Speaking of creativity in math...
This poem has been on my regular website for quite some time, but my friend and co-author Amanda and I have just decided to release it under a Creative Commons license so that any educators can feel free to use it with their classes. (Google searches suggest some already have.)
The poem came about because at the end of our Calculus AB class, our teacher asked all of us to write a letter to next year's incoming class about what they could expect from it. This was one of the occasions where creativity and math nicely intersected, and instead of an ordinary letter Amanda and I wrote the poem.
Our teacher really liked it, and had us make a tape of us reading it. From what I understand, the poem then entered Ridgewood High School Calculus Class lore, having been used for many years subsequently (along with the great folk song some students wrote in the 70s reminding us that it's "low-de-hi, minus hi-de-low" when dividing derivatives. In fact, I remember visiting my teacher several years after graduation and her introducing me to some students as one of the authors of the poem. They were clearly impressed.
Anyway, in the spirit of law professor David Kopel's semi-recent post on the Volokh Conspiracy about calculus jokes, the new license, and the earlier post about math in Ridgewood, I thought I'd point out my contribution to it here.
Comments (1)
Not to be outdone, the MIT cheer:
(taken from here, but also all around the internet (duh)):
Beaver:
I'm a Beaver!
All:
You're a Beaver! We are Beavers all,
And when we get together, we do the beaver call!
e to the u, du dx, e to the x, dx;
cosine, secant, tangent, sine, 3.14159;
integral, radical, mu, dv;
slipstick, sliderule, MIT! Go Tech!
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Also done at MIT football games, where the 12 fans in attendance go nuts when performed.
Posted by Koichi | June 17, 2007 8:19 AM
Posted on June 17, 2007 08:19