Chapter 43.5: Math Fun

I’m missing a part of my brain. Those who know me would say I’ve not been all there for a long time, but I don’t mean it in that way. What I mean is I used to be able to do math problems; I originally majored in the subject in college. These days, I can’t recognize a simple trigonometry problem for what it is.

I recently wrote a book review -- my first. It was on managing and leadership in nonprofits. When I was a Math/English double major in college, the idea of comprehending business management, much less writing somewhat authoritatively on the subject would never have crossed my mind. I wanted to write books that have some mathematic or scientific authenticity to them and which still were compelling stories. I still do. In fact, my second novel will be about a group whose paterfamilias was a geologist as is one of his daughters, the main character. Yet, at its heart, it’s a love story. Another book will play with relativistic science; that too is driven by the characters rather than the science. Personally, I think that’s the only way it could succeed.

But back to my point: I miss math and science. Today, while pulling squad duty, one of our recent high school graduates (now in the second semester of his freshman year) returned from MIT. I asked him what classes he was taking. Among them was about relativistic physics. He mentioned Einstein’s twin paradox, which I’d been reminded of earlier in the day. The paradox is about a pair of twins, one who leaves earth to travel through space at speeds approaching the speed of light, and when he returns, he’s younger than his brother. An article from NASA pointed out a flaw in this hypothesis: the telomeres will have been so damaged by the radiation in space that his body will actually have aged more than his brother who never left the planet.

This kid started pointing out all sorts of other flaws in the hypotheses of time travel, and eventually showed me some elegant little equations that show the impossibilities of traveling at light speed (at least from an algebraic perspective). I asked him for some books for people like me: used to have abilities that have atrophied and wishes to exercise them back into a semblance of their old shape. I’m a mathlete who is trying to get back into shape to at least do simple geometry.

Because of the book review, I will receive a $20 gift card from Barnes & Noble. I think it’s time to read a good science book. Any suggestions?