and I want to thank America's school "system" for wasting years of my life making me learn math that I would never use. I have "fond" memories of Mrs. Telser in 9th grade, who made my 6 months in her class miserable. The subject was Algebra. For mysterious reasons, she hated me, and I hated her. If there is a hell, I know that she has spent some time there. For the past 35 years, since I graduated from High School, then college, I have never, ever used any Algebra. Other than adding and subtracting and the occasional percentage, I barely even need to multiply or divide. To speed the process up, I almost always use a calculator. My first job was in the electronics department of a major department store. We sold the first basic calculator, a Bowmar. It cost $500. We couldn't keep it in stock. A similar model now sells for $1. Then came the Texas Instruments and HP models. They could solve any math problem. I never asked my brain to do any math again. So today is Pi day. Big deal. Pi being 3.14 or the 3rd month of the year and the 14th day. It is a big deal at M.I.T. up in Cambridge. Despite Mrs. Telser, I took a course there one summer. I didn't need to know any math. I didn't even require a calculator to complete the course. By the way, Pi, is the symbol (see the center of the red shirt) for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535
Friday, March 14, 2008
Today was Pi day...
and I want to thank America's school "system" for wasting years of my life making me learn math that I would never use. I have "fond" memories of Mrs. Telser in 9th grade, who made my 6 months in her class miserable. The subject was Algebra. For mysterious reasons, she hated me, and I hated her. If there is a hell, I know that she has spent some time there. For the past 35 years, since I graduated from High School, then college, I have never, ever used any Algebra. Other than adding and subtracting and the occasional percentage, I barely even need to multiply or divide. To speed the process up, I almost always use a calculator. My first job was in the electronics department of a major department store. We sold the first basic calculator, a Bowmar. It cost $500. We couldn't keep it in stock. A similar model now sells for $1. Then came the Texas Instruments and HP models. They could solve any math problem. I never asked my brain to do any math again. So today is Pi day. Big deal. Pi being 3.14 or the 3rd month of the year and the 14th day. It is a big deal at M.I.T. up in Cambridge. Despite Mrs. Telser, I took a course there one summer. I didn't need to know any math. I didn't even require a calculator to complete the course. By the way, Pi, is the symbol (see the center of the red shirt) for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535
