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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-11-10, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2011. PAGE 5. If memory serves, I spent just one high school year studying the subject of geometry. One period a day, five days a week, 40 minutes per period. The experience was nauseating, terrifying and bewildering. I can honestly say that I hated every single second. And here is the sum total of what I remember from that year of study: In a right- angled triangle, the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides. Now ask me how many times, in the decades since, I have needed to know anything at all about squares on triangles. Or hypotenuses. I think this is probably the first time I have ever used the word ‘hypotenuse’ since those dreary, dreadful days of geometry class. I also have, in the dustbin that passes for my mind, vague memories of things called sines and cosines, logarithms and quadratic equations. Today, I wouldn’t know a quadratic equation from a quadriplegic Klingon. Nevertheless, I was doomed to spend uncountable hours in geometry, algebra, trigonometry and calculus classes having higher mathematical esoterica drilled in to my skull Well, not so much ‘drilled into’ as ‘ricocheted off’. It seems I am genetically impervious to the joys of mathematics. All those propositions and equations pinged off my brainpan like BBs off a tin roof. Trying to teach me higher math was a colossal waste of time – both the teachers’ and mine. The difference was, the teachers were getting paid. Aside from the misery, there have been two long-term detrimental effects for me. Number one, I have always felt guilty about my arithmetical impotence. Number two, I rear and freak like a spooked horse at the merest sight of numbers I’m expected to do something with. Figure out my bank balance? GAAAAH! Calculate my height in centimetres? Mercy! Decide which coat to choose when the weather forecast says ‘20-kilometre winds and a high of plus seven’? I give up – wear a parka and prepare to sweat. I’m not belittling mathematics per se. The writer Don De Lillo defines mathematics as “what the world is when we subtract our own perceptions” – and I’m okay with that. I’m also aware that one of the great scientific treatises of the renaissance was a book called Ars Magna (The Great Art). It was subtitled The Rules of Algebra. Fine. No argument. I’m just saying that mathematics and me equals The Date from Hell. Turns out I can finally let the guilt go. An item in a recent issue of the New York Times says that algebra, trig and calculus instruction is wasted on students who have no aptitude for higher math – indeed, on anyone not heading for a career in engineering or science. What makes the article compelling is the fact that the two authors, Sol Garfunkel and David Mumford, are career mathematicians, which is to say they know their Ars Magna from a hole in the ground. They make the argument that society would be much better served if math duds like me given a course in what they call ‘quantitative literacy’, which is to say, we should have been taught the basics of handling our own finances, plus relatively straightforward concepts such as percentages, probability and risk. In other words, mathematics that could actually be useful as opposed to, say, squares on the hypotenuses of right-angled triangles. Makes sense to me. Last year, a spokeswoman for The Vanier Institute of the Family announced that when you factor in mortgages, credit cards debt and lines of credit, the average Canadian family is carrying $100,000 in debt. Perhaps with a better grounding in basic math, more folks would figure out that maxing out their Visa or American Express and paying a Mafia-worthy interest rate of 20 per cent on the balance is actually kind of a crummy deal. You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to get that. Speaking of whom, can you explain what the most famous equation of all time – E=mc squared – actually means? Me neither. But don’t feel bad. Somebody once said, “Since the mathematicians have attacked the Relativity Theory, I myself no longer understand it.” The somebody who said that was Albert Einstein. Arthur Black Other Views Writer has no head for figures Earlier this year at my friend Scott’s wedding the priest handed out a few marriage tips. Among them were keeping your man well fed and keeping your woman well complimented. He said, essentially, that no one likes a complainer. So for every time a man complains, he should compliment his wife five times to keep the complaint/compliment ratio in balance. If that’s true, let’s just say Jess must have a reserve of a few thousand compliments she’s expecting one of these days. I, like many other people, complain a lot about things. In fact, I often do it in this very space, complaining about what annoys me in day-to-day life. However, every once in a while you read something or see something that makes you catch your breath before that next complaint comes out of your mouth and you realize that perhaps there are more important issues at work in the world. In this issue of The Citizen, a Blyth native and Corporal in the Canadian Armed Forces Nathan Loder says “People complain about unimportant things: they have so much to be thankful for. Their lives are not in constant danger; they are not starving; their future potential is almost unlimited. It’s insulting to me when I’ve risked my life and many others have given their lives to hear them complain about some little thing they don’t have. Is this why we fought? Is this what freedom means?” Strong, thought-provoking words to be sure. And you have to wonder how many other soldiers feel as Loder does. Often soldiers stay mum on many issues after being deployed and returning to their home country. It’s refreshing to hear someone speak their mind about how their outlook on life has changed after experiencing war. Loder spent time in Afghanistan sleeping in the dirt, battling debilitating illness with no showers or laundry for weeks at a time. A bright spot for him during his deployment was a care package from a loved one that may have contained gum, an energy drink or some candy. Now back in Canada, Loder says, “It’s so nice to have a house with furniture and doors and running water and a yard. I realize how great these things are after living without them for a while.” Now who among us complaining after eating too much Halloween candy or what our cell phones leave to be desired aren’t hanging our heads in shame? There are countless similar complaints running through the world on a day-to-day basis and when Loder’s time in Afghanistan is taken into consideration, one can’t help but question the relevance of such complaints. So while on Remembrance Day, our minds are often overrun with stories of the brave men and women who served in The First and Second World Wars, and rightfully so, there also should be time to consider today’s soldiers serving in today’s conflicts and how we honour them by celebrating our freedom in Canada. Upon their return, are these soldiers seen as the heroes they are? Or is there still a ranking system classifying some soldiers as higher than others on a scale of sacrifice? So tomorrow while at the Remembrance Day service or while pinning your poppy over your heart, please remember to honour not just the names etched in stone at the cenotaph, but the young men and women lying in Middle- Eastern dirt to sleep right now. Honour not only those who gave their lives decades ago to make Canada the great nation it is, but those who are giving their lives right now to continue this country’s great legacy. Remember the present By the time these words are read outside of the office Remembrance Day will be a day or two away. I always wonder do people remember what they’re supposed to on Remembrance Day? Do they remember the sacrifices of those both with us and those not. Do they recall that our entire way of life was one founded on, and arrived at by, a road paved with the blood, sweat and tears of young men and women and their families who have always and continue to fight tyranny? Or do they simply stare at their shoes when asked to bow their head in silence and wonder when they can get on with the rest of their day. I can admit that in my youth I really didn’t understand the need for silence and the need for bowing ones’ head. Despite the fact that I have a grandfather who was in the Royal Canadian Air Force, I didn’t understand why we glorified the contributions of men and women who went to war when all I ever heard about was how we shouldn’t use violence to solve problems and how war was an evil. What I didn’t understand then and what I hope students understand better now is that there is always a grey area. Sometimes, a villain can’t be reasoned with, sometimes they simply want to see the world burn and sometimes the only thing that can be done is to fight. It is then we must take up arms against the foes, not of any particular nation, but of every person. When anyone is killed due to political ideology or racial division, when a murder occurs because one ruler wants more land than another, we are all weakened by it. It is for that reason that we thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. But it is also for that reason that we must remember to thank the veterans and service people that we still have with us today. They gave, or are giving, their youth and their lives to protect us. This may be showing a bit of shade of my neck, but looking at the people in my life who have or are serving, I found a greater appreciation for one of Toby Keith’s songs: “I just work straight through the holidays, And sometimes all night long. You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door. Hey, I’m solid, hey I’m steady, hey I’m true down to the core, and I will always do my duty, no matter what the price. I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice. Oh, and I don't want to die for you, but if dying’s asked of me, I’ll bear that cross with an honour, ‘cause freedom don't come free.” Sure, he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I dare anyone to read those lyrics and not feel a sense of gratitude to the people who fight for us. In an age where violence, firearms, explosives and war are glorified in movies, video games, books and television shows, it becomes even more important to remember. Everyone needs to be reminded that before the World Wars, the Korean conflicts and the Cold Wars of this world were fodder for serial novels and first-person shooters they were real events with real combatants, real casualties and real lives ruined, ended and cut short. Before Korea inspired the antics of the 4077th on MASH it was a conflict where guerilla warfare resulted in the deaths of as many as 1.5 million people. That’s as if more than half of the people in Toronto just suddenly died. So when the moment comes to sit in silence and remember, don’t think about what to make for dinner tonight, what homework you have to do or the honey-do list waiting for you at home. Remember those in your family, those in friends’ families and those in your community who have given their all for their country. Remember those who have lost everything for their country. Remember those who every day dread a man in uniform coming to their door and saying their significant other won’t be coming home. Remember those who have to fight the same battles over and over again in their mind because while they came home from those wars and conflicts, a part of them will never come back. Remember every person who served their country in every way when “the wolf growls at the door.” And most importantly, especially for someone like me, is to remember that, regardless of your stance on a military action undertaken by your nation, the soldiers themselves don’t have a lot of say. They are told where to go. It’s their job. Remember them for the sacrifices they’re willing to make regardless of whether you agree with the actions they’re instructed to take. Shawn Loughlin Shawn’s Sense Denny Scott Denny’s Den Bow your head and remember On November 11 REMEMBER