Constance Reid (1918-2010), died on October 14. Sister of a mathematician (Julia Robinson), Reid wrote first about life in World War II factories that supported the war effort and then, later, several biographies (including one of her sister) and other books about mathematics. Kenneth Rexroth's poem "A Lemma by Constance Reid" (offered below) is based on material appearing in Reid's popular book From Zero to Infinity: What Makes Numbers Interesting (Thomas Y Crowell, 1955). Reid is known for the enthusiasm and clarity with which she presented mathematical ideas--seeking to attract and to satisfy non-mathematical readers.
Showing posts with label infinity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infinity. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Art, poetry, and mathematics -- and Rafael Alberti
On September 23 I was privileged to hear Annalisa Crannell, mathematics professor at Lancaster's Franklin and Marshall College, speak on "Math and Art: the Good, the Bad, and the Pretty." This informative presentation, sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and pitched toward undergraduates, showed ways that artists use mathematics.
Labels:
Annalisa Crannell,
art,
Carolyn Tipton,
complexity,
flat,
infinity,
MAA,
mathematics,
perspective,
plane,
poetry,
Rafael Alberti,
sonnet,
space
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Word Play with the Hypotenuse
Here we have a playful treatment of the language of the Pythagorean Theorem in "Talking Big" by John Bricuth.
Labels:
big,
energy,
hypotenuse,
infinity,
John Bricuth,
Pythagorean Theorem,
square,
squared,
wordplay
Monday, August 16, 2010
Poetry and applied mathematics
Back in the 1980's when I began taking examples of poetry into my mathematics classrooms at Bloomsburg University, I think that I justified doing so by considering poetry as an application of mathematics. For example, Linda Pastan applies algebra to give meaning to her poem of the same title. Here are the opening lines.
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
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Glances at Infinity
Counter-intuitive notions are among my favorite parts of mathematics and, in considerations of infinity, these are numerous. Recalling Zeno's paradox, we capture the infinite finitely in this summation:
1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/23 + . . . + 1/2n + . . . = 1
1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/23 + . . . + 1/2n + . . . = 1
Labels:
Frank Dux,
infinities,
infinity,
Lillian R Lieber,
Lucille Lang Day,
mathematician,
mathematics,
poetry,
series,
sum,
Zeno
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Mathematical 'grooks' from Piet Hein
Piet Hein (Denmark, 1905-1996) was many-faceted--by times a philosopher, mathematician, designer, scientist, inventor of games and poet. He also created a new poetic form that he called 'grook' ("gruk" in Danish). Hein wrote over 10,000 grooks, most in Danish or English, published in more than 60 books. Some say that the name is short for 'GRin & sUK' ("laugh & sigh", in Danish). Here are samples, with links to more:
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Miroslav Holub, poet and scientist
Miroslav Holub (1923-1998), Czech poet and immunologist who excelled in both endeavors, is one of my favorite poets. He combines scientific exactitude with empathy and absurdity. Here are samples:
The Corporal Who Killed Archimedes
With one bold stroke
he killed the circle, tangent
and point of intersection
in infinity.
Labels:
absurd,
angle,
circle,
infinity,
intersection,
Miroslav Holub,
science,
sine,
tangent
Sunday, March 28, 2010
W. H. Auden's Kingdom of Number
Some poetry is termed "mathematical" because mathematical terminology is included in the text of the poem, often to vivid effect. Such is the case in this poem by W H Auden, in which it is also the case that most lines have 11 syllables.
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