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Ernst Eduard Kummer (1810-1893), a German algebraist, was rather poor at arithmetic. Whenever he had occasion to do simple arithmetic in class, he would get his students to help him. Once he had to find 7 x 9.  "Seven times nine," he began, "Seven times nine is er -- ah --- ah -- seven times nine is. . . ."  "Sixty-one," a student suggested. Kummer wrote 61 on the board.  "Sir," said another student, "it should be sixty-nine."  "Come, come, gentlemen, it can't be both," Kummer exclaimed. "It must be one or the other."

You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 06:04:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
When out to dinner, Caltech students reportedly have a rule that the youngest non-math major figures out the bill, as math majors are hopeless.

Now what was your point again?

See Vedic Mathematics.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 06:08:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Presumably, your point is that either he is right, or he is wrong? Such narrow-mindedness...

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 06:12:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The point is whatever you wish it to be ;-)

I really do not want to incur your wrath again. But I am simply trying to represent an alternative point of view that I believe to be important and, in the long run, contribute to defining what change should be - because I think we can all agree that 'changing the game' is what we are all about. We just disagree on the methods.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 04:46:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Sheesh, do you always have to weasel out of your own traps? If you post a parable in the middle of an argument there must be a point that you were trying to make. And you say you were trying to represent a point of view. Which is it? I still don't get it, I must be thick. Spell your point out for me.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 04:56:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Why shouldn't I weasel out of the trap? I want to survive - like you ;-)

I cannot spell it out. As several have argued, maybe you don't have to get it, but be it or do it.

Or maybe I can - in another frustrating manner. You insist on reason. I insist on poetry. You insist on boxing. I insist on wrestling. You insist on the external. I insist on the internal. You like sanity. I like insanity. You like logic, I like anomalies.

But the only real difference between us (the above are not real differences in the human scale of love), is that you are not me.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 05:20:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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