ABSTRACT
An old legend tells of an earnest youth who went to a holy man seeking the meaning of life. In response to the disciple’s questions about the world and its foundations, the guru explained that the earth sits on the back of a huge tiger, which stands on the flanks of an enormous elephant, and so on. When the cosmological series reached a giant turtle, the sage paused. His enraptured pupil—believing he had arrived finally at ultimate truth—exclaimed, “So the universe rests on that turtle!” “Oh, no,” replied his mentor. “From there, it’s turtles all the way down.”1
