So this morning I was told by someone that they had a slice of bread and half a slice of cheese for breakfast. Half a slice of cheese. I don’t know about you, but this novel idea left me dumbstruck.
Maybe its because I’m a computer scientist and I tend to discretize everything; or maybe it’s because I’m a glutton – but I simply cannot fathom anyone halving sliced cheese. A slice of cheese to me is like a 1-cent coin. It can’t be broken, and it’s way too little to bother breaking anyway.
I know, to some of you out there this post will seem ridiculous. Hindsight is 20/20, once somebody tells you that a slice of cheese can be cut, it seems obvious. I like to think that my state of mind is akin to Rutherford’s after conducting his alpha-particle experiments and realizing that even an atom is made up of tinier parts. Sure, today every 12 year old knows what an atomic nucleus is. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t a big discovery. The guy got an element in the periodic table named after him.
I do not, of course, plan to use this information in any way. Just because you know that an atom can be broken, doesn’t mean you go ahead and try. Bad things have been known to happen. I’ll leave slicing the slice to the experts. But if somebody wants to name a fine cheese after me, I promise I won’t complain.
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