Article June 28, 1982 Issue

Lessons from mathematics

STANLEY W. MORSE

When I started studying algebra, I did very poorly in homework. I couldn't see any relationship between the instructor's lectures, the textbook material, and the homework problems I was assigned. One day the instructor requested that I stay after school. He greeted me with, "We are going to stay here—all night if necessary—until you learn that correct application of the rules always brings the right answers." That day I began to see that he was right. From then on, algebra and, later, higher studies in mathematics were fun to work out.

I gleaned valuable lessons from this early encounter and found that they translated for me into my study and application of metaphysical truths:

Lesson 1. Correct application of rules brings right answers. The following example was proof for me. Upon completion of basic training in the army, we were given a rigorous expert infantryman's test. At noon, after a short rest, the captain said: "Everybody up. We're going to run two miles with full field equipment, including rifles." I was so tired I felt I couldn't follow the order.

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