A Comparative Analysis of The Endless Myth and the Works of Rudy Rucker
Infinity Through Myth and Mathematics
The novel The Endless Myth and the body of work by mathematician and science fiction writer Rudy Rucker both place infinity, reality, and world structure at the centre of their narratives. While The Endless Myth depicts a world sustained by myth and belief, Rucker’s fiction explores reality through mathematics, computation, and information theory.
At first glance, these approaches appear fundamentally opposed. Yet both ask the same essential question: why does the world continue to exist at all? This article compares The Endless Myth and Rudy Rucker’s works to examine how myth and mathematics each construct their own versions of infinity.
Worldviews Compared: A Myth Closed by Meaning vs. a Universe Expanded by Calculation
The world of The Endless Myth is a closed structure defined by myth and faith. Gods exist because they are spoken of, and the world remains stable as long as its myths are believed. If meaning collapses, the world itself collapses with it.
In contrast, Rudy Rucker’s novels such as White Light, Software, and Wetware present reality as a mathematical and computational structure. The universe is not fixed; it multiplies, transforms, and reproduces through calculation, recursion, and copying.
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The Endless Myth: a world closed by meaning
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Rucker’s works: a world expanded by computation
Approaches to Infinity: Qualitative vs. Mathematical
The infinity depicted in The Endless Myth is qualitative. It arises from the continual retelling of myth. Infinity exists because stories refuse to end. It is sustained by belief itself.
Rucker’s infinity is mathematical and structural. Infinite sets, higher dimensions, and self-referential systems drive the narrative. Infinity is not mystical but something to be explored, tested, and understood.
The Human Position: Bearers of Myth vs. Components of a System
In The Endless Myth, humans sustain the world by believing in and retelling its myths. The protagonist, Messiah, is consumed as a symbol; individual freedom is secondary to narrative role.
In Rucker’s fiction, humanity itself is unstable. Consciousness can be copied, personalities can be uploaded, and identity becomes programmable. Humans are not guardians of meaning but elements within a system.
God and Transcendence
In The Endless Myth, gods depend on belief and narrative. They do not stand outside the world but are embedded within its structure.
In Rucker’s works, god-like entities resemble mathematical principles or computational limits rather than personalities. Transcendence appears as algorithms, recursion, or logical extremes. God becomes the boundary of computability, not an object of worship.
Philosophical Focus
The Endless Myth raises existential and religious questions:
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Why do humans need myths?
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Is a life bound by meaning a form of salvation or imprisonment?
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Does faith protect the world, or restrict it?
Rucker’s fiction poses epistemological and mathematical questions:
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Is reality computable?
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Can consciousness be reduced to information?
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Is infinity comprehensible?
Conclusion: Infinity of Meaning vs. Infinity of Structure
The Endless Myth and the works of Rudy Rucker depict two distinct forms of infinity:
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A myth that cannot end because meaning cannot be lost
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A universe that cannot end because its structure continuously reproduces itself
The former survives as long as humans continue to believe and narrate. The latter expands as long as calculation remains possible. Together, they reveal a deeper question: is infinity something we believe in, or something we attempt to understand?
Myth and mathematics. Emotion and logic. Both are endless human strategies for grasping a reality that refuses to be final.
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