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Literary notes about calculable (AI summary)

The term "calculable" in literature is often employed to denote that certain phenomena or values can be precisely measured or quantified, whether in tangible or abstract terms. In some instances, as in [1] and [2], the word appears in contexts highlighting exact measurements—be it the dividends of a speech or formulas rendered manageable by mathematical devices—emphasizing a clear, almost mechanical precision. Conversely, authors such as Herzl in [3] and Santayana in [4] and [5] use "calculable" to explore the limits of quantification in human experience and societal constructs, suggesting that while numerical or temporal measurements can be made, they may not capture the full essence of more complex realities. Moreover, thinkers like Nietzsche in [6] and [7] challenge the assumption that calculability entails necessity, inviting readers to question whether the measurable is inherently essential. Thus, across these diverse contexts, "calculable" operates as a nuanced term that oscillates between the clarity of measurable facts and the ambiguity inherent in human judgment and existence.
  1. See how many times this occurrence happens in that space of time and you have reached a calculable dividend.
    — from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein
  2. Employment of an auxiliary angle to render the formulas calculable by logarithms.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  3. These are, of course, purely calculable matters.
    — from The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl
  4. But is it really the office of religion to work upon external powers and extract from them certain calculable effects?
    — from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana
  5. The disorder of such experience is still a spontaneous disorder; it has not discovered how calculable are its unpremeditated shocks.
    — from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana
  6. Because something is calculable, is it therefore on that account necessary?
    — from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche
  7. Things are calculable precisely owing to the fact that there is no possibility of their being otherwise than they are.
    — from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche

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