The next fundamental assumption of the Pythagoreans lies much deeper, so deep in fact that civilized man can scarcely hope to fetch it up to the full light of reason. Odd numbers are male; even numbers, female. We can only ask why, expecting no answer except possibly a hesitant allusion to a vestigial phallicism or a forgotten Orphism.


The Magic of Numbers, Chapter 14 (p. 155), McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. 1946

Eric Temple Bell Quotes

The next fundamental assumption of the Pythagoreans lies much deeper, so deep in fact that civilized man can scarcely hope to fetch it up to the full ...

The next fundamental assumption of the Pythagoreans lies much deeper, so deep in fact that civilized man can scarcely hope to fetch it up to the full ...

The next fundamental assumption of the Pythagoreans lies much deeper, so deep in fact that civilized man can scarcely hope to fetch it up to the full ...

The next fundamental assumption of the Pythagoreans lies much deeper, so deep in fact that civilized man can scarcely hope to fetch it up to the full ...