Aditya Rallan

“One morning during Lent in 415, Hypatia climbed into her chariot, some say outside her residence, some say on a street intending to ride home. Several hundred of Cyril's stooges, Christian monks from a desert monastery, swooped upon her, beat her, and dragged her to a church. Inside the church they stripped her naked and peeled away her flesh with either sharpened tiles or broken bits of pottery.”
― Leonard Mlodinow, Euclid's Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace

“It is hard to believe that the myths told about Pythagoras did not influence the creation of some of the later stories about Christ. Pythagoras, for instance, was believed by many to be the son of God, in this case, Apollo. His mother was called Parthenis, which means “virgin.” Before traveling to Egypt, Pythagoras lived the life of a hermit on Mount Carmel, like Christ's solitary vigil on the mountain. A Jewish sect, the Essenes, appropriated this myth and is said to have later had a connection to John the Baptist. There is also a myth that Pythagoras returned from the dead, although, according to the story, Pythagoras faked this by hiding in a secret underground chamber.”
― Leonard Mlodinow, Euclid's Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace

“Modern Americans behave as if intelligence were some sort of hideous deformity.”
― Frank Zappa

“But in philosophy, he was closer to his contemporary Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (c. 560 – 480 B.C.). Both believed in reincarnation, possibly as an animal, so even an animal could be inhabited by what was once a human soul. Thus, both placed a high value on all life, opposing the common practice of animal sacrifice and preaching strict vegetarianism.”
― Leonard Mlodinow, Euclid's Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace