| e lucid -
05-12-2008, 12:39 PM
In 1939, Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a storybook about a small town using merely 65000 words. However, none of these contains the vowel E even though it is the most frequently used letter of the English alphabets. The following paragraphs demonstrate this ingenious peculiarity that its mathematical probability is zero. Branton Hills was a small town in a rich agricultural district; and having many a possibility for growth. But, through a sort of smug satisfaction with conditions of long ago, had no thought of improving such important adjuncts as roads; putting up public buildings, nor laying out parks; in fact a dormant, slowly dying community. So satisfactory was its status that it had no form of transportation to surrounding towns but railroads, or “Old Dobbin.” Now, any town thus isolating its inhabitants, will invariably find this big, busy world passing it by; glancing at it, curiously, as at an odd animal at a circus; and, you will find, caring not a whit about its condition. Naturally, a town should grow. You can look it as a child; which through natural conditions, should attain manhood; and add to its surrounding thriving districts its products of farm, shop, or factory. It should show a spirit of association with surrounding towns; crawl out of its lair, and find how backward it is. Now, in all such towns, you will find occasionally, an individual born with that sort of brain which, knowing that his town is backward, longs to start things toward improving it; not only its living conditions, but adding an institution or two, such as any city, big or small, maintains, gratis, for its inhabitants. But so forward looking a man, finds that trying to instill any such notions into a town’s ruling body is about as satisfactory as butting against a brick wall. Such “Boards” as you find ruling many a small town, function from such a soporific rut that any hint of digging cash from its casts iron strong box with its big brass padlock, will fall upon mind as rigid as rock. Time independence: [∂E(g)]˛=[∂F(a)×∂r(a)]·[∂F(b)×∂r(b)] and Mass independence: ¶a(t)·¶r(t)=c˛ |