{"id":6026,"date":"2004-03-05T18:55:11","date_gmt":"2004-03-05T18:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/"},"modified":"2004-03-05T18:55:11","modified_gmt":"2004-03-05T18:55:11","slug":"math-is-dead-lo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/","title":{"rendered":"Math<\/span> is dead.  Long live math<\/span>."},"content":{"rendered":"\u23f3 Approximate reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> min<\/span><\/span>

Friday evening.  Lugging the end-of-term grading load has rendered me
\ntoo tired to report on the first fifty pages of Milgram’s Obedience to
\nAuthority<\/i>.  I picked up a dusty copy from the library shelf yesterday
\nmorning after class.  Found time to read some over coffee this
\nmorning.  Collin’s
\nentry<\/a> is helping me think about agentic shift<\/i> from several different
\nangles. More on that sometime this weekend, I hope.<\/p>\n

For now, I just want to share a comment Ph. made when he got home this
\nafternoon.  He and I have been spending late afternoons before D. gets home
\nfrom student-teaching, working on math.  The latest feat: drilling through
\nmultiplying and dividing mixed fractions.  So today he mentioned that
\nthey’ve started a new section–repeating decimals.  He summarized the
\nlesson: "you just put a line over the number to show that it keeps going
\nforever."<\/p>\n

Forever?  Wha?!  We traded one of our usual banters where I act
\nsurprised by something taught in the school.  It’s not a serious, deep, or
\nundercutting skepticism (usually); it’s more of a game meant to tease out the
\nlessons, to reinforce the in-school learning.  So I asked him what forever<\/i>
\nmeans in mathematical terms.  "If you couldn’t use the overline to
\nshow that it goes forever, when would it end?  It can’t really go on
\nendlessly, can it?" <\/p>\n

Ph.: Probably not.
\nMe: So when do you think a repeating decimal ends?
\nPh.:  When math is dead, I guess.
\nMe:  *nothing to say…long pause*  That’s an answer I won’t argue
\nagainst. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u23f3 Approximate reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> min<\/span><\/span>Friday evening.  Lugging the end-of-term grading load has rendered me too tired to report on the first fifty pages of Milgram’s Obedience to Authority.  I picked up a dusty copy from the library shelf yesterday morning after class.  Found time to read some over coffee this morning.  Collin’s entry is helping me think about agentic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[162],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ground_swell"],"yoast_head":"\nMath is dead.  Long live math. - Earth Wide Moth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Math is dead.  Long live math. - Earth Wide Moth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u23f3 Approximate reading time: < 1 minFriday evening.  Lugging the end-of-term grading load has rendered me too tired to report on the first fifty pages of Milgram’s Obedience to Authority.  I picked up a dusty copy from the library shelf yesterday morning after class.  Found time to read some over coffee this morning.  Collin’s entry is helping me think about agentic...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Earth Wide Moth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/derek.mueller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/derek.mueller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2004-03-05T18:55:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Derek Mueller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Derek Mueller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Derek Mueller\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b\"},\"headline\":\"Math is dead.  Long live math.\",\"datePublished\":\"2004-03-05T18:55:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":290,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Ground Swell\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/\",\"name\":\"Math is dead.  Long live math. - Earth Wide Moth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2004-03-05T18:55:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/2004\\\/03\\\/05\\\/math-is-dead-lo\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Math is dead.  Long live math.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Earth Wide Moth\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b\",\"name\":\"Derek Mueller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480\",\"width\":1220,\"height\":480,\"caption\":\"Derek Mueller\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.derekmueller.net\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/derek.mueller\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/dereknmueller\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/dnmueller\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.earthwidemoth.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/dmueller\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Math is dead.  Long live math. - Earth Wide Moth","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Math is dead.  Long live math. - Earth Wide Moth","og_description":"\u23f3 Approximate reading time: < 1 minFriday evening.  Lugging the end-of-term grading load has rendered me too tired to report on the first fifty pages of Milgram’s Obedience to Authority.  I picked up a dusty copy from the library shelf yesterday morning after class.  Found time to read some over coffee this morning.  Collin’s entry is helping me think about agentic...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/","og_site_name":"Earth Wide Moth","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/derek.mueller","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/derek.mueller","article_published_time":"2004-03-05T18:55:11+00:00","author":"Derek Mueller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Derek Mueller","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/"},"author":{"name":"Derek Mueller","@id":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b"},"headline":"Math is dead.  Long live math.","datePublished":"2004-03-05T18:55:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/"},"wordCount":290,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b"},"articleSection":["Ground Swell"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/","url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/","name":"Math is dead.  Long live math. - Earth Wide Moth","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2004-03-05T18:55:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2004\/03\/05\/math-is-dead-lo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Math is dead.  Long live math."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/","name":"Earth Wide Moth","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66fc5e80a62f53057760790b1cfeb24b","name":"Derek Mueller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480","width":1220,"height":480,"caption":"Derek Mueller"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-bmartwork.png?fit=1220%2C480"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.derekmueller.net\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/derek.mueller","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dereknmueller\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/dnmueller"],"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/author\/dmueller\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7tdGk-1zc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6261,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2005\/03\/09\/5\/","url_meta":{"origin":6026,"position":0},"title":"5","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"March 9, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Yoga poses: fish I, dog, rolled leaf, cowface posture, bear.\u00a0 None of it helped.\u00a0 I started my day with some of this serenity stuff and I've been doubly-stressed all damn day long.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Oh heck, maybe it started with the meeting last night at Ph.'s high school to be.\u00a0 He's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dry Ogre Chalking"","block_context":{"text":"Dry Ogre Chalking","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/dry_ogre_chalking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6487,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/01\/17\/bedeviled\/","url_meta":{"origin":6026,"position":1},"title":"Hexagonal","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"January 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Today in sixes: 6.1. Number of hours in seminars (GEO781 followed by CCR712 after a 15-minute break). 6.2. So I went to the gym.\u00a0 The guy I was guarding...he dunked six times in two games.\u00a0 All on fast breaks, but still.\u00a0 6.3 Number of times I thought to myself, Am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Slouching Toward"","block_context":{"text":"Slouching Toward","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/slouching_toward\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7166,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/18\/maths-of-the-ev\/","url_meta":{"origin":6026,"position":2},"title":"Maths of the Everyday","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"November 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Number of tow truck drivers I kidded with about the snow on Monday morning: 1 Number of blocked shots I hope to tally at this evening's weekly pick-up game: 8 Number of WC consultations earlier today that had me wishing our table had a dish 'o mints on it: 1\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Methods"","block_context":{"text":"Methods","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/method\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6640,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/10\/31\/ispod\/","url_meta":{"origin":6026,"position":3},"title":"Ispod","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"October 31, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Just two sets of treat-seekers tonight and zero tricks. D. and Ph. stopped next door so that baby-do could get some mileage from her costume, and the neighbors said they'd had twenty-five kids solicit the candy. Why the drop-off when we're just one house away? Who knows. Maybe the meek\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Unspecified"","block_context":{"text":"Unspecified","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/unspecified\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Peabody","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.flickr.com\/108\/285333536_a1b3099bc0_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7347,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/27\/rhetorico-radia\/","url_meta":{"origin":6026,"position":4},"title":"Rhetorical Radiants","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"April 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Fourth reactor at Chernobyl exploded just before my twelfth birthday, late April, 1986--25 years ago yesterday. Is the math right? For me that's almost a half-life ago. Now, I'm no scholar of nuclear accidents, but I am interested in the emerging narratives about the Fukushima aftermath that position it in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dry Ogre Chalking"","block_context":{"text":"Dry Ogre Chalking","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/dry_ogre_chalking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6217,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2005\/01\/22\/patch-footograp\/","url_meta":{"origin":6026,"position":5},"title":"Patch Footography","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"January 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Warning: nasty ankle photo herein. In the spirit of nearly copying (but not quite) my esteemed professor who has dangled brightly manicured toes on her internet weblog, I'm showing you what I've been doing all day with my sprained ankle, the (naturally) purple balloon of inexorable pain that it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Slouching Toward"","block_context":{"text":"Slouching Toward","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/slouching_toward\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Warning","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/img\/warning.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6026\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}