Quoted By:
William James, father of American psychology, tells of meeting
an old lady who told him the Earth rested on the back of a huge
turtle.
"But, my dear lady," Professor James asked, as politely as
possible, "what holds up the turtle?"
"Ah," she said, "that's easy. He is standing on the back of
another turtle."
"Oh, I see," said Professor James, still being polite. "But
would you be so good as to tell me what holds up the second
turtle?"
"It's no use, Professor," said the old lady, realizing he was
trying to lead her into a logical trap. "It's turtles-turtles-turtles,
all the way!"
Don't be too quick to laugh at this little old lady. All human
minds work on fundamentally similar principles. Her universe
was a little bit weirder than most but it was built up on the same
mental principles as every other universe people have believed
in.
