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The reason was that the books were so lousy. They were false. They were hurried. They would try to be rigorous, but they would use examples (like automobiles in the street for "sets") which were almost OK, but in which there were always some subtleties. The definitions weren't accurate. Everything was a little bit ambiguous -- they weren't smart enough to understand what was meant by "rigor." They were faking it. They were teaching something they didn't understand, and which was, in fact, useless, at that time, for the child.  

The reason was that the books were so lousy. They were false. They were hurried. They would try to be rigorous, but they would use examples (like automobiles in the street for "sets") which were almost OK, but in which there were always some subtleties. The definitions weren't accurate. Everything was a little bit ambiguous -- they weren't smart enough to understand what was meant by "rigor." They were faking it. They were teaching something they didn't understand, and which was, in fact, useless, at that time, for the child.  

:[http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm Judging Books by Their Covers], in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985)

:[http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm Judging Books by Their Covers], in ''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'' (1985)

==Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002)==

==Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002)==