Il faut que vienne le temps de l’évidence. Dieu doit nous être montré comme deux et deux font quatre.
René Barjavel (La faim du tigre, Folio n° 847)
On a bien le temps d’être dans un cimetière.
Érik Satie (Écrits réunis par Ornella Volta, Éditions Champ Libre, 1981, p. 171)
Rien ne sait regarder pleurer comme un vieux chien !
Edmond Rostand (Chantecler, p.240, Éd. Fasquelle, 1927)
All metaphor aside, geometry class is by far the most mentally and emotionally destructive component of the entire K-12 mathematics curriculum. Other math courses may hide the beautiful bird, or put it in a cage, but in geometry class it is openly and cruelly tortured. (Apparently I am incapable of putting all metaphor aside.)
What is happening is the systematic undermining of the students intuition. A proof, that is, a mathematical argument, is a work of fiction, a poem. Its goal is to satisfy. A beautiful proof should explain, and it should explain clearly, deeply, and elegantly. A well-written, well-crafted argument should feel like a splash of cool water, and be a beacon of light it should refresh the spirit and illuminate the mind. And it should be charming.
Paul Lockhart (A Mathematician’s Lament, p.68, Bellevue literacy press, 2009)
Il est dur d’ignorer les secrets d’une amie.
Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel (L’Amant bourru, acte 3, sc. 5 (La marquise), 1775)