PRECISION

Two people are traveling in a balloon over a landscape unknown to them.
“Where are we?” one calls down to a passerby.
The passerby looks carefully at them and finally yells back, “You’re on a balloon!”
“He must be a mathematician,” says one of the travelers to the other.
“Why is that?”
“First, he thought awhile before answering. Second, his answer is absolutely precise. And third, it’s utterly useless.”

Table of Contents -- 6/21/97