[Crazy Jetty]

Excerpt from Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, by James Gurney:

Quote:

In Sauropolis, every idea is debated by two opposing sides, each with it's own distinctive garment. For example, the Spotters and the Liners argue endlessly about how we come to know what is true and real.
The Spotters' argument: "Each of us begins life like an empty white sheet. As we learn and grow, the blankness fills up with spots of personal experience. Every moment that we see or touch something new, we add another spot. In the end, all we know about the world is made up of these spots. There is no other way that we can develope a picture of the world." One of them plucked a jasmine blossom, inhaled it's fragrance, and offered it to the other side.

"So you say," returned one of the Liners. "But, how can you put so much trust in your senses? The moon appears to your eyes to be the size of an egg, but you know it to be bigger. How can you be sure, never having touched it? What is a number- have you tasted a seven? What is a circle? Is it the drawing on the paper, or the idea in your mind? Nothing is certain but pure thought. The lines on our capes reminds us of the narrow limits of perception. Our aim is to cross over the boundary that borders the realm of tchangable appearances into the everlasting forms that lie hidden from view. The flower you just gave us is already beginning to wither and turn to dust, but the idea of the flower is what matters, and it will live forever."

I'm a Liner.