One strategy for proving a mathematical theorem is a "proof by contradiction." In such a proof one begins by supposing the opposite of what is to be proved -- and then reasons logically to obtain a statement that contradicts a known truth. This contradiction verifies that our opposite-assumption was wrong and that our original statement-to-be-proved is indeed correct. (An easily-read introduction to "proof-by-contradiction" is given here.)
Peggy Shumaker is an Alaskan poet whom I had the pleasure of meeting at a reading at Bloomsburg University where I was a math professor a few years ago. Her poem, "What to Count On," below, has a beautiful surprise after a sequence of negations -- and reminds me of the structure of a proof-by-contradiction.
What to Count On by Peggy Shumaker
Not one star, not even the half moon
on the night you were born
Not the flash of salmon
nor ridges on blue snow
Not the flicker of raven’s
never-still eye
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
Monday, June 6, 2016
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Angles in Alaska
Last Thursday evening I was honored to read in Takoma Park's Third Thursday poetry series -- along with poets Judy Neri and Kathleen O'Toole -- and my reading focused on poems of my times in Alaska. The brilliant geometry of our 49th state affected me strongly and "Angles of Light" became the title poem for a chapbook I published with Finishing Line Press in 2009. Here is section 3 (of 7) from that poem.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Out of 100 -- in the Klondike Gold Rush
Adding to my recent post on 19 August I note that OEDILF is seeking submissions.
Join the project: submit limerick definitions of (math) terms for OEDILF consideration.
Join the project: submit limerick definitions of (math) terms for OEDILF consideration.
One of my favorite poets is the 1996 Nobelist Wislawa Szymborska (1923 - 2012, Poland); one of my favorites of her poems is "A Contribution to Statistics." Szymborska's poem served as a model for a poem of mine shown below, about Gold Rush Days in Skagway, Alaska. Written while I was poet-in-residence at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, (in Skagway), this poem draws on historical data from the park's library to paint a bleak picture of wealth and survival in those gold-mad days.
Counting in the Klondike by JoAnne Growney
after Wisława Szymborska
Of 100 who left Seattle for Skagway in 1898
40 made it to the gold fields
8 found gold.
Labels:
100,
Alaska,
Gold Rush,
Klondike,
OEDILF,
poem,
poet,
Skagway,
statistics,
Wislawa Szymborska
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