THE FEAR OF MATH
Tomorrow
is Pi Day. That means tomorrow's date
is the numbers in the mathematical constant known as Pi [3.141592653].
(If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should go back to High
School). So tomorrow at 9:26 am (or pm) and 53 seconds, a group of math
whizs will be eating pie.
I have never enjoyed numbers. Struggled with it since
Grade School. I know many right brained creatives who tremble in fear
when they see an equation. I believe it's not really the person but the
teacher who is to be blamed. When I was in my freshman year in H.S. I
had the best Algebra teacher in the world and through her I understood
the simplicity of it all. In my second year I moved to another H.S. and
for the first few months I was one of the top math students in my batch
without even trying. But as the year progressed I lost my edge and, hard
as I tried, I was barely passing by year's end. In retrospect, I believe
I had the fear of failure and subconsciously, that's exactly what happened.
Enter my classmate Bobby. Bobby was my first encounter
with pure math genius. He could figure out complex Algorythmic-Watcha-McCall-its
in his head. He would shout the square root of a seven digit number the
second after our teacher wrote the last digit. He couldn't explain it.
He just knew it. As far as practical application, he was excellent at
the billiard table.
You would think he'd be a millionaire by now but on
the contrary, he lives a simple life (at least from last I heard). Was
he also afraid of failure?
We all have skeletons in our closet. No matter what
age, we can allow our fears to rule over us or we can overcome it and
catapult us to glory.
""Windmills,
remember, if you fight with them... may swing round their huge arms and
cast you down into the mire!... Or up, among the stars!" --- Cyrano de Bergerac
|
Wisdom
from Tom of Pasadena, CA
Teachers open the door but you must enter yourself. --- Chinese Proverb
Thanks
to this week's winners:
Tom of Pasadena; Don of Kelowna; Mike,
Audrey and Charlie of New York; Levon of Los Angeles.
|
Comments
Anonymous
Mon, 03/16/2015 - 19:02
Permalink
About Bobby
Yes. Bobby lived and still lives the simple life. He never finished college, ran out of money I guess. Bobby lived through hard times. He had to do a lot of odd jobs to survive – electrician, house painter & general handyman. He retired from a big soda company as a salesman ... a job I thought he enjoyed. Quite strange for a math genius who really liked being around people. I figure that was a few years ago when he formally married the woman he has grand kids with. He invited us his classmates to the wedding and reception. There were probably 12 to 15 of us who attended.
Bobby is now the house Pool Pro of a local bar in a tourist area. I guess he makes money on wagers and he sells custom made pool cue sticks he buys wholesale at a neat profit ... he does look really old. So even today, Bobby is still having fun.
N, a fellow HS classmate
Anonymous
Mon, 03/16/2015 - 19:03
Permalink
Like Math Intro
Great intro on Math and really enjoyed Funeral in People's front yard!
Tom
Anonymous
Mon, 03/16/2015 - 19:06
Permalink
Movie based on 3.14159?
All right, here's a joke in honor of tomorrow (although it's too late for this edition)!
Did you hear about the movie biography based on the number 3.141592653?
Aw c'mon, surely you've heard of the "Life of Pi"!
Cheryl of Arcadia, CA