It's as Simple as One, Two, Three...  
First, there were the whole numbers
    Because people thought in terms of watermelons.
    And they justified this: One cannot have negative watermelons,
        Nor even their square roots.
    And this was good.
 
Then, Man invented debts.
    And so came the negative watermelons.
    As Man learned to spend more than he earned,
    He still did not have to pay interest rates,
    And this was great.
 
Then, Man invented the knife,
    And so came the rational watermelons.
    As Man learned to divide his fruits in manifold and wonderful ways,
    He still could not make pie
        From any combination of rational watermelons.
    And this, too, was good.
 
Then Man invented genetic engineering,
    And, Lo! Behold the irrational watermelon,
        For it *did* have square roots.
    And it was better than ever.
 
At last, the mad farmer Cauchy,
    In his five volume work, "The Soul of My Watermelon",
    Concluded that i was the mirror of the watermelon.
    And so he wandered happily forevermore
        Through his imaginary plain.
    And the Riemann Sphere was complete.
And it was.
 
    Since I have a counter, I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU: 
 
    Back to my Mathematics-page.
 
    Back to my Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! Homepage.