It was long ago, in my school years, when √-1 happened to me. My memory of it is clearly carved: a bright spherical hall, hundreds of round, little-boy heads, and Pliapa, our mathematics teacher. We called him Pliapa—he was rather vintage and disheveled, and when the monitor inserted his plug from behind, the loudspeaker started up “Plya-plya-plya-tshhhhh,” and then the lesson began. One day, Pliapa explained “irrational numbers” and I remember I wept, I beat my fists upon the table and wailed: “I don’t want √-1 ! Take √-1 out of me!” This irrational root had sunk into me, like something
...more
