Reading about Islam recently, I found this passage particularly fascinating - on the structure of the Qur'an. I won't try to talk about this text, for fear of offending by appearing to lessen its import by simply talking 'non-linear structure' or making some crass analogy on information organisation or code, but I found the following a really interesting notion:
"It is not a 'linear' text with a chronological order or a 'logical' beginning, middle and an end. It is a rhythmic prose, epic poem and symphony all rolled into one sublime text. The whole text, containing 114 chapters or surahs, with a total of 6,236 verses, thus has a lattice structure which connects every word with every other word by rhythm, rhyme and meaning. The structure of the Qur'an ensures that not a single dot of its text can be changed, for even the minutest change simply throws the text out of sync. It is because of its special structure, the interlocking character of each word and verse, the eloquence and beauty of its language and the precision, economy and subtlety of its style, that the Qur'an is said to be 'inimitable'"
