In telling the time, we commonly refer to hours that differ by a multiple of 12 using the same number. Sixty hours after 3 o'clock it is again 3 o'clock. The clock relationship -- with its times that are named by the same number but are not, after all, exactly the same -- illustrates the mathematical notion of an "equivalence relation." In "Equivalencies," the insights of poet Judith McCombs stretch this mathematical concept.
Equivalencies by Judith McCombs
The fear of not writing, of having no words,
Is the muscles not working, the pack top-heavy,
the hard slime on ledges where the ankle gives way
Showing posts with label congruence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label congruence. Show all posts
Friday, November 18, 2011
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
In the same family -- a poet and a mathematician
When a poet and a mathematician are members of the same family, understandings result. Ohio poet Cathryn Essinger is a twin of a mathematician and writes about this relationship. Here are opening stanzas of two of her poems.
Labels:
bound,
Cathryn Essinger,
combinatorics,
congruence,
counting,
geometry,
infinity,
Kathabela Wilson,
mathematics,
node,
poetry,
prime,
rational,
Rick Wilson,
twin,
two
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