Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jasonlulu_2000]

This story�which happened before I was born�reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible exhibits at every meal.

What does "invisible exhibits" refer to in this situation?


Thanks

[pugachevV]

invisible = unable to be seen
exhibit = an object on display at a museum, art gallery, etc.

[jasonlulu_2000]

Thanks. But what does "invisible exhibits" refer to in this sentence?

[pugachevV]

It refers to, "Those symbols", which are "some penciled marks I recognise as mathematics".

In other words, his mother's 50 year old figures on the back of a bread board, are the invisible exhibits.