I agree. I read this 2 or 3 times, and while I've read about the concept before and I'd like to think I have at least somewhat of an understanding of the "idea"

I agree. I read this 2 or 3 times, and while I've read about the concept before and I'd like to think I have at least somewhat of an understanding of the "idea" at least, this was a total loss for me. If something can't be explained without resorting to actual Greek characters and irrational numbers, it might be worth trying again. I don't know if I was just grumpy from the struggles of trying to parse this, but having the author interrupt every other paragraph with a tangent about how I shouldn't feel bad for not understanding this immediately didn't particularly help matters.