Dear Geometers,

Yesterday we classified triangles and I was adamant that a triangle is never, ever a triangle just because it looks like a triangle; it’s a triangle because it has the properties of a triangle. 

Because a triangle is an idea more than a real thing. Sure, they may show up in the real world and they can be useful for explaining the real world, but when we’re in geometry class we live in the world of ideas. It’s a sandbox of perfection and order and rules and proofs. 

And the geometer’s sandbox is a fun place to play around, test things out, and exist in an alternate reality of ideas, far away from our real world of complexity and limits.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt