"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."
"Since you are now studying geometry and trigonometry, I will give you a problem. A ship sails the ocean. It left Boston with a cargo of wool. It grosses 200 tons. It is bound for Le Havre. The mainmast is broken, the cabin boy is on deck, there are 12 passengers aboard, the wind is blowing East-North-East, the clock points to a quarter past three in the afternoon. It is the month of May. How old is the captain?"
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Source: Gustave Flaubert (2005). “November: Fragments in a Nondescript Style”, Hesperus Press
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