Dear Thinkers,

Yesterday we learned about the philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes lying in bed and watching that fly zoom across his ceiling. He thought, “How can I accurately describe where that fly is located at each moment?” Presto, our coordinate grid system was born. 

It’s a very useful system that allows humans to better describe and understand our world. And that’s really what math and science is all about–creating models of our world so we can better understand it.

But sometimes we get it confused and think our models are the world. We think the fly is somehow aware of the coordinate grid we’ve trapped him in. But we’re only measurers and describers and weak-fingered graspers of a deeper reality.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt