Page:Philosophy and Fun of Algebra.djvu/46

PHILOSOPHY AND FUN OF ALGEBRA some hypothetical basis which for the present will not suit us.

And here comes in the value of such formulæ as the Ten Commandments. They are the laws of the normal working of the brain machinery.

The angel (or imaginary messenger) suggests to you the one among possible working hypotheses on which your brain will most readily work. Now the formularies of which I spoke give you the laws of healthy brain action. Therefore, if the angel suggests something contrary to the registered formulæ, he is suggesting the hypothesis which you ought carefully to avoid thinking out or using at that time. It is of all paths towards disease the one which will lead you, in your present condition, most rapidly towards disease. But if the imaginary angel suggests nothing contrary to the formularies, then the image or idea which he suggests is likely to be one on which your mind for the time being can work safely, and the one along which it can work most easily and profitably.

When your imagination is acting strongly in providing you with working hypotheses, there are 42