January 27, 2008

The Symbolic Power of Pi

Throughout the ages, advancements have been made in nearly every language on the planet, and the languages of mathematics are no exception. From the beginning of time, people used symbols to represent numbers and words to meet their needs. Roman numerals helped to create a common "standard" throughout many countries to help boost commerce, and likewise other countries (like the Chinese) had their own clear system of number writing to ease communication.

Today, many different ways exist to write the number "1", even if you exclude spellings like "one" or "uno" or "un", which are part of their own respective languages (English, Spanish, French). For example, the Japanese and Chinese (along with several other Oriental countries) use the Chinese symbols instead of the "traditional" Arabic numerals.

However, there are exceptions to this idea. My favorite exception would be pi. Pi is written the same way in every language I have come across. This did not happen until Euler popularized the use of the Greek letter pi to symbolize this number. This number, to me, helps to symbolize how people can come together and agree on different ideas around the world. While I understand that this course is not about agreeing about topics, it is about accepting people for who they are, or in this case, symbols for what they are. Plus I'm born on Pi day, so the day means something special to me.

Marilyn Titus

A is for Absent (geographically and ethnically; I do not connect myself to any one place/ethnicity as my own.)

B is for Basis (I am still working upon who I will be.)

C is for Contradiction

D is for Dartboard (where friends throw ideas and see what sticks)

E is for Electronic Lover

F is for Flexible (on certain ideas, locations, and body parts)

G is for Goal-oriented

H is for Hopeful (of many, many things)

I is for If-Then statement (without which my world would be upside down)

J is for Jabber mouth (when necessary)

K is for Knick-knack (because I collect them too much)

L is for Listener

M is for Music lover (especially soft rock and soft metal)

N is for Nervous

O is for Observer of Language

P is for Procrastinator (sometimes)

Q is for Quiet (when people know what I will say)

R is for Rigid (on certain ideas, locations, and body parts)

S is for Spanish Language Learner (My Spanish is not as good as I would like it.)

T is for Tomboy

U is for Unrivalled (Good or bad, there is no other me)

V is for Vitamin water (fruit punch)

W is for Wacky (I take some getting used to)

X is for Xian (Combining the Greek spelling for Christ (Xristos) with Christian.)

Y is for Yoked (connected) with other people

Z is for Zest (For life and love)

Marilyn Titus
January 27, 2008