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Math Poem 3 (Free verse) by Dovina Division it was that upheld him.
He divided one by one third
and found the answer three.
Then six by two, this too, three.
He tried it on seven, the log of eleven,
even the cube root of two to the eighth.
Everything he divided by a third of itself
yielded none other than three.
So he generalized and preached to the world
âx / x/3 = 3. Itâs true for You!
Let it be carved on my stone
and laughed at if ever disproved.â
Now his body lies deep in the ground.
His equation waves like a flag.
And all who pass say there lies a man
that nobody ever found wrong.
Up the ladder:
I want to slit my wrist and call it poetry
Down the ladder:
Loss
Votes: (green: user, blue: anonymous)
Arithmetic Mean: 7.571429
Posted: December 31, 2004 2:57 PM PST; Last modified: December 31, 2004 2:57 PM PSTWeighted score: 6.8798647 Overall Rank: 263 Comments:
This is the best poem you've ever written. I'm serious.
Except, of course, that "x / x/3" equals 1/3, wherever you put spaces. You meant "x/(x/3) = 3"
Thanks, and thatâs a better way to write the equation, given a stiffly text-only format.
I'm sorry, Miss Dovina. The dog ate my math homework.
Thatâs no excuse! Stand in the corner until itâs done.
Given Zodiac's change - quite excellent.
Itâs one of the more dangerous things to say, but zodiac is right.
very snappy - though, your example is more of a logical tautology than math
-9- here's one I wrote a while ago Math vs poetry its radius is one-half the diameter the area: r-squared, by pi for years I was chained to a perfect circle the Formulae kept me from asking, why?
It is a very simple example of math indeed, but thatâs the point. If he touted something he could not fully believe, then he would always have a question behind his words, the nagging uncertainty. He had no doubt in his belief and could preach with confidence.
yes, I see that of course -- I'm just saying your title gives mathematicians a bad name. I would call it "Logic Poem."
Logic is math; math logic.
that's like saying poetry is art; art is poetry - an altogether facile/reductionist statement. we're supposed to be precise with language here - calling math and logic the same thing is too flip for my taste.
ps both words are greek in origin (logos - 'word' or 'study'; math - from word meaning 'understanding'); why bother with two words if they mean the same thing?
How do you pronounce "lea"?
With tongue, lips and throat.
One of those is wrong. See if you can guess which!!!
One of my favorite things about this poem is that it's a shorter, mathier version of my Greyhound poem. It's also the least over-cocksure thing you've written, maybe. Does this mean you can put math poems to rest now?
No.
"your example is more of a logical tautology than math"
Are you saying theorems aren't mathematical?
i'm saying that a facile statement like "a thing divided by a third of itself equals three" (x/x/3)=3) isn't a (mathematical) theorem AT ALL, but a mere logical/notational (if not grammatical) truism. mathematics is interesting because it can make conclusions about things that aren't immediately obvious. statements that are tautologic like 1=1 are, strictly speaking, mathematically uninteresting, and it does a disservice to serious thought to call such things math.
if you want to take the euclidean view, and say that ALL math is a priori and analytic (ie based fundamentally on logical axioms), then you should go back and live with Newton in the 17th century. Non-euclidean spaces, Einstein and a fellow named Kurt Godel have proven false the notion that logic and math are identical. ok I'll stop ranting now, b/c it's way past the point of being helpful to the poem :)
Dear boy, you may brush your trousers until they gleam, but you can't change the fact that '(x/x/3) = 3' is a provable, non-axiomatic statement in arithmetic, and so is a theorem of arithmetic. Just because something isn't an interesting X doesn't mean it isn't an X.
Also, why are you suddenly waffling on about Goedel? If you're talking about the incompleteness theorem, you're buncombing up the wrong pair of stilts. That says there are some true statements that aren't theorems because they aren't provable. But '(x/x/3) = 3' is provable.
This poeme is a stain on the face of mathematics, and a stain on the bum of literature (literature has no face, because it is obscured by a giant bum).
Again, it is mathematically uninteresting. On reading your defence of its simplicity, it became clear you have no idea about how mathematicians work. You say the protagonist's assertion that "for all x: x/(x/3)=3" has to be simple so as to eliminate any doubt. This is stupid for two reasons: 1. No mathematician doubts a theorem, because it is true by definition. The question is: how do we know if a mathematical assertion, e.g. "for all x: x/(x/3)=3", is a theorem? Answer: We obtain a proof of it (or a counter-example, if it is not a theorem). If we can find a proof of the assertion, how in Sodomy can you doubt it? It may be an incredibly complicated proof that only a genius would understand, but this is not true in most cases. It's also the case that a proof, if written out to a suitable degree of formalism, can be checked by a computer. It is therefore perfectly feasible for your dweeb to have come up with some interesting mathematics that was not open to doubt. 2. You shoot yourself in the bum because while the protagonist's assertion is a simple one, as a mathematician he has every reason at least to question it, since he has not obtained a proof. Note that showing an assertion holds for 1, 6, 7, log 7, and (2^(1/3))^(1/8) is not grounds for generalising to all x! Canât you see that it is not my intention in this series of math poems to hold rigorous mathematical standards? I want the poems to be correct mathematically, but not rigorous. The protagonist in No. 3 is not satisfying the demands that someone like Pythagoras faced in proving his well-known theory, nor should he. Iâm trying to relate math to life, not math to philosophy or logic. And just in case youâre about to say that without logic, there is no math, let me add that much of the universe is running on chance to the chagrin of Einstein and others, and maybe the mind that made it that way likes the emotional tug of trying to outwit probability â âseven come elevenâ and all that. No. 4 in the mill.
In what way does this poeme relate maths to life? By being mathematically inept? Or by having an oaf make an easily provable conjecture, then writing it on his tombstone and challenging passing dweebs to disprove it?
Anyway, I'm not saying you should hold to rigorous mathematical standards. I don't see how that makes any sense in the context of a poeme. I was pointing out that your argument (c.f. "the mathematics had to be simple in order to be beyond doubt") was a silly one. There is a great deal of interesting, not-so-simple mathematics that is beyond doubt. Of course you could argue that the protagonist was an utter oaf, and therefore incapable of proving his conjecture. But then what? Does this poeme become a bold, sweeping statement about how oaves wander through life saying obvious things? You ought to be commended for your insight! Though in my experience, oaves mostly wander through life writing wallyish poetry about things they know very little about, and smelling of dung. Mostly. "And just in case youâre about to say that without logic, there is no math, let me add that much of the universe is running on chance to the chagrin of Einstein and others, and maybe the mind that made it that way likes the emotional tug of trying to outwit probability" I wasn't about to say "without logic there is no math", because any such statement would almost certainly be followed by an enormous amount of guff, no matter what anyone said about it. But I certainly would at least like to know what you mean by your implication that the uncertainty principle implies there is no logic. In answering, please say what you mean by "logic", "no", and "the emotional tug of trying to outwit probability."
The poem relates math to life using the unstated, but hopefully understood, notion that people hold certain truths to be inalienable, much as other people hold math theorems, granted on less evidence. The âoaf, as you unjustly call him, needed a very simple math example, else he would have doubts. Complex math can be just as convincing, but not to him. He did not prove his âtheoremâ but took it on abundance of evidence because thatâs the way his mind works.
I did not mean that the uncertainty principle implies there is no logic, only that it is the logic of probability. Gamblers and God may have similar propensities toward bending the odds by using slogans and hope and the notion that correct thinking affects the outcome. It gets back to the idea of being created in Godâs image. Maybe God works partly by nudging the outcome a tiny amount here and there, causing great change in strictly probabilistic outcome â chaos as it is â so tiny we could never catch Him at it.
I hate maths but that is a cool poem all the same!! Presently we are doing integration and diferential equations in school and I go to sleep everytime the teacher enters!!
A 9!
This is no integration or âreal mathâ but just simple algebra used to show how some people (make that most people) allot solid truth to certain maxims that seem to them truth-worthy on evidence.
The reason the algebra is correct is not because he tests it. That it is correct means that when he tests it it is not falsified. In that sense your explanation does not fit.
For me this poem portrays a chap who is happy to hold a rather simple formula which works. It is insignificant in the general scheme of things but to him it is just dandy.
Dandy, yes, and for him that was enough. How similar is it that people hold to astrology, for example, or to luck or the intrinsic "good" of belonging to a social class?
Jesus Christ.
Not only is the maths in this poem facile beyond belief, principally because you wouldn't know decent maths if it bit you on the arse, but the poem itself it terrible. Doesn't scan, has no rhythm, in fact, apart from being arranged into four, for want of a better word, stanzas, could just be some guffy text. Give us a break with the maths poems.
You either missed the point, I failed to make the point clear to you, or you got the point, didnât mention it, or didnât like it.
You generated alot of interest in this one, D - nice work.
And I think you get a prize for the most frequent use of the word "facile" in any string of comments (not that it isn't an interesting word, just kindof rarely used).
In âMath Poem - Square Root of Minus Neverâ maybe theyâll replace it with âfractal.â I bet they canât wait for the next installment.
Hey! Funny math words!
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Give them extra credit for singing under water, or cleaning the blackboard with their tongues, or keeping their fingernails clean, but please, never for writing poetry.