Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read(s)
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) -- or less or more -- “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
“But that would mean it was originally a sideways number eight. That
makes no sense at all. Unless..." She paused as understanding dawned.
"You think it was the symbol for infinity?"
"Yes, but not the usual
one. A special variant. Do you see how one line doesn't fully connect in
the middle? That's Euler's infinity symbol. Absolutus infinitus."
"How is it different from the usual one?"
"Back
in the eighteenth century, there were certain mathematical calculations
no one could perform because they involved series of infinite numbers.
The problem with infinity, of course, is that you can't come up with a
final answer when the numbers keep increasing forever. But a
mathematician named Leonhard Euler found a way to treat infinity as if
it were a finite number- and that allowed him to do things in
mathematical analysis that had never been done before." Tom inclined his
head toward the date stone. "My guess is whoever chiseled that symbol
was a mathematician or scientist."
"If it were my date stone," Cassandra said dryly, "I'd prefer the entwined hearts. At least I would understand what it means."
"No,
this is much better than hearts," Tom exclaimed, his expression more
earnest than any she'd seen from him before. "Linking their names with
Euler's infinity symbol means..." He paused, considering how best to
explain it. "The two of them formed a complete unit... a togetherness...
that contained infinity. Their marriage had a beginning and end, but
every day of it was filled with forever. It's a beautiful concept." He
paused before adding awkwardly, "Mathematically speaking.”
