Reaching into the Universe's Guts
Jordan Ellenberg on the thrill of understanding, illustrated by a grinning figure holding a glowing light bulb.
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Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.
Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2024-01-01-reaching-into-the-universe-s-guts/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
"The sensation of mathematical understanding – of suddenly knowing what's going on, with total certainty, all the way to the bottom – is a special thing… You feel you've reached into the universe's guts and put your hand on the wire." – Jordan Ellenberg [A delighted figure holds a lit bulb]