Math and Metaphor
Humility
Archetypes, mysteries, simple clues
that only fingers and toes, sticks and stones
and flashes of inspiration require
for universes to be disclosed ...
symbols for functions and formulae
for proof; logic so easy for some —
why am I innumerate?
East is east and west is logic,
and it’s said never will they meet.
Yet in hieroglyphs and runes
and Mayan masks, carven calendars,
in the graceful limbs of Arabic,
those signs beyond the Word
beckon curiosity to span the voids.
Plus and minus, powers, infinity ...
zero, prime, sequences, fractals ...
Euclid to Escher, Foucault and Fibonacci,
Seuss to Einstein, abacus to gigabytes ...
the world and wars and philosophy
are in their hands, while I can only
grope for a touch of understanding.
©2010 Joan Cannon for SeniorWomen.com
Math and Metaphor: Using Poetry to Teach College Mathematics
Patrick Bahls
University of North Carolina, Asheville
Math is everywhere, and most people don’t even realize it. For the longest time
I found math boring and confusing — just a bunch of numbers and symbols
jumbled together, or word problems with juvenile purposes. (For example,
would I really care about the rate water leaks from a bucket?) When I realized
the concepts were actually relevant, and could be used to solve relevant problems, my feelings changed. Many of [my] poems definitely reflect my shift in
attitude, and my realization that mathematics can be incredibly interesting.
— Katherine, Fall 2007 Calculus I student
In the fall 2007 semester at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, I asked
the students in my two sections of Calculus I to complete an atypical mathematics assignment. Each student was prompted to write a poem (a few students would end up writing several) offering the reader insight into her or his experience with mathematics. I have since assigned the same exercise to students enrolled in my Fall 2008 Precalculus course, with more or less the same success.
Painting: The Persian Poet and Mathematician, Omar Khayyám,Wikkipedia
Pages: 1 · 2
More Articles
- Economic Research, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: Shift in Confidence and Fear Could Prevent Consumers From Rebounding to Their Investment and Spending Habits
- Serena Nanda Reviews Light in Dark Times: The Human Search for Meaning
- Jo Freeman Book Review: Stealing Our Democracy; How the Political Assassination of a Governor Threatens Our Nation
- In the We Couldn't Resist Category: Just Icing on the Cake, Part One, by Roberta McReynolds
- GAO* Report on Retirement Security: Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain Future
- US Census Report: Cost of Motherhood on Women’s Employment and Earnings; Taking a Short Break From the Labor Force Has Only a Temporary Effect on Earnings
- Weekly Legislative Update March 9-13, 2020: Bills For Paid Sick Leave, Perinatal Workforce, Public Health Emergency, Maternity Care Coordination by Dept of Veterans Affairs
- What Should I Read? The New York Public Library Selects Best Books of 2019 for Kids, Teens and Adults
- One Memorable Friend
- Grab That Museum Pass! Could Arts Engagement Have Protective Associations With Survival?