As I Have Often Said, Electrons And

Indeed, There Is Something To Be Said For The Old Math When Taught By A Poorly Trained Teacher. He Can, At Least, Get Across The Fundamental Rules Of Calculation Without Too Much Confusion. The Same Teacher Trying To Teach New Math Is Apt To Get Across Nothing At All.

One Day, When I Was Doing Well In Class And Had Finished My Lessons, I Was Sitting There Trying To Analyze The Game Of Tic-tac-toe... The Teacher Came Along And Snatched My Papers On Which I Had Been Doodling... She Did Not Realize That Analyzing Tic-tac-toe Can Lead Into Dozens Of Non-trivial Mathematical Questions.

The Last Level Of Metaphor In The Alice Books Is This: That Life, Viewed Rationally And Without Illusion, Appears To Be A Nonsense Tale Told By An Idiot Mathematician. At The Heart Of Things Science Finds Only A Mad, Never-ending Quadrille Of Mock Turtle Waves And Gryphon Particles. For A Moment The Waves And Particles Dance In Grotesque, Inconceivably Complex Patterns Capable Of Reflecting On Their Own Absurdity.

The Violence And Double-talk In The Alice Books Probably Does No Harm To Children, But The Novels Should Not Be Allowed To Circulate Indiscriminately Among Adults Who Are Undergoing Analysis.

Speaking About Symmetry, Look Out Our Window, And You May See A Cardinal Attacking Its Reflection In The Window. The Cardinal Is The Only Bird We Have Who Often Does This. If It Has A Nest Nearby, The Cardinal Thinks There Is Another Cardinal Trying To Invade Its Territory. It Never Realizes It Is Attacking Its Own Reflection. Cardinals Don't Know Much About Mirror Symmetry!