Print: Applying Quantitative Analysis to Classic Lit
If Google has its way, all of English literature will one day exist as searchable digital text. Franco Moretti, a Stanford English professor, wants to be ready for the deluge with new kinds of questions and new tools to answer them — things like computational linguistics, data mining, computer modeling, and network theory. Moretti is already famous in bookish circles for his data-centric approach to novels, which he graphs, maps, and charts.
