Umberto explained in an interview that lists are often seen as relics of primitive cultures-simplistic devices that don’t belong in our modern day and age. What does culture want? To make infinity comprehensible… And how, as a human being, does one face infinity? How does one attempt to grasp the incomprehensible? Through lists… It’s part of the history of art and literature. Philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco is a big fan of lists and has some fascinating ideas about why they’re so important to humans: The list is the origin of culture. Why do we make lists as humans in the first place? Now, although I don’t remember the book that well, I do see much more significance in the humble list-especially after researching where they come from and why we make lists.Īs I researched this post I realised how hard it is to pinpoint the origin of something as simple and widespread as the list (to-do or otherwise), but I did find out some interesting stories about how lists have been used in the past and why we find them useful in everyday life. At the time I didn’t read any more into it besides the fact that this was an odd hobby for a pre-teen girl to spend so much time on. It’s about a young girl who uses lists to organize and make sense of her life.
When I was a kid, I read a book called The Listmaker. Wherever you look in cultural history, you will find lists.
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