Interesting analogy. I see parallels between the garden you are describing and the society of intellectuals presented in Hesse's The Glass Bead Game, a game of

Interesting analogy. I see parallels between the garden you are describing and the society of intellectuals presented in Hesse's The Glass Bead Game, a game of pure mathematical abstraction that may only be played by the trained elite of the day. The result for the protagonist in that book raises serious questions about the purpose of the purely intellectual pursuits and their role in society and human fulfilment.