Umberto Eco tracking down a book in his massive library is your new competence porn.

By Jessie Gaynor

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January 21, 2021, 3:36pm

The late Umberto Eco—professor, novelist, children’s book author—was a man of many talents. One of which, as seen in a video clip posted on Twitter by writer Ted Gioia, was quickly finding books in his famously massive personal library.

I once got to meet Umberto Eco—who was very memorable. But this film clip of him tracking down a book in his personal library makes him seem all the more impressive. pic.twitter.com/HPbcZq9TyB

— Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) January 19, 2021

The speed with which he beelines directly for the book is especially impressive given that the library was home to 30,000 books. The video looks like one of those long tracking shots in movies that people are always losing their shit over, but it’s also the kind of gentle suspense that I find extremely satisfying right now. Will he find it? Is he going to find it?? Will he take a wrong turn and have to backtrack and then forget what he was looking for and get distracted and decide to go get a snack???

But in the end, Eco prevails. Like a competent king.

[h/t BoingBoing]