(no subject)

[icarus]

Hooray!

SNAFU is now listed under Beg Me For It on RS.org, and Stand In The Ruins has been sent in to them, as well as chapters 2-5 of Reunion.

Now I have to outline Reunion. Because it seems I have a WiP going. Whoops, how did that happen? I make no promises as to how long it takes me to update this story.

Life has finally levelled out a bit. No new word on wildernessguru's mom, but it's all good on that end. Now doing the school-schedule do-see-do. I'm trying to study my favourite subject (cue scary organ music and voice frosted with sarcasm): math.

But goseaward and sharp_tongue explained over the weekend that Algebra is the logic of describing lines, while Calculus is the logic of describing curves. Which, finally, at long last someone has given me a point to all this stuff! I may suck at it. My eyes may glaze over like someone's describing a really boring dream when someone fires numbers at me. But there is, in fact, a point to this stuff.

(Trig always made sense to me. I used it for my surveying class, and I used it to hand-calculate my astrology charts -- and you're not a real astrologer until you've calculated at least one chart by hand).

Comments

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Algebra was presented to me as random rules without any sort of context. When I asked, what is this for, I was told that I needed to learn it for the SAT, etc., etc., and that I would need to know it to get into a good college.

Yes. That was the answer from my Math teacher.

My art teacher could wax poetic about the fundamental importance of art and self-expression, how it develops individuality and opens up new ways to observe the world.

My english teacher could remonstrate on the wealth of human history and insight into the human condition found in literature.

My language teachers could describe how a whole culture and way of life is contained within a language, that learning it we open ourselves up to another world.

My science teachers could tell me how, if one understands the various fields of science, one understands creation itself.

The history teachers described that the history of the world is the history of mankind, it is our heritage and what has led to what we have today.

But my math teachers just said, "learn it because you have to." And treated my question - "Why" - as I were just being contrary.


Icarus

[ursula]

Yeah, this summer tutoring calculus I noticed that the hardest thing was never doing the calculation; it was understanding that the words in a word problem were asking about math. Which means teaching (and learning) the random facts is the easy part.

It's sort of reassuring, though, to know that my standard answers about patterns and science and money and building things and not letting people scare you with figures aren't an unreasonable place to start.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh, I screw up the calculations, too. It's extraordinary how many simple mathematical errors I'm capable of making -- all stupid, careless ones. Forgot to carry the one. 2 x 4 = 6. I suspect the droning litany of ihatethisihatethisihatethisihatethisihatethis in the back of my mind sort of gets in the way of full concentration.

Icarus

[ursula]

Yeah, but everyone makes the careless mistakes. I wrote 1 + 1 = 0 on a calculus exam once. They don't necessarily mean you're bad at math, any more than a habit of typing "teh" means you're a bad writer; they just mean that Proofreading Is A Good Skill.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I'm convinced there's a bizarre mathematical theory where 1 + 1 does equal 0. *smirks*

Icarus

[ursula]

Oh, there is. But you don't usually try to do calculus on it ;)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Let me guess: Projective Geometry?

Icarus

[ursula]

All sorts of things, actually. Algebraic topology, homological algebra, algebraic geometry . . .

The easiest model I can think of is a reflection in the plane. Doing nothing is 0; reflecting across the y-axis once is 1; reflecting again is 1+1, but that's just the same as doing nothing, so 0.

You can get a slightly more complicated model which allows for addition AND multiplication, in which case 1+1 = 2 = 0, 1+1+1+1 = 4 = 0, 1+1+1+1+1+1 = 6 = 0, so 2 x 4 = 0 x 0 = 0 = 6 ;)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

You can get a slightly more complicated model which allows for addition AND multiplication, in which case 1+1 = 2 = 0, 1+1+1+1 = 4 = 0, 1+1+1+1+1+1 = 6 = 0, so 2 x 4 = 0 x 0 = 0 = 6 ;)

LOL! You know, I've had days like that.

In fact, I'm kind of having one of those now.

Icarus