`` to quote a great mathematician , eric bell , 'all creeds tend to split into two , each of which in turn splits into two more , and so on , until after a certain finite number of generations ( which can be easily calculated by logarithms ) there are fewer human beings in any given region , no matter how large , than there are creeds , and further attenuations of the original dogma embodied in the first creed dilute it to a transparent gas too subtle to sustain faith in any human being , no matter how small . '