Nils Röller: Jabès compass
Geometry and arithmetic guide reason to the truth with far greater surety that the “other branches of knowledge”. Geometry and arithmetic focus on simple objects such as triangles and judgements on numbers. Descartes speaks of guidance. A balustrade that claims to be safe to step on, casts shadows. But geometry and arithmetic do not. They formulate the possibilities of thought that go far beyond what our reason can imagine, for instance by combining figures: 123, 122333, 112222333333, …