Chapter 6, The First Hebrew Algebra, part 1

The first Hebrew algebra is called Mosaism, from the name of Moses the Liberator, who was its great Incarnation, or Singular Solution. It ought hardly to be called an algebra: it is the master-key of all algebras, the great central director for all who wish to learn how to get into right relations to the unknown, so that they can make algebras for themselves. Its great keynotes are these: When you do not know something, and wish to know it, state that you do not know it, and keep that fact well in front of you. When you make a provisional hypothesis, state that it is so, and keep that fact well in front of you. While you are trying out that provisional hypothesis, do not allow yourself to think, or other people to talk to you, about any other hypothesis. Always remember that the use of algebra is to free people from bondage. For instance, in the case of number: Children do their numeration, their “carrying,” in tens, because primitive man had nothing to do sums with but his ten fingers.

Many children grow superstitious, and think that you cannot carry except in tens; or that it is wrong to carry in anything but tens. The use of algebra is to free them from bondage to all this superstitious nonsense, and help them to see that the numbers would come just as right if we carried in eights or twelves or twenties. It is a little difficult to do this at first, because we are not accustomed to it; but algebra helps to get over our stiffness and set habits and to do numeration on any basis that suits the matter we are dealing with.