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My Favorite Scene in the Movie Lincoln

In Spielberg’s new movie; Lincoln in standing in a communication center consisting of two desks and small brass contraptions which transport Morse Code. There are two men, one at each desk, and it is a heightened moment within the Civil War. Lincoln is waiting for an update to be transmitted and is partially talking his thought process aloud while engaging with the communicators. Lincoln asks if either young man studied engineering. One responds, “yes.” Lincoln then asks him what he thinks about one of Euclid’s Axioms. The young man says he doesn’t remember his book studies as he basically forgot his book learning once he left school. Lincoln shares that he, himself, didn’t have much formal education, but he allowed his studies to inform and change him. Since he read Euclid’s axiom “Things that are equal to one another are equal to each other” he contemplated this idea in the context of race. Like equalling like, Euclid said, is self-evident. This insight, provides clarity regarding an action Lincoln was to...

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