Where does it say mentats in the Dune series "cultivate the naive mind"?

October 27, 2005 9:39 PM

Which Dune novel or novels by Frank Herbert or his successors refers to mentats as cultivating "the naive mind"? The only place I can find it is in the Wikipedia article on mentats (endlessly cloned around the Web).
posted by rwhe to media & arts (8 comments total)

By the way, I realise the answer may be "None!".
posted by rwhe at 9:58 PM on October 27, 2005

According to Amazon's Search Inside, it looks like the answer is none. I didn't search in any of the non-herbert dune books though.
posted by willnot at 11:51 PM on October 27, 2005

I've read all of the books within the last year or two, and I don't remember anything talking about cultivating "the naive mind".

That doesn't mean it's not there, though. But I've read them multiple times and it still doesn't sound familiar.

There's plenty of anecdotal and subjective evidence that indicates the mentat state as being either a drug-induced fugue, an autistic state or an idiot-savant state - or all of the above.
posted by loquacious at 12:23 AM on October 28, 2005

Try the discussion page - you might attract the attention of whoever added that particular bit.
posted by edd at 3:24 AM on October 28, 2005

I seem to remember there being a quote at the beginning of the chapter in one of the later books of the original series (I think Heretics of Dune) in which there is a discussion of how mentats view the world, and that their answers always result in more questions. I think it ended with "See, more questions!"

I don't remember seeing the actual quote "the naive mind" anywhere in the original series.
posted by cog_nate at 6:17 AM on October 28, 2005

In Chapterhouse Dune, Rebecca's husband says, “You know what my Third Stage instructor said? ‘Know nothing! Learn to be totally naive.’ ”

But he was a Truthsay, not a Mentat.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:49 AM on October 28, 2005

I also don't remember that phrase. But in Chapterhouse, Teg is describing to Duncan how he was once caught on the name-chain and the hall of mirrors, and he uses the phrase "Is this Mind at its beginning?"
posted by sbutler at 8:59 AM on October 28, 2005

It may be a quote from the Dune Encyclopedia (long out of print).
posted by neckro23 at 10:29 AM on October 28, 2005