science

The Ninth Configuration

The Ninth Configuration is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Ninth Configuration rather than just read about it. In short: The Ninth Configuration (also known as Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane) is a 1980 American surrealist psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by William Peter Blatty, in his directorial debut. It is the second installment in Blatty's "Trilogy of Faith" after The Exorcist (1973), and followed by The Exorcist III (1990).

Key takeaways

The Ninth Configuration belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Ninth Configuration to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Ninth Configuration from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Ninth Configuration (also known as Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane) is a 1980 American surrealist psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by William Peter Blatty, in his directorial debut. It is the second installment in Blatty's "Trilogy of Faith" after The Exorcist (1973), and followed by The Exorcist III (1990). The film is based on Blatty's 1978 novel The Ninth Configuration, which was itself a reworking of his 1966 novel Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane!. The first half of the film has the predominant tone and style of a comic farce. In the second half, the film becomes darker as it delves deeper into its central issues of human suffering, sacrifice and faith. The film also frequently blurs the line between the sane and insane. The film received positive reviews from critics, and was recognized with the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and two other nominations at the 38th Golden Globe Awards.

Plot In the early 1970s, towards the end of the Vietnam War, a castle in the Pacific Northwest is used by the US government as an insane asylum for military personnel. Among the patients is former astronaut Billy Cutshaw, who aborted a Moon launch and was dragged screaming from the capsule, suffering from an apparent mental breakdown. Colonel Hudson Kane, a former member of a USMC special unit, arrives at the castle to take over the treatment of the patients. Colonel Fell helps Kane acclimatise himself to the eccentricities of the patients. Kane eventually talks to Cutshaw, who refuses to answer why he did not want to go to the Moon. Instead, he gives Kane a St. Christopher medal. Lieutenant Reno, who is there attempting to stage Shakespeare plays with a cast of dogs, suspects that Kane is crazy himself. Meanwhile, Kane constantly has nightmares of his brother Vincent, a former patient and murderer who is now dead. Cutshaw talks with Kane again, and they debate God and the idea of a divine plan. Kane, who believes that the existence of a God is far more likely than humanity's having emerged from "random chance", argues that deeds of pure self-sacrifice are proof of human goodness, which can only be explained by divine purpose. Cutshaw demands that Kane recall one concrete example of pure self-sacrifice from his personal experience; Kane is unable. Kane takes Cutshaw to a church service, which Cutshaw interrupts with several outbursts, and Kane momentarily hallucinates. After returning to the castle, Cutshaw thanks Kane and asks him to send him a sign as proof of an afterlife should Kane die first. Kane promises to try. Kane then meets with a new patient who calls him "Killer Kane". Kane flashes back to Vietnam, where he killed a young boy. The soldier urges Kane to leave, and he screams. In the present, Kane collapses, unconscious. Fell explains to the staff that Kane is Vincent "Killer" Kane and suffered a breakdown in Vietnam. When Fell, who is Kane's brother Hudson, was dispatched back to America, Kane received the dispatch by accident. Kane created a new persona for himself – a healer, like his brother. Subconsciously hoping to heal people to make up for his "murders", Kane returned to the US as his brother. Realizing Kane's mental state, the Army psychiatric staff maintained the charade and sent him to Fell's hospital under the pretext of being its commanding officer. In reality, Fell has been the commanding officer all along. Kane awakens and remembers nothing of the incident. Cutshaw escapes the castle and visits a bar. A biker gang recognizes Cutshaw from news reports and brutalizes him. A waitress contacts the hospital, and Kane arrives to retrieve Cutshaw. Kane humbles himself to the bikers to extricate Cutshaw, but the bikers are disgusted by his behavior and assault him. The gang attempts to rape Cutshaw, causing Kane to snap and kill most of them with his bare hands. Kane and Cutshaw return to the castle, and the police arrive to arrest Kane for the murders at the bar. Fell interjects and tells the police officers that Kane must stay because he was provoked. Cutshaw later visits Kane. Dreamy and distant, Kane mumbles to Cutshaw about God and proof of human goodness before passing out. Cutshaw reveals that he did not want to go to the Moon because he was terrified of being alone in space. Cutshaw's admission appears to resurrect some lucidity within himself. As Cutshaw leaves, Kane's hand drops a bloodied knife. Outside Kane's room, Cutshaw notices blood on his shoe. Rushing back in, Cutshaw discovers that Kane had actually been injured in the bar fight and refused to get help, effectively committing suicide to provide proof of human goodness. Some time later, Cutshaw returns to uniform and visits the now-abandoned castle. After reading a note left by Kane, which expresses hope that his sacrifice will shock Cutshaw back to sanity, Cutshaw finds a Saint Christopher's medal has somehow appeared in his car. He turns it over to confirm whether it was the one he gave to Kane and silently rejoices at what he sees.

Cast

Background William Peter Blatty's novel Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane! was first published in 1966. Blatty said: "I considered it a comic novel, but a great deal of philosophy and theology crept into it. But the farcical elements outweighed the serious elements." Blatty adapted the novel into a screenplay, and intended for it to be filmed by William Friedkin. Blatty said that the script "was what you might call bizarre material. I had hoped to direct it myself. But after seeing The Night They Raided Minsky's I thought the script would be safe with Friedkin. I sent it along to him. He liked it. But we couldn't find a studio that liked it." Blatty and Friedkin would later collaborate on the film version of The Exorcist (1973), with Blatty as screenwriter/producer and Friedkin as director, before Blatty returned to Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane! In lieu of filming the novel, Blatty decided to rewrite it: "After The Exorcist, I decided that I could develop the story a great deal. So I rewrote it and fleshed it out, Cutshaw became the astronaut in The Exorcist that Regan warns about going into outer space and fully developed the deeper implications and theological themes." The rewritten version of Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane! was published in 1978 under the title The Ninth Configuration. In his introduction to the 1978 novel, Blatty wrote:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

The Ninth Configuration: General release poster of the film as Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane — General release poster of the film as Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Ninth Configuration

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Ninth Configuration claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Ninth Configuration before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Ninth Configuration ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Ninth Configuration

In research: The Ninth Configuration appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Ninth Configuration in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Ninth Configuration is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1980 American films, 1980 English-language films, 1980 comedy films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Ninth Configuration outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Ninth Configuration in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Ninth Configuration means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Ninth Configuration out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Ninth Configuration in simple terms?

Why does The Ninth Configuration matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Ninth Configuration?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Ninth Configuration.