Arithmetic

Julia sent me this video. She knows I love math. When she was about five I showed her an elementary algebraic equation and she seemed to follow it. In retrospect, I suspect she didn't get it at all and was merely being polite, waiting until I was finished so she could run off to play. It turns out, she hates math. My excitement when trying to explain anything to do with numbers to her was always inversely proportional to her despondence.

She calls me once in a while to ask me about some mathematical construct or symbol that she's considering including in a poem or essay she's writing. One of my favorites is factorial, indicated by the symbol !. 5! is 5 factorial or 1x2x3x4x5. I like to think of it as a very excited, gleeful 5! Julia recently phoned to inquire about sines and cosines. As I launched into an explanation, I could feel her eyes glazing over, 3,000 miles away.

Julia sent me this video. She knew I'd enjoy it. Truce.