"... our culprit is indeed a relative of the Lernaean hydra, that, having lost one head called Ignorance (no doubt to a thoughtless decision), has had its special power result in Stupidity and Cowardice."

Pythagoras of Samos professed a mathematical core at the center of reality. He was a brilliant philosopher and such was his belief. The intellectual sympathies of the modern man align themselves to a similar mode of thought. The modern man, however, despises philosophy and holds himself above belief.

It is a curious inconsistency. Pythagoras sought meaning through the study of mathematics – the modern man does away with it in the name of statistics.

• In this introductory essay, the author explains the structure of our conceptual prison, the dangers of its confusion, and the circumstances surrounding its creation – ideological, practical, and personal. Through an elaborate metaphor of crime, toymakers, and an asylum, Pythagoras' Prison intendeds to illustrate the modern fallacy and to refocus the purpose of thought on to its original trajectory.