cats don't do geometry is a collection of mostly humorous verse in which carl anderson pokes fun at much of today's prevailing wisdom and presents some alternative ways of looking at things. it is perhaps unusual for a poetry book in that anderson has arranged the poems--which he characterizes as "doggerel"--according to subject matter, instead of distributing them randomly throughout the book. anderson says he did this because under the random format, some of his early reviewers misconstrued his intent. many of the poems are somewhat cynical in tone, but anderson does not advocate cynicism: "misfortune and injustice impose themselves on all of us to various and sometimes outrageous degrees. although i think there is much to be skeptical about in life, we need to overcome cynicism and negativity. this is necessary to achieve either our own goals or higher purposes in life. and that's what cats don't do geometry is really about." the first part of the book touches on our relationships with cats and other critters and provides a fuzzy warm-up for the themes covered in later parts. some of the themes include: "an educated fool is nevertheless a fool. so is an old fool"; "do you believe in god? . . . does god believe in you?"; "love--some of us just can't get it right."; and "do we get out of this life alive?" along the way, anderson has tried to provide some helpful information for everyday life. some examples: how to avoid utter disaster before unexpected guests arrive; how to drive more safely with less stress (especially on i-95); how debate promotes extremism and ignorance--discussion is a better alternative that helps to reduce extremism; "dos and don'ts" for a man stuck with undershorts that don't quite fit; why women shouldn't over-use the guilt trip on men; the salient personality traits of a certain kind of a hole; how to cope with a sigmoidoscope; why young gals and dudes should make like prudes; the three primary benefits of hypocrisy; why cynical folks should question their own, as well as other people's, motives; and the importance of continuing to crack jokes.