Ever felt that even a camel has a better idea of maths than you do? Terry Pratchett, writer of the Discworld series would seem to think the same thing.
The greatest mathematician alive on the Disc, and in fact the last one in the old kingdom, stretched out in his stall and counted the pieces of straw in his bedding. Then he estimated the number of nails in the wall. Then he spent a few minutes proving that an automorphic resonance field has a semi-infinite number of irresolute prime ideals. After that, in order to pass the time, he ate his breakfast again.
(Pyramids. Victor Gollancz, 1989.)
Credits: Chosen by Victoria Hinchcliffe