False Alarm: Not Poetry. Thought.

Well, it was not a new Poetry in Motion poster after all. It's a new series called "Train of Thought". I had seen the Barnes & Noble logo from afar and assumed it was a poem. Rather than the PSA, this one is co-sponsored by Columbia University.

Here's the content:

"The book of nature is written in the language of mathematics. Its symbols are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures, without which it is impossible to understand a single word; without which there is only a vain wandering through a black labyrinth."

Galileo (1564-1642), The Assayer

Here's the news behind the story (from the Associated Press):

Apr 30, 4:40 PM EDT

MTA begins 'Train of Thought' series in NYC system

NEW YORK (AP) -- Riding New York City's subways and buses is getting thought-provoking.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Wednesday that it will begin a new series called "Train of Thought" - posters with quotations from some of the world's great thinkers.

The excerpts will be selected by Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and will cover history, philosophy, literature and science.

The first selections will be from "Charlotte's Web" author E.B. White on the special character of New Yorkers and Galileo on the centrality of mathematics to science.

Two new quotations will be selected every three months.

The MTA already features "Poetry in Motion," a series of short poetry extracts.

The agency said it sees the series as a way to entice riders "to explore the author or subject further."