Do you ever walk through a proof, understand each step, yet not believe the
theorem, not say ‘Yes, of course it’s true’? The analytic, logical, sequential
approach often does not convince one as well as does a carefully crafted
picture. This difference is no coincidence. The analytic, sequential portions
of our brain evolved with our capacity for language, which is perhaps 105
years old. Our pictorial, Gestalt hardware results from millions of years
of evolution of the visual system and cortex. In comparison to our visual
hardware, our symbolic, sequential hardware is an ill-developed latecomer.
Advertisers know that words alone do not convince you to waste money on
their clients’ junk, so they spend zillions on images. This principle, which has
higher applications, is the theme of this chapter.
http://ocw.mit.edu/NR/rdonlyres/Mathematics/18-098January--IAP--2008/FFEA8D92-1210-46A9-8D43-931D4A43D87C/0/sf_math.pdf
quote from Street Fighting Mathematics.
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