Summary
Gulliver finally escapes Laputa and lands in Balnibarbi, where he meets Lord Munodi, a refreshingly practical nobleman who becomes his guide. Unlike the abstract mathematicians above, Munodi shows genuine interest in Gulliver's experiences and treats him with real kindness. But as they tour the country, Gulliver discovers a troubling pattern: the cities are crumbling, the people look desperate, and the farmland lies barren despite excellent soil. The mystery deepens when they visit Munodi's estate, which stands out like an oasis of prosperity with well-maintained buildings, thriving crops, and content workers. Munodi reveals the devastating truth: forty years ago, visitors returned from Laputa obsessed with revolutionary new methods for everything from agriculture to construction. They established academies of 'projectors' throughout the kingdom, promising that one person could do the work of ten and palaces could be built in a week. The catch? None of these miraculous innovations actually work. While the entire country pursues these failed experiments, practical farmers like Munodi who stick to proven methods are scorned as backward and ignorant. Even Munodi faces pressure to abandon his successful traditional approaches or be seen as an enemy of progress. Swift's satire cuts deep here, showing how the pursuit of innovation for its own sake can destroy functioning systems. The chapter exposes the dangerous gap between theoretical brilliance and practical results, and how social pressure can make people abandon what works in favor of what sounds impressive.
Coming Up in Chapter 21
Gulliver is about to visit the Grand Academy of Lagado, where he'll witness firsthand the bizarre experiments that have brought a nation to ruin. Prepare for some of literature's most memorable examples of science gone wrong.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The author leaves Laputa; is conveyed to Balnibarbi; arrives at the metropolis. A description of the metropolis, and the country adjoining. The author hospitably received by a great lord. His conversation with that lord. Although I cannot say that I was ill treated in this island, yet I must confess I thought myself too much neglected, not without some degree of contempt; for neither prince nor people appeared to be curious in any part of knowledge, except mathematics and music, wherein I was far their inferior, and upon that account very little regarded. On the other side, after having seen all the curiosities of the island, I was very desirous to leave it, being heartily weary of those people. They were indeed excellent in two sciences for which I have great esteem, and wherein I am not unversed; but, at the same time, so abstracted and involved in speculation, that I never met with such disagreeable companions. I conversed only with women, tradesmen, flappers, and court-pages, during two months of my abode there; by which, at last, I rendered myself extremely contemptible; yet these were the only people from whom I could ever receive a reasonable answer. I had obtained, by hard study, a good degree of knowledge in their language; I was weary of being confined to an island where I received so little countenance, and resolved to leave it with the first opportunity. There was a great lord at court, nearly related to the king, and for that reason alone used with respect. He was universally reckoned the most ignorant and stupid person among them. He had performed many eminent services for the crown, had great natural and acquired parts, adorned with integrity and honour; but so ill an ear for music, that his detractors reported, “he had been often known to beat time in the wrong place;” neither could his tutors, without extreme difficulty, teach him to demonstrate the most easy proposition in the mathematics. He was pleased to show me many marks of favour, often did me the honour of a visit, desired to be informed in the affairs of Europe, the laws and customs, the manners and learning of the several countries where I had travelled. He listened to me with great attention, and made very wise observations on all I spoke. He had two flappers attending him for state, but never made use of them, except at court and in visits of ceremony, and would always command them to withdraw, when we were alone together. I entreated this illustrious person, to intercede in my behalf with his majesty, for leave to depart; which he accordingly did, as he was pleased to tell me, with regret: for indeed he had made me several offers very advantageous, which, however, I refused, with expressions of the highest acknowledgment. On the 16th day of February I took leave of his majesty and the court. The king made me a present to the value of about two hundred pounds...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Innovation Trap
When pursuing new methods becomes more important than achieving actual results, functional systems get destroyed in favor of impressive-sounding failures.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to distinguish between genuine improvements and impressive-sounding changes that actually make things worse.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone promotes a 'revolutionary' solution—ask yourself if they can show concrete results from similar situations, not just theoretical benefits.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Projectors
In Swift's time, these were people who promoted grand schemes and experimental projects, often impractical ones that promised miraculous results. They were early venture capitalists and inventors rolled into one, usually more interested in theory than practical outcomes.
Modern Usage:
We see this in tech bros promising to revolutionize everything, MLM schemes, and any consultant selling a 'disruptive' solution that sounds too good to be true.
Academy of Sciences
Institutions where learned men gathered to conduct experiments and develop new knowledge. Swift is satirizing the Royal Society of London, which sometimes pursued bizarre experiments alongside legitimate scientific work.
Modern Usage:
Think tanks, research institutes, and university departments that sometimes get so caught up in theoretical work they lose touch with real-world applications.
Abstracted and involved in speculation
People so lost in theoretical thinking and abstract ideas that they can't function in everyday life. They're brilliant in their narrow field but useless at practical tasks or normal conversation.
Modern Usage:
The PhD who can't figure out how to change a tire, or the programmer who builds amazing code but can't explain it to anyone else.
Countenance
Support, approval, or favorable treatment from people in power. In this context, it means being taken seriously and treated with respect rather than being dismissed or ignored.
Modern Usage:
Getting buy-in from your boss, having your ideas actually listened to in meetings, or being included in important decisions.
Innovation for innovation's sake
The dangerous tendency to change working systems simply because change seems progressive or modern, without considering whether the new way actually works better than the old way.
Modern Usage:
Companies that constantly reorganize just to seem dynamic, schools that adopt every new teaching fad, or apps that redesign their interface every year for no real improvement.
Traditional methods vs. new science
The conflict between proven, time-tested ways of doing things and experimental new approaches. Swift shows how social pressure can make people abandon what works for what sounds impressive.
Modern Usage:
Experienced nurses being told to follow protocols designed by people who've never worked a floor, or farmers pressured to use expensive new techniques that don't actually improve yields.
Characters in This Chapter
Gulliver
Frustrated observer
Finally escapes the impractical mathematicians of Laputa and finds relief in meeting someone who values practical knowledge and real conversation. His frustration with being dismissed by the academics resonates throughout the chapter.
Modern Equivalent:
The experienced worker who gets ignored in meetings full of consultants with fancy degrees
Lord Munodi
Practical mentor figure
A refreshingly down-to-earth nobleman who treats Gulliver with genuine respect and curiosity. He represents traditional wisdom and practical knowledge, successfully managing his estate while the rest of the country fails with experimental methods.
Modern Equivalent:
The old-school manager who actually knows how things work and treats people with respect
The Projectors
Misguided innovators
Though not directly present in this chapter, their influence is everywhere in the ruined landscape. They represent the danger of pursuing theoretical solutions without testing them in the real world.
Modern Equivalent:
Management consultants who promise revolutionary changes but have never actually done the job themselves
The Laputans
Dismissive intellectuals
The mathematical obsessives Gulliver just escaped from, who treated him with contempt because he couldn't match their abstract knowledge, even though their knowledge has no practical application.
Modern Equivalent:
Academics or experts who look down on anyone who doesn't speak their specialized language
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I never met with such disagreeable companions"
Context: Describing the Laputans after spending two months trying to have normal conversations with them
This captures the frustration of dealing with people who are brilliant in their narrow field but impossible to connect with as human beings. Swift is criticizing intellectuals who lose touch with common humanity.
In Today's Words:
These people were impossible to talk to - smart maybe, but totally out of touch with reality
"These were the only people from whom I could ever receive a reasonable answer"
Context: Explaining that he could only have normal conversations with women, tradesmen, and servants - not the learned men
Swift points out that practical people who do real work often have more wisdom than those with fancy titles and theoretical knowledge. It's a dig at academic pretension.
In Today's Words:
The only people who made any sense were the ones actually doing the work, not the ones with the fancy degrees
"The cities lie in ruins, and the people look desperate"
Context: Gulliver's first impression of Balnibarbi after leaving the theoretical world of Laputa
This stark contrast shows the real-world consequences of abandoning practical methods for untested theories. The physical decay reflects the intellectual and social decay caused by impractical innovation.
In Today's Words:
Everything was falling apart and people looked miserable
Thematic Threads
Social Pressure
In This Chapter
Munodi faces scorn for using traditional farming methods that actually work, while failed innovations are celebrated as progressive
Development
Evolution from Lilliput's court politics—now showing how group pressure can override obvious evidence
In Your Life:
You might feel pressured to adopt workplace trends or parenting methods that don't fit your situation just to appear current
Class
In This Chapter
Intellectual theories from the floating elite destroy practical prosperity on the ground, creating visible class division between thinkers and workers
Development
Deepening from earlier books—now showing how abstract knowledge can become a tool of class oppression
In Your Life:
You might notice how people with advanced degrees sometimes dismiss practical experience or common-sense solutions
Identity
In This Chapter
Munodi struggles with being seen as backward despite his obvious success, questioning whether to maintain his identity as a practical person
Development
Continuing Gulliver's theme of identity crisis, but now showing how external pressure can make you doubt your own competence
In Your Life:
You might question your own judgment when everyone around you embraces something that doesn't feel right to you
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Munodi shows genuine kindness to Gulliver while others are obsessed with their theories, demonstrating how practical people often make better companions
Development
Contrasting with the cold intellectualism of Laputa—showing that warmth and practicality often go together
In Your Life:
You might notice that the most helpful people in your life are often those focused on real problems rather than abstract ideas
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why is Lord Munodi's estate thriving while the rest of Balnibarbi is falling apart?
analysis • surface - 2
What happens when an entire society adopts innovations that sound good but don't actually work?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people abandoning proven methods for trendy new approaches that create more problems than they solve?
application • medium - 4
How do you distinguish between genuine innovation and fashionable complexity in your own life decisions?
application • deep - 5
Why is it socially risky to stick with what works when everyone else is chasing the latest trend?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Innovation vs. Tradition Audit
Think of three areas in your life where you've been pressured to adopt new methods or technologies. For each one, write down what the old way accomplished, what the new way promises, and what it actually delivers. Then decide: are you keeping the change, going back, or finding a hybrid approach?
Consider:
- •Consider whether the pressure to change came from genuine problems or social expectations
- •Look for gaps between what was promised and what you actually experienced
- •Think about whether you're afraid to go back to old methods because of how others might judge you
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you stuck with a traditional approach while others chased a trend. What happened, and what did you learn about trusting your own judgment?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 21: The Academy of Absurd Experiments
As the story unfolds, you'll explore to spot when institutions prioritize appearing smart over being useful, while uncovering some experts get so lost in theory they forget practical reality. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.