Playing Dress Up.
When you were young, you’d sneak into your incredibly fashionable mother’s closet and stake your claim, showering yourself in luxurious silk satin, dangling pearls, and impossibly high-heeled shoes that you could barely remain upright in. You’d parade around the boudoir, head held high, pretending you were smoking a cigarette or holding a martini (or both). You’d say things like, “Yes, of course, Mercedes, the pool will be ready by Labor Day. It’s Olympic size, don’t you know,” and, “You haven’t heard? He’s gone and left her for that two-bit starlet.”
Naturally, these would be uttered in your best English accent. You’d hang this exquisite blouse and skirt back up in exactly the same fashion you found them. Not even a wrinkle or crease was out of place. You’d go back to your room and dream of the day when you wouldn’t have to play pretend, the day when the entrance was yours, and yours alone, to make.
Welcome. You found them. Not even a wrinkle or crease was out of place. You’d go back to your room and dream of the day when you wouldn’t have to play pretend, the day when the entrance was yours, and yours alone, to make.
Welcome.
I loathe algebra.
Integers are infuriating.
Calculus confounds me.
I have a mathematician friend who is always equating math to clothing. “There's a famous quote," she tells me. “Beauty is the first test; there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.” This person must have also thought Limburger cheese smells delightful (hint: it doesn’t).
“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” she begins.
“Yes, I’ve played team sports,” I say.
“Well, isn’t that true in some of your creations?”
“You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“Do you know what a proof is, Peterman?”
“Yes, it’s what I try to cover up on occasion.”
“Very funny. A proof is a mathematical argument. Most proofs are laborious, confusing and predictable.”
“Go on,” I say.
“But the elegant proof—and that is the term we use, ‘elegant’—it is simple. It reveals much about the subject matter. It is visually stunning. And there is always an element of surprise. Elegance is universal.”
She is a very good teacher.
