The Art of Mathematics

Mathematics requires creative thinking. Look at a problem, view it from learned perspectives and then think of a creative way to view it again. Visualize, imagine, play, experiment, rethink and do it all over again. Create a hypothesis, test it, wonder what is wrong, fix it then … do it all over again. Tweak your thoughts, expand your mind, look elsewhere for inspiration and apply new concepts to old problems, examine new tools, apply new tools, and do that all over again. Arithmetic is not mathematics. Using existing knowledge and reapplying it to the same problems is not mathematics. Mathematics is wondering.

Mathematics is creative play with ideas, shapes, formulas, spaces, machines, … the list will go on. Mathematics transforms a mind, expands it.

Primary grade teacher interupts a student lost in thought, "So what is 3 plus 3, Johnny?"

"Heck, I dunno." he says. "I'm imagining putting my Lego together. I had these three kits that I got for my birthday. I was really excited about them. ('Cause, I love Lego®.) Darn it all, my younger brothers lost pieces out of each one. I just want to play with my Lego. I was wondering what I can make with the pieces that I've got."

After his spoken musing, Johnny looked at the irritated teacher. She was concerned about Johhny's failing grade and it showed on her face. He saw three worry lines on his teacher's forehead and thought, "That's 1 worried teacher!"

"Oh, all right," he reacted to her furrowing brow and put more thought into her question. Quickly, he put up both of his hands; three fingers were raised on each hand. "2", he says, "three fingers on this hand and three fingers on this hand. That's two hands. So, 3 plus 3 is 2. Can I think about my Lego now?"

"Johnny!" snapped the teacher, "I think you should remember that 3 plus 3 is 6. You need to know this before you can move on."

"Oh, teacher," he said as he had already got back to his wondering about his Lego. "I really don't think I'm wrong. You know if I make one building out of my 3 Lego sets and if I do it again, I'll have 2 buildings. So, I just don't understand why you think 2 is a wrong answer."

(If you enjoyed this, you might enjoy reading Lego® Love. You'll see that I like playing with Lego in a different way, like Johnny, I think mathematics should be creative play.

Educator

An educator at heart, I love layering and mixing various media photographic, graphic images, sound and video, discussing varied philosophies, exploring user interface and software issues. I am curious about people's different reactions, particularly when it comes to design issues whether it is in a room or on a computer screen. I wonder how ergonomics, colour, light, word choice, placement affect people’s reactions; interested in helping to create an environment where people feel included and assisted rather than excluded and frightened. I am a multimedia artist for peace. I believe healthy relationships are likely the most important variable in one's life. I look forward to a time everyone truly is welcomed. Passionate to a point that I can be annoying, I simply try not to care, yet it is a strong likelihood that I withdraw until I alone build my courage back up. I believe an open mind is a healthy one; we should be able to talk about anything, learn as much as we can and die trying, love doing what we feel soul-bound to do before we expire. I am arrogant enough to believe I can help anyone … I stupidly don't stop trying. I believe kind words, the right music, poetics are best solutions in our fast-paced days; we too often forget to take our next biggest breath to keep on keeping on, to focus on the positive and when anger and pain get us down, that we realize the real work of living is learning to dissolve the negative thought. I repeat myself, rewrite old stories. When the day comes that I may ask what matters most to you, there is a strong likelihood that underneath it all, your response is also what matters the most to me. You can never be too young, too old, too immature, too inexperienced, or even too tired for me to find something that I can relate to you about. All that being said, what really grabs my attention is finding tools that allow my creative juices to flow and create things that allow me to inspire, motivate, and hopefully endure long past my lifetime. I want to be an occasional seed of thought in your mind that allows you to be happy and help you believe that no matter whom you are that the world is a better place because you are in it. Modeling the behaviour for others to follow is one of my steps to success. I am my own best teacher, revisiting my lessons, rereading my own words. My nothing is everything. I'm at a stage in my life when I like myself yet feel confused when others don’t. Shyly, I hide behind graphics and other icons; it is a rare photograph that you will see of me.