Students
Teachers & SchoolsStudents
Teachers & SchoolsScience
We see lots of different science in this book: both the Lilliputians and Gulliver are pretty good with mechanics and engineering, the Brobdingnagians emphasize practical scientific education, and the Laputians favor math and music over all other subjects. What really seems to matter to Gulliver is how that science is applied. He doesn't think much of knowledge for its own sake or excessively abstract speculation. After all, as his time in Laputa teaches us, what's the point of a mathematical equation for tailoring if the suit that comes out of it fits wrong and looks bad?
The Projectors' position on the continent of Balnibarbi, rather than on the floating island of Laputa, indicates that their goals are more practical than those of the Laputian mathematicians.
Avoiding the extremes of the Laputian mathematicians, the Houyhnhnms balance mental and physical development by strictly controlling the diet and exercise of their children until they reach adulthood.