As a math professor, I was enthusiastic when I read this short piece in Math Horizons, and promptly put it on my office door. The metaphor is a great hook, is w

As a math professor, I was enthusiastic when I read this short piece in Math Horizons, and promptly put it on my office door. The metaphor is a great hook, is well carried out, and leaves the reader with a pretty much spot-on idea of what math research is all about. I am delighted to see it reach a wider audience on the web.