the truest sense. The story line - a love story between Adam, the statistics PhD student and Nina, his artist girlfriend is embedded in ruminations on the west-east thinking dichotomy, philosophy of art and dedication, mathematics and history.
The scope is incredibly broad and skillfully weaves many topics together while keeping the narrative exciting. Adam is the hyper-rational reductionist scientist, but Dousek fortunately doesn't fall in the trap of caricature ("straw vulcan"). I think many PhDs will be able do identify with his constant struggles with his project and maybe even his world-view (God knows that parsing everyday events and interactions in terms of decision theory and micro-economics is not something I would never been guilty of. Oddly sometimes with exactly opposite conclusions to Adam's :)).
Nina is not given quite as much space, but is still a very interesting character. She is an artist, also ambitious, but unlike Adam's laser sharp focus on his research, Nina is confused, looking for her herself and paralyzed by all the choices.
Both their relationship and Adam's world-view eventually suffer very serious blows and things take a very tense and mysterious direction. I am deeply impressed by Dousek's description of their relationship. I really do not recall a more honest, deep view of a relationship between two young people.
The love triangle and mystery story (yes there is also a mystery story!) is interwoven with snappy dialogues, discussions of foundation of mathematical logic, capitalism, art (wonderfully funny dialogue between Wagner and Messerchmidt on absolute aesthetic values vs. relative), fidelity (both opportunity costs and narrative imperative are taken into consideration!), open source software, role of mathematics in society and Hilbert's program, Siberian shamanism, Mallarme's Le Livre and many, many other things. Just wonderful.
The bad:
It is clear that this is Dousek's precocious baby and as such it spent a bit too long in his loving womb and it got a bit overcooked. :) The book is overwritten in places and here and there slips from thoughtful to unfocused to completely rambling.
Especially the Black Book (see bellow) feels a bit unsatisfactory and maybe even redundant (but is only some 100 pages).
Still - given its breadth, ambitions and excellent structuring I am not willing to subtract points. A flawed masterpiece it is then!
The form:
Dousek (partially under the influence of philosophy exposed in the book) published the book on-line as pay-as-much-as-you-want (http://www.hejnobezptaku.cz/). Along the ebook a printed version was published consisting of two beautifully designed, illustrated books (black and white, "book" and "story") in a common box sleeve.
It is a very beautiful object worth having! Again just showing how much this was a labor of love.
Conclusions:
Absolutely recommended! It is inspiring that something like this got accomplished and here is now hoping he will get the attention. It is mostly for the dedicated, patient reader, but it offers a lot in return.
Should be considered for translation - since David Foster Wallace is being sold, I think this could have a chance too!
July 10, 2022
Received an ARC from Netgallery.
Not sure if this counts as spoilery but hiding anyway.
tl:dr : I have problems with this book.
Not sure if this counts as spoilery but hiding anyway.
tl:dr : I have problems with this book.
January 12, 2017
fuuu.
došla jsem k názoru, že i kdybych tuhle Knihu četla 5x, tak bych z ní nevytěžila maximum. a právě proto to byl skvělý kup. nelituji toho. můžu se k ní kdykoliv s odstupem času vrátit a zjistit, kam jsem se posunula já či moje myšlení obecně.
člověk totiž musí být inteligenčně na mnohem vyšší úrovni, aby to vše pobral. matematika, filosofie, fyzika,... musí znát spoustu filosofů a jejich učení. nebudu vám lhát, měla jsem velké mezery.
nic to však nemění na tom, kolik tam bylo krásných myšlenek!
stále čekáte, až se to rozuzlí. až tomu všemu konečně přijdete na kloub. nepřijdete.
po přečtení si budete klást ještě více otázek. budou vám v hlavě skákat věty z knihy a nedají vám spát.
možná je to příliš předčasné tuto knihu hodnotit. ale vždy se k hodnocení můžu vrátit a zaznamenat MŮJ pokrok ve čtení.
samozřejmě, pokud se soustředíte jen na samotný deník (děj), tak máte vyhráno. na tom není nic nepochopitelného. jenže jak píšu, chci z ní získat, co nejvíc...
už se těším na Příběh a doufám, že mi mnohé věci objasní!
došla jsem k názoru, že i kdybych tuhle Knihu četla 5x, tak bych z ní nevytěžila maximum. a právě proto to byl skvělý kup. nelituji toho. můžu se k ní kdykoliv s odstupem času vrátit a zjistit, kam jsem se posunula já či moje myšlení obecně.
člověk totiž musí být inteligenčně na mnohem vyšší úrovni, aby to vše pobral. matematika, filosofie, fyzika,... musí znát spoustu filosofů a jejich učení. nebudu vám lhát, měla jsem velké mezery.
nic to však nemění na tom, kolik tam bylo krásných myšlenek!
stále čekáte, až se to rozuzlí. až tomu všemu konečně přijdete na kloub. nepřijdete.
po přečtení si budete klást ještě více otázek. budou vám v hlavě skákat věty z knihy a nedají vám spát.
možná je to příliš předčasné tuto knihu hodnotit. ale vždy se k hodnocení můžu vrátit a zaznamenat MŮJ pokrok ve čtení.
samozřejmě, pokud se soustředíte jen na samotný deník (děj), tak máte vyhráno. na tom není nic nepochopitelného. jenže jak píšu, chci z ní získat, co nejvíc...
už se těším na Příběh a doufám, že mi mnohé věci objasní!
December 6, 2022
After reading Flock Without Birds the first time, I was left slightly confused but it's a book I wasn't able to stop thinking about until I picked it up again a few months later. Rereading it didn't necessarily give me a better understanding but I am able to appreciate it more. Although there isn't supposed to be a "correct" way to read the book, I found the most enjoyment from beginning with the white cover. The story was entertaining and caught my attention enough to reread and take notes. I often paused to process what I just read - I'm still deciding whether or not this book is too smart for me.
April 20, 2015
Chvilku mi trvalo, než jsem si na knihu zvykla, ale i přes technické potíže jsem ji chtěla dočíst. Netradiční, ale rozhodně zaujala.
Citát:
Hierarchie učí mrzoutství, nabroušenosti, blahosklonnosti, ochranářství a strachu z konkurence. Vyučuje útok a obranu. Hierarchie je mužský učitel.
Síť učí respektovat druhé. Pomáhat. Hýčkat vztahy. Hrát si. Dělit se o čokoládu. Hledat užitečnost. Podporovat vzájemný růst. Stahovat kondomy. Síť je učitelka, a v prvé řadě učí osobní odpovědnost.
Citát:
Hierarchie učí mrzoutství, nabroušenosti, blahosklonnosti, ochranářství a strachu z konkurence. Vyučuje útok a obranu. Hierarchie je mužský učitel.
Síť učí respektovat druhé. Pomáhat. Hýčkat vztahy. Hrát si. Dělit se o čokoládu. Hledat užitečnost. Podporovat vzájemný růst. Stahovat kondomy. Síť je učitelka, a v prvé řadě učí osobní odpovědnost.
April 15, 2024
Tahle kniha je tak moc zacyklená a meta, že si nejsem jistá, že funguje. Minimálně jedna hvězda navíc je 100% za grafické zpracování, které mě bavilo, a díky kterému měl celý děj takové zvláštní kouzlo. Ale asi se budu muset ještě zamyslet, co si o tom celém vlastně myslím.
Musím totiž vyřešit základní otázku.
Byla to kniha beze slov nebo Slova bez knihy?
Musím totiž vyřešit základní otázku.
Byla to kniha beze slov nebo Slova bez knihy?
June 25, 2017
No sakra... Čerstvě po dočtení Bílé knihy a jsem schopna vydávat zatím pouze citoslovce. Těmi to tu zatěžkávat nebudu, prosím. Uf.
June 21, 2022
I have a lot of thoughts about this novel, primarily in how it was composed and compiled. It is very different from most types of fiction I am familiar with in the way it is put together, the topics that are discussed within it, and the way the point of view switches throughout the novel.
There are essentially three parts to this book: the prologue, a backstory held within a white book, and a diary in a black book. In this prologue, our narrator states to us that the black book is his diary from long ago and through that, we discover our narrator is Adam. In each part, there is a different point of view used to tell the story. The prologue is a third person POV from Adam, but it is told as if we are in the same room as Adam and we are friends who are having discussions about Adam’s life. Throughout the novel, there are chapters dedicated to this type of view, where the reader is in a conversation with Adam as he speaks to us directly. The white book, the first part of the novel, is in a switching third person limited POV. We occasionally have glimpses into another person’s life as Adam goes throughout his days. In this way, we can see the lead up into different plot points within the novel and see the different views on relationships with Adam as we don’t see within the black book. The diary is a first person POV that is written as ax extended love letter and narrates his days and thoughts as he thinks them.
I spent a lot of time describing those parts in this review because they are critical to the way the book is read. I read the black book portion first, as there is a choice in where the novel starts, and it really blew my mind being able to see other characters interact with Adam in the white book. I’ll be honest, it was a bit of a slog to get through his diary as I am not as invested in math or philosophy as Adam is. That’s not even touching on how Adam views the world in a completely different way from me. He is all about patterns, data, how it all must be connected while he is out of touch in how he interacts with his loved ones as there isn’t a single set pattern or set of rules he can follow. It feels a lot of the time that he has his head in the clouds as he proclaims he is about nothing but logic while he stumbles through other areas of his life convinced there is a single answer he should be able to find. It makes moments where he stumbles into doing a very kind action, such as giving his grandmother flowers, stand out all the more. There is also bursts of very funny moments to be throughout the novel that aren’t necessarily intended to be funny. Some are just daily interactions that are hilarious as an outsider, some are the quotes underneath the chapter titles being a person’s horoscope or a quote from Adam’s dad.
Although I don’t agree with a lot of what Adam claims is the logical truth of the universe – I believe everything is much messier than an algorithm could properly follow – it really makes you think as you follow along and watch Adam develop his code, change his way of thinking, and see how his relationships with other change over time. I am doing my best to avoid spoilers, but it is truly a compelling read. There is a lot of philosophy and math involved throughout the novel so if that is completely outside of your wheelhouse, this may not be the book for you. Otherwise, I’d say give it a shot!
There are essentially three parts to this book: the prologue, a backstory held within a white book, and a diary in a black book. In this prologue, our narrator states to us that the black book is his diary from long ago and through that, we discover our narrator is Adam. In each part, there is a different point of view used to tell the story. The prologue is a third person POV from Adam, but it is told as if we are in the same room as Adam and we are friends who are having discussions about Adam’s life. Throughout the novel, there are chapters dedicated to this type of view, where the reader is in a conversation with Adam as he speaks to us directly. The white book, the first part of the novel, is in a switching third person limited POV. We occasionally have glimpses into another person’s life as Adam goes throughout his days. In this way, we can see the lead up into different plot points within the novel and see the different views on relationships with Adam as we don’t see within the black book. The diary is a first person POV that is written as ax extended love letter and narrates his days and thoughts as he thinks them.
I spent a lot of time describing those parts in this review because they are critical to the way the book is read. I read the black book portion first, as there is a choice in where the novel starts, and it really blew my mind being able to see other characters interact with Adam in the white book. I’ll be honest, it was a bit of a slog to get through his diary as I am not as invested in math or philosophy as Adam is. That’s not even touching on how Adam views the world in a completely different way from me. He is all about patterns, data, how it all must be connected while he is out of touch in how he interacts with his loved ones as there isn’t a single set pattern or set of rules he can follow. It feels a lot of the time that he has his head in the clouds as he proclaims he is about nothing but logic while he stumbles through other areas of his life convinced there is a single answer he should be able to find. It makes moments where he stumbles into doing a very kind action, such as giving his grandmother flowers, stand out all the more. There is also bursts of very funny moments to be throughout the novel that aren’t necessarily intended to be funny. Some are just daily interactions that are hilarious as an outsider, some are the quotes underneath the chapter titles being a person’s horoscope or a quote from Adam’s dad.
Although I don’t agree with a lot of what Adam claims is the logical truth of the universe – I believe everything is much messier than an algorithm could properly follow – it really makes you think as you follow along and watch Adam develop his code, change his way of thinking, and see how his relationships with other change over time. I am doing my best to avoid spoilers, but it is truly a compelling read. There is a lot of philosophy and math involved throughout the novel so if that is completely outside of your wheelhouse, this may not be the book for you. Otherwise, I’d say give it a shot!
June 6, 2022
This is a highly inventive and audacious novel about a data scientist trying to use computers to define the existence (or lack of existence) of God. And love. And other totally ineffable things. It contains brilliant discourses on philosophy. I'll put a few quotes at the bottom here. The writing is brilliant, to say the least. I loved the informality of the language, and the flow of it.
However, I am not going to finish the book right now, after reaching 25%. The reason is that it feels like a book for millennials (which I am not). The main character seems like he's on the spectrum, and his relationships are problematic. He's quite cynical. Right now, I am in an emotional place where I want to find meaning and purpose, and I don't want to spend time in the company of Adam, the main character. This is despite the fact that I really wanted to see what the author was going to do with such a fascinating premise for a book. Perhaps I'm just not the right target reader at this point in my life. I think millennials, on the other hand, would totally "get" the characters and feel quite at home with the tone.
"As soon as he wrote it [Nietsche writing that God is dead], something rather curious happened: nothing at all. Lightning did not strike him down. Nobody burned him at a stake. And no one disproved his claim... It quickly became irrelevant whether God had really died. The mere possibility became too important; it became the reality of possibility. And God sank further down: from a hypothesis, he became a risk. The rating of the church and its notes, redeemable the day after death, suddenly dropped from AAA to B+, by the analysts' consensus. And people don't base their savings on such instruments, nor empires their fates. Such currency is only fit for speculation."
"Nietsche clearly described the domino effect After the death of God, the entire Western moral and philosophical structure would collapse. And with it, the balance between nations, classes, and people; and with that, the power held by the church and monarchs. What follows is a clueless place... The 20th and 21st centuries: a clueless place. Experience offers no advice. The past is cut off from the future. The mind is flooded by an infinity of equal, undecidable possibilities. People even have a special word for this tortured place: freedom."
"I watch the most destructive force my century has seen: the loss of meaning and direction."
However, I am not going to finish the book right now, after reaching 25%. The reason is that it feels like a book for millennials (which I am not). The main character seems like he's on the spectrum, and his relationships are problematic. He's quite cynical. Right now, I am in an emotional place where I want to find meaning and purpose, and I don't want to spend time in the company of Adam, the main character. This is despite the fact that I really wanted to see what the author was going to do with such a fascinating premise for a book. Perhaps I'm just not the right target reader at this point in my life. I think millennials, on the other hand, would totally "get" the characters and feel quite at home with the tone.
"As soon as he wrote it [Nietsche writing that God is dead], something rather curious happened: nothing at all. Lightning did not strike him down. Nobody burned him at a stake. And no one disproved his claim... It quickly became irrelevant whether God had really died. The mere possibility became too important; it became the reality of possibility. And God sank further down: from a hypothesis, he became a risk. The rating of the church and its notes, redeemable the day after death, suddenly dropped from AAA to B+, by the analysts' consensus. And people don't base their savings on such instruments, nor empires their fates. Such currency is only fit for speculation."
"Nietsche clearly described the domino effect After the death of God, the entire Western moral and philosophical structure would collapse. And with it, the balance between nations, classes, and people; and with that, the power held by the church and monarchs. What follows is a clueless place... The 20th and 21st centuries: a clueless place. Experience offers no advice. The past is cut off from the future. The mind is flooded by an infinity of equal, undecidable possibilities. People even have a special word for this tortured place: freedom."
"I watch the most destructive force my century has seen: the loss of meaning and direction."
June 12, 2022
Flock Without Birds by Filip Dousek is an interesting book that uses some undergrad understandings of philosophy to make readers ponder ideas as much as actions.
I don't mean the "undergrad" comment so much as a negative than as a warning for those who have studied and/or taught philosophy. There aren't a lot of gross misrepresentations, just a lot of missed or unknown (to Dousek) nuance that allows for the questionable use. That said, this is a work of fiction and not a philosophy book, the character is not a philosophy student, so a reader needs to bracket what they know and experience the book through the eyes and mind of the character. If you do, you will find an interesting story as well as some connections that will make you want to consider ideas more closely.
The format, two "separate" texts that the reader is free to read in either order, is always an appealing idea. This isn't the first and won't be the last to use that concept, and while it certainly made for some intriguing moments, it wasn't a necessary form to use. A recent book that used a similar idea was Crossings, with three texts and several ways to read it, each of which offered new insights. I think the success of the form there influenced my less than impressed reaction here.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy a writer to tell more than show, since Dousek opted to tell the philosophical ideas rather than have characters embody them or events illustrate them. I happen to enjoy both ways of telling a story, so I was fine with it. While there isn't anything philosophically speaking that is new here there is plenty of opportunity for a reader to make their own connections between schools of thought, so a reader who enjoys that will also enjoy this book.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I don't mean the "undergrad" comment so much as a negative than as a warning for those who have studied and/or taught philosophy. There aren't a lot of gross misrepresentations, just a lot of missed or unknown (to Dousek) nuance that allows for the questionable use. That said, this is a work of fiction and not a philosophy book, the character is not a philosophy student, so a reader needs to bracket what they know and experience the book through the eyes and mind of the character. If you do, you will find an interesting story as well as some connections that will make you want to consider ideas more closely.
The format, two "separate" texts that the reader is free to read in either order, is always an appealing idea. This isn't the first and won't be the last to use that concept, and while it certainly made for some intriguing moments, it wasn't a necessary form to use. A recent book that used a similar idea was Crossings, with three texts and several ways to read it, each of which offered new insights. I think the success of the form there influenced my less than impressed reaction here.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy a writer to tell more than show, since Dousek opted to tell the philosophical ideas rather than have characters embody them or events illustrate them. I happen to enjoy both ways of telling a story, so I was fine with it. While there isn't anything philosophically speaking that is new here there is plenty of opportunity for a reader to make their own connections between schools of thought, so a reader who enjoys that will also enjoy this book.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
July 11, 2022
Flock Without Birds is a book that a few people will love and many people won't bother to finish. It blends a fairly conventional romantic plotline (a data scientist, Adam, is too preoccupied with his work and various metaphysical issues to properly manage his relationship with his girlfriend) with philosophical ruminations. Most chapters are written in the third person, from Adam's point of view, but occasionally the narrator (possibly an older version of Adam) intrudes to address readers directly. Although the story was slow-moving and occasionally unwieldy, the plot contained enough unusual twists to keep me interested.
All of the above refers to The Story, which is the first (in the ebook) two thirds of the text. There is also The Book, which is meant to be Adam's journal. (Supposedly, The Book comes neither before or after The Story, but it appears afterward in the ebook and it is set at a slightly later time.) In The Book, Adam details his travels and other (mostly unpleasant) adventures. The events described are interesting, but most of The Book is taken up with the same sort of philosophical ruminations that occasionally interrupted The Story.
About those ruminations: they are meant to be a selling point, but I just wasn't sold. Partly, this book is categorized as a novel, not a discourse, and The Book was mostly discourse. Even worse, it just wasn't very good. The philosophical sections were wordy, repetitive, and only modestly insightful. One success, I suppose, was that reading them gave me the impression that I was actually speaking to a very smart, very young, extremely egotistical, and probably high grad student. 3.5 stars.
[I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley. Opinions are my own.]
All of the above refers to The Story, which is the first (in the ebook) two thirds of the text. There is also The Book, which is meant to be Adam's journal. (Supposedly, The Book comes neither before or after The Story, but it appears afterward in the ebook and it is set at a slightly later time.) In The Book, Adam details his travels and other (mostly unpleasant) adventures. The events described are interesting, but most of The Book is taken up with the same sort of philosophical ruminations that occasionally interrupted The Story.
About those ruminations: they are meant to be a selling point, but I just wasn't sold. Partly, this book is categorized as a novel, not a discourse, and The Book was mostly discourse. Even worse, it just wasn't very good. The philosophical sections were wordy, repetitive, and only modestly insightful. One success, I suppose, was that reading them gave me the impression that I was actually speaking to a very smart, very young, extremely egotistical, and probably high grad student. 3.5 stars.
[I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley. Opinions are my own.]
June 8, 2022
What a (positively) strange book!
The main character - Adam - is a PhD student who has a love interest in a girl - Nina - but he can hardly have a "normal conversation" with her, because his other Love - his research to create an algorithm to reach God through all the existing world data -- is always before his eyes. You can read that from the first chapters, which already tells a lot about a character on a mission bigger than him. This mission will lead Adam to losing much of his mental health, and to prison, where he will write about Mathematics and Philosophy.
Since the book itself is Adam's journal, the character's line of thought was sometimes obscure as he goes from illusion to illusion, from "Hierarchy" to "Opposites" and beyond - and some of the Maths was definitely over my head. However, it was a fascinating read and I feel that it's one I might read again once I researched some of the concepts a little more.
Writing-wise, it's a well-written book, it reads easily and you'll be flipping pages before you know it. The drawings, hand-written tables and diagrams are wonderfully fascinating, like you are reading the diary of some real mathematician and philosopher and you are in awe before it. Woooah.
Next Christmas I'll gift a paperback copy of this book to my best friend who's deeply into Math and Philosophy. She might enjoy it even more than I did.
- Lia Mara Dospetti
The main character - Adam - is a PhD student who has a love interest in a girl - Nina - but he can hardly have a "normal conversation" with her, because his other Love - his research to create an algorithm to reach God through all the existing world data -- is always before his eyes. You can read that from the first chapters, which already tells a lot about a character on a mission bigger than him. This mission will lead Adam to losing much of his mental health, and to prison, where he will write about Mathematics and Philosophy.
Since the book itself is Adam's journal, the character's line of thought was sometimes obscure as he goes from illusion to illusion, from "Hierarchy" to "Opposites" and beyond - and some of the Maths was definitely over my head. However, it was a fascinating read and I feel that it's one I might read again once I researched some of the concepts a little more.
Writing-wise, it's a well-written book, it reads easily and you'll be flipping pages before you know it. The drawings, hand-written tables and diagrams are wonderfully fascinating, like you are reading the diary of some real mathematician and philosopher and you are in awe before it. Woooah.
Next Christmas I'll gift a paperback copy of this book to my best friend who's deeply into Math and Philosophy. She might enjoy it even more than I did.
- Lia Mara Dospetti
June 7, 2022
Dousek’s debut “Flock Without Birds” breaks away from the form of the traditional novel by presenting a story written in two volumes: The Story and The Book, which can be read in any order. The Story tells of Adam, a student at Cambridge who works to balance his personal life with his obsessive research to prove the existence of God. The Book is Adam’s journal told from a foreign prison, where he writes on a variety of topics from mathematics to philosophy to politics, often accompanied by lists and diagrams. The story itself is interesting enough but I as a reader had difficulty with the presentation of the information. Philosophy is a topic that can expand in many different directions so sometimes it was difficult to follow Adam’s logic. It basically felt as though too much information was being presented at once, all coming from different directions. This was a challenging read but in a good way although I would not recommend it for readers who are easily overwhelmed as a lot of the subject matter may go over some readers heads. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who are looking for a challenge, mental wise.
June 9, 2022
I had high expectations for this book; I loved the premise (“a novel about the illusions that create our world”) and the opening sentence was enticing: “See, this is the magic of books.” YES! I’m ready to go, I thought. The author offers two imaginative ways to begin the journey, and I chose to start with the white book.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book ended with the prologue. The story is not a story. The philosophy, I guess you could call it, is nonsensical and self-indulgent. As I took notes to attempt to organize my understanding of what might be happening with this incoherent pseudo-narrative, I devolved to furiously scribbling phrases like “what is the point” and “this means nothing” to vent my frustration. The author asks, “ . . . tell me this first: if one wants to understand a book — any book — is reading it even the right way to go?” In this case, nope.
I’m going to stop there with my review since I can’t offer much in the way of explaining or describing these 450 rambling pages. Maybe I’m just pedestrian? This is either too pretentious or too sophisticated for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book ended with the prologue. The story is not a story. The philosophy, I guess you could call it, is nonsensical and self-indulgent. As I took notes to attempt to organize my understanding of what might be happening with this incoherent pseudo-narrative, I devolved to furiously scribbling phrases like “what is the point” and “this means nothing” to vent my frustration. The author asks, “ . . . tell me this first: if one wants to understand a book — any book — is reading it even the right way to go?” In this case, nope.
I’m going to stop there with my review since I can’t offer much in the way of explaining or describing these 450 rambling pages. Maybe I’m just pedestrian? This is either too pretentious or too sophisticated for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.
July 26, 2022
Flock Without Birds by Filip Dousek is an interesting concept followed by an interesting concept. Admittedly, unless you are an academic, the idea of picking up a book about a data scientist or a mathematician sounds like a massive chore. A painful experience for any right-brain creative type. But that right there is sort of the plot of much of this book. A young man with a science-based mind doing his best to cope with being a young man and finding a life and study balance. It is a concept many of us have had to wrangle.
However, we are also presented with other philosophical ideas. Is God dead? Did he ever exist? Did science kill other gods as well? Are we all just worshiping the leftovers of some dead cult? None of this will be answered for you when you read this book. What this book will give you, however, is a thought-provoking adventure as you read the story from the narration of young Adam by his older self, complemented by data analysis and old-world minds.
I will not try to tell you this is the perfect book for everyone. But it is a delightful view into a talented writer’s mind and worth picking up.
However, we are also presented with other philosophical ideas. Is God dead? Did he ever exist? Did science kill other gods as well? Are we all just worshiping the leftovers of some dead cult? None of this will be answered for you when you read this book. What this book will give you, however, is a thought-provoking adventure as you read the story from the narration of young Adam by his older self, complemented by data analysis and old-world minds.
I will not try to tell you this is the perfect book for everyone. But it is a delightful view into a talented writer’s mind and worth picking up.
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