Umberto Eco on why we love lists

10) Eco explains why a painting in a frame is like a list. 9) He remarks on why he recently felt like a character in a Dan Brown novel. 8) He finds a reason to mention the platypus. 7) He tells us why Google is a tragedy for the young. 6) He discusses why he doesn’t catalogue his 50,000 books. 5) He refuses to list his likes and dislikes. 4) He puts himself in the mind of Homer composing the Illiad. 3) He touches on exactly how many women Don Giovanni slept with. 2) He touts the Renaissance workshop as a model for education. 1) He says we make up lists because we don’t want to die.

Spiegel Online