Many important mathematical ideas occur as pairs of opposites:
-2 and +2 (additive inverses), 5 and 1/5 (multiplicative inverses),
bounded and unbounded, rational and irrational,
convergent and divergent, finite and infinite
Some other familiar mathematical notions occur often in contrasting pairs but are not fully opposites:
horizontal and vertical, positive and negative,
open and closed, perpendicular and parallel
Recently I have returned to reading work by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1931; Bengal, India; winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature) and I enjoy reflecting on contrasts posed by this reflective poet in a series of "Epigrams":
Epigrams by Rabindranath Tagore
I will close my door to shut out all possible errors.
"But how am I to enter in?" cried Truth.
Showing posts with label epigram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label epigram. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
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