Pascal's triangle is one of the most recognizable patterns that a student explores in algebra. It's also an essential pattern that comes up over and over again. Pascal, the man behind the triangle, was nothing short of a genius. Rumor has it that his brain worked so fast that he would write little bits of information, questions, and thoughts that came to him on scraps of paper that he squirreled away in his desk to deal with later. After his death, his family found thousands of these little pieces of paper and had them published into a book, Pensees. Pensees is like no other book. It is full of wisdom and easy to read, but contains little to no flow.
While I'd love to hear that you all earnestly went to your local book store to purchase Pascal's thoughts, I don't necessarily think that's the best way to explore his mind. Rather, I think that exploring the mind of the great mathematician and philosopher together would be more fun and beneficial. Learning to think by the man who couldn't stop thinking? What else could be better?
I shall leave you with this quote to ponder:
"Man is obviously made to think. It is his whole dignity and his whole merit; and his whole duty is to think as he ought."
Intriguing!