Pause To Reflect, Paws To Count

We keep telling this story, and every time it makes me laugh.

When hubby was writing about mustaches, and dogs wearing them, he wrote:

one of our dogs is horribly stupid, and would probably injure herself trying to use the toy improperly.

What he intended to do was offer a photo of our stupid dog, but he selected the post in which she, Toodles "Squirrel Face" Davidson III, is next to a giant calculator. Which to me, seems to imply that the dog is so dumb, she needs to use a calculator as opposed to a dog being able to do math in its head. lol



Ween, on the other hand, is probably smart enough to use an abacus (yes, we own one); not that I'd ever be able to get a photo of that.

One Fortune Cookie Night

What with all our blended family & travel necessities, our immediate family opens their gifts during the week of holiday vacation the kids have. This year, before opening our gifts, we went out to dinner at the Chinese restaurant and gorged on the all-you-can-eat buffet. On the way out, we passed the box where you can help yourself to an after dinner fortune cookie.

"Just one," I reminded the kids.

"Awwww," whined Hunter, the nine year old.

"Awwww," I mimicked back.

Reaching in for just one, Hunter whimpered, "But one is the loneliest number."

Well played, boo; well played.

He still only got to take one cookie. But he delighted me with his comedic timing charmed me proving that he does remember and enjoy our musical adventures.

I'm guessing the fact that we all laughed and told him how funny he is was even more satisfying than those additional cookies would have been anyway.

Girls Who Hate Math

"I hate math."

"Yeah, I hate math too."

That's daughter A to daughter B. Two girls, very different, now sisters via a marriage that takes male parent of A, adds it to the female parent of B, to equal a family of 5 - give or take an error percentage of 1.

(The error percentage refers to the youngest child, male, who is shuffled between 2 states -- two states in the United States of America, not like 'two states of matter,' solid or gas...)

That's our family math. These two girls, who really are sisters (willing to kill one minute, giggling & working together to topple the parents the next), are very different. Yet they can agree on the hatred of mathematics.

It seems to me that most girls say they hate math. And math being such a large part of science, many girls say they hate science too. Which is sad, for both these girls are naturals at science.

They question.

They ask for proof.

They are fascinated to see things work.

Hell, they laugh at examples of gravity - i.e. people falling down.

They just don't see how science is everywhere. Or how it could be. And if they did, they'd avoid it like the plague -- just because it involved math.

Math is really a small part of science. It's merely the language of measurement. And unlike most languages, it has rules of order & arrangement which do not change.

You never hear of "1 + 1 = 2, except after 50."

You memorize even numbers: say 2,4,6,8 -- there is no "& sometimes 7."

There are no tricks. For example, you need not worry about the silent 3 in 5,446.

Math is the language of measurement, & the easiest part of science really. It's the part that never changes; it's constant, consistent & clear.

The difficulty in science is all the 'other stuff.' The ability to question. The ability to frame the question in a framework which can be measured. The ability to rebound when the measurement isn't enough evidence to support or disprove your question.

But these are all the areas the girls excel:

They question regularly.

They love to weasel their way out of the rules, and so could easily re-work a question to fit their needs.

They often fall & get back up again.

All they need to do now, is see that math is a reliable way to talk about it all.

They sure love to talk...