Shoulder pain

Assistant sees Pythagoras leaning on an angle and walking slowly and diagonally.

Assistant: Master, what’s wrong?

Pythagora: This shoulder pain. All last night I was proofing right angles. Leaning to one side.

Assistant: Master. I know a good doctor called Hippocrates. He will put your humors in balance.

Pythagoras. I don’t need that Hippocrates and his humors. I’m waiting for Leonardo. Meantime, I need some Counterpain. Run out and get some me some from the pain shop. There’s a good lad. Here’s two drachma.ippocrates and his humors. Hi

The origins of proofreading

Pythagoras is wrestling with his theorem of ultimate reality. A bright young assistant offers his services as “proofreader”.

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Assistant: Can I proofread it for you, Master?

Pythagoras: Well, you could pick up the obvious stuff like spelling errors, grammar errors, leaps of logic, inconsistencies in style and presentation.

Assistant: I can do all that.

Pythagoras: But can you see inside my head? The things I really should add. Or, the things I don’t think I want left in the text?

Assistant: Both of us should work on it. You’ll miss what the reader will see and I’ll miss what you think the reader should see.

Pythagoras: OK. Bring me the red pens, the blue pens, the white correcting fluid, and a couple of rulers. Let the reading of the proof, the "perfect" number, 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10, hereby begin.

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