the same and the other, n.All

The Same and the Other (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an age-old distinction that Borges's Chinese encyclopedia shattered with laughter, breaking up the ordered surfaces with which we tame the wild profusion of things.

The Same and the Other (n.) can ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠differ in two ways: qualitatively, as states of consciousness that are many without being countable, or quantitatively, as terms laid out to be counted.