8:27 AM
Gil Student
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was a self-important philosophe who arrogantly thought he knew everything. This story is one of my favorite anecdotes. It is taken from The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, p. 168:
In 1773 Diderot spent some months at the court of St. Petersburg at the invitation of the Russian empress, Catherine the Great. He passed much of his time spreading the gospel of atheism and materialism among the courtiers, until it was suggested to the empress that it would be desirable to muzzle her guest. Reluctant to take direct action, Catherine requested the aid of another savant, the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, a devout Christian. As Diderot was almost entirely ignorant of mathematics, a plot was hatched to exploit this weakness. He was informed that a learned mathematician had developed an algebraical demonstration of the existence of God, and was prepared to deliver it before the entire court if Diderot would like to hear it. Diderot could not very well refuse. Euler approached Diderot, bowed, and said very solemnly, "Sir, (a+b^n)/n=x, hence God exists. Reply!" Diderot was totally disconcerted, and delighted laughter broke out on all side at his discomfiture. He asked permission to return to France, and the empress graciously consented.
