Math is everywhere!

I've been visiting various high school mathematics classrooms recently and I've been paying close attention to the physical setup of the classroom and the decoration of the classroom.

One such classroom had the following poster on the wall.

Even though the poster was large, it was as unclear as the image above. I have no idea from this poster why I should study algebra. Or for that matter, math in general.

Another poster I saw (unfortunately, I was not able to get a photo) consisted of a giant matrix which was even harder to interpret, partially because of it's text size and partially because just looking at it would probably give most people a headache. The columns listed various professions (imagine 100), and the rows listed various mathematical topics (imagine 75). The matrix was then filled with small black dots identifying which profession used which mathematical topic. Talk about a representation being so far removed from the target audience.

Personally, I love British mathematician Ian Stewart's idea. We create massive amounts of neon circular stickers which say, "Math Inside!" We then go out on a mass-sticker-ing and label anything and everything that incorporates mathematics, or has used mathematics in its creation. Imagine it.

All CD's & DVD's would have a "Math Inside!" sticker, computers, ipods, phones, video games, airline tickets, every car, every airplane, every traffic light - put a sticker on it.

Now there's a reason to learn mathematics!

Who's with me?

Oval Stickers

I'm sure you've seen those white oval bumper stickers many cars have with capital letters inside the oval in black usually designating a place the vehicle owner likes to visit or has visited or wants to show off as having visited. They were really popular a few years ago, and have maintained their popularity as evidenced by the number of stickers I've seen while driving on the road. Popular ones include: CC, SD, MV, BI, ONT, & HI.

When these stickers first became fashionable, it took me a while to understand their reference. I would make up things in my mind that had those initials. Sometimes it got interesting. But eventually I realized what they stood for.

Well, it's fairly recently that I realized what the "LAX" oval stood for. Call me slow, I'll probably just agree with you. But for the longest time, I kept thinking, who the heck would want to visit or hang out at Los Angeles International Airport? I've been through the airport twice myself and trust me there is nothing special about it. Or was there a secret amusement park I wasn't aware of (who knows in Hollywood, right?) There must be. It's the only reason someone would sport an LAX bumper sticker next to a MV bumper sticker.

I'm dumb sometimes.

My Sleeping Brain

I've been having dreams lately that are hard to ignore and harder to forget. The dreams have been very intense and disturbing; I witnessed two murders, was shot in the chest, and stabbed multiple times in the stomach. Each dream was so realistic and I actually remember feeling pain during the dream where I was stabbed in the stomach. I woke up holding onto my stomach thinking how incredible it was to feel pain like that in a dream; I can't recall that ever happening before. I was able to remember each dream very vividly after I woke up and took detailed notes for the first in which I was shot.

I've been thinking a lot about why I've been having such dreams. My conclusion is that I'm headed for a change. Something is going to end soon in order for something else to begin.

That and I'm too self-involved.

Too Sweet

Throughout the summer, one of my favorite things to do on the weekends was to sit outside on a chaise lounge chair, with coffee and a book or the newspaper. So imagine my excitement when I was able to continue doing this through October without getting the chills. Several weekends ago I was sitting outside, enjoying the sun, reading the Sunday paper with some coffee when a yellow jacket landed on the deck about a foot and a half from my face at eye level.

I looked up from my paper and watched the yellow jacket. It sat on the rail of the deck for about 10 minutes while completing a very elaborate grooming process. I felt like some sort of spy watching it. It used its back legs to brush off its wings. It did this several times, as though it were cleaning them. When the wings were complete, the yellow jacket lifted its stinger and brushed its back legs over the stinger repeatedly before using its back to brush under the stinger. It repeated this action as well. When that was completed the yellow jacket used its front legs to brush the black antennae. I was so close; as though I were looking through a microscope. I could see the small hairs on its body, and each stroke of each antennae. I sat there amazed. Frozen. It was the sort of thing you would expect to see on a nature program, not while relaxing on your porch. I did not know yellow jackets cleaned themselves off in this way. It was incredible.

I finally looked away while it was still grooming. I put away the section of the paper I had been reading. My eyes turned back to the railing to see that my little friend was gone. I knew my eyes shouldn’t have strayed. But I suppose he couldn’t sit on the railing forever. I had wished my camera was closer; I would have made a short movie but I dared not move to get it knowing he would fly off.

I reached for my coffee mug. Before I could take a sip I saw something floating. It was my friend, the yellow jacket. Inside the mug he floated on the surface of the hot coffee. He was no longer yellow and his long body was deflated; wings spread apart. The subtle sweetness of my coffee got the best of him. Either that or he was on an elaborate suicide mission. Either way, I felt a bit sad as I scooped him out of the mug and threw him in the trash. I dumped the coffee out too.