Mr Anderson taught us geometry. I remember him as a relaxed, cerebral teacher. There was no mistaking the pleasure he derived from proving a geometric theorem step by step on the blackboard, leading inexorably up to the triumphant QED. The theorems still had the names and numbers given to them by Euclid about 300 BC. Pons asinorum, Euc I.5, was the theorem that said The angles at the base of an isosceles triagle are equal.
I enjoyed Geometry,
not only because of the beautiful logic,
but also—if the truth be known,
perhaps primarily—because
you didn't have to study;
you could figure it out as you went along.
As it turned out,
I am probably one of very few of
Mr Anderson's former students
who actually did derive practical benefit
from being able to manipulate triangles.
It proved very useful when I was learning Navigation,
during my first career as a ship's officer in
the Merchant Navy. Thanks, Mr Anderson!
—
Don McLean, 11A