The Act of Getting There

It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment.

-Carl Gauss

Carl Gauss is the princeps mathematicorum (Prince of Mathematicians) and my personal mathematical hero. Someday I’ll write an ode to him. I’ll let you know when I do.

I love this quote because it reminds me to take joy in the process, not just the end result. Too often I overcommit myself, filling up my schedule with things to learn and accomplish until I get stressed managing it all. Today Gauss reminded me that I study not just to acquire information, but to grow my mind. I work not just for the wages I earn, but because I love what I do.

Instead of mindlessly rushing to get things done, I need to remind myself why I choose to do them in the first place. Today I resolve to step back, slow down, and enjoy each moment I spend learning and applying new knowledge.

I encourage you to do the same.

Fibonacci’s Biased Scarf

This scarf is totally biased. That’s not to say that it’s prejudiced, but that it was worked in the diagonal direction of the cloth.

My project was made from Julie Blagojevich’s free pattern Fibonacci’s Biased using Knit Picks Curio. The number of rows in each stripe is according to the numbers of the Fibonacci sequence up to 34. In other words, if you start at the blue side of the scarf and work your way right, the sequence of the number of yellow rows is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34. The sequence of the blue stripes are the same, but in the opposite direction. The effect is a rotationally symmetric scarf with few color changes at the edges and frequent color changes in the center. As I frequently tell my friends, math is beautiful.

If my geekiness hasn’t scared you away yet, here’s a random fun fact: my project was the 42nd one of this pattern to be posted on Ravelry! And as the computer Deep Thought so famously stated in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.

Happy Super Pi Day!

Mr. Albert Einstein, have a marvelous birthday.

And have a pie-ful Super Pi Day, everyone!

Mathcamp Essay

As I wrote in my last post, I’m applying to Mathcamp this year. I thought I’d share my application essay from last year, which describes some of my thoughts about math and explains why I want to go to Mathcamp.

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I sit in front of the computer with a package of nori, watching Vi Hart’s Gauss Christmath Special for the third time in a row. I shake with laughter until I almost choke, and I wonder what “the Euler characteristic of polyhedra homeomorphic to a sphere” is.

Origamists like Robert Lang can fold scaly fish, feathered birds, and detailed dragons with a single uncut square of paper. I stare at my modular stellated icosahedron and wonder if I could have folded it with 29 squares less.

Perched on the stepstool in the kitchen, I take pictures of the fractal-like pattern in the congealed bacon grease. My sister looks into the kitchen to see what I am doing. She looks at the dirty pan, shakes her head in disbelief, and leaves the room.

“Miranda, would you be interested in training for math competitions?” I ask one of my students. A fellow tutor and her pupils peer at me wonderingly. “Sure,” says Miranda, and my face lights up. I am eager to share about Pythagorean triples, modular arithmetic, and combinations.

Curled up in a chair in my living room, I am absorbed in The Art and Craft of Problem Solving by Paul Zeitz. “What are you reading?” asks a friend. “It’s an amazing book,” I say. My friend looks skeptical. “Amazing? It looks like math.” She doesn’t understand that math is amazing.

My mathematical biography has many anecdotes. However, as a homeschooled student, it is somewhat lacking in comrades and adventure. I would like to come to Mathcamp to find both. I imagine myself playing the puzzle hunt with kindred spirits who get up at the crack of dawn to do math. I picture hiking with intrepid mathletes. I envision learning about knot theory with a roomful of avid problem solvers. I would love to adventure with the Mathcamp community.

Goals for 2015

It’s almost March! Where did the time go? It’s a bit late to post New Year’s resolutions, but here are some of my goals for 2015.

Blog Goals:

1.  Get into the habit of blogging at least once a week

I haven’t been very consistent about posting, but I want my blog to document my thoughts, hobbies, and achievements, so I intend to update my blog more regularly this year.

2.  Write from the heart

Someone told me recently that my posts are more powerful when I write from the heart. I would like to make my posts more reflective.

Design Goals:

1.  Submit at least 12 pattern proposals to third party publications

Rather than self-publish lots of patterns this year, I’d like to get a few accepted to third party publications. This way, I can improve pattern writing skills by working with technical editors.

So far, I’ve submitted 4 pattern proposals this year. The first one was rejected, and the other three are still under review.

2.  Learn garment grading

I have lots of ideas for garment designs, but I’ve never resized a pattern before. I want to learn garment grading so people who are different sizes from me can wear my designs. I’ve heard grading includes spreadsheets and math, so I’m looking forward to learning!

3.  Work from a style sheet

4.  Self-publish one garment pattern in at least 5 sizes

I’d rather write one multi-sized garment pattern and write it well than rush myself and sacrifice quality.

5.  Design a logo

It will be knot-related, of course! I’m considering a motif using the trefoil knot, partly because in 2-D it looks like a lemniscate.

Other Goals:

1.  Knit a pi scarf

Some day, I want to take a break from crochet and learn to knit. I know a basic cast-on method and the knit stitch, but by the end of this year, I want to complete a double-knit project like this pi scarf.

2.  Practice Soroban 10 minutes daily

For Christmas, I requested and received a beautiful soroban, which is a Japanese abacus. I hope to improve my mental math skills by practicing calculations on it every day.

3.  Learn shorthand

Shorthand is fascinating to me, partly because it’s almost like writing in code. There are some free Handywrite lessons at http://www.alysion.org/handy/handywrite.htm and I’ll probably get started with those.

4.  Read at least 3 of Shakespeare’s histories

I love Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies, but it dawned on me this year that I haven’t read any of his histories. (Does Julius Caesar count?)

5.  Qualify for the AIME

High on my list of things to accomplish in high school is to qualify for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination. To qualify, I need to score 120+ on the AMC 10 or 100+ on the AMC 12. I’ve already taken the AMC 10A this year, and I didn’t score high enough, but the 12B is yet to come.

6.  Go to Mathcamp

When I told my friend Jacob that I wanted to go to Mathcamp this year, his eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open. “Mathcamp?” he asked. “Is that a thing?”

Yes, Mathcamp is a “thing.” It’s a five week summer program for high school students who love math. Students are free to choose from a number of activities, including classes on topics like knot theory and the mathematics of origami, problem solving contests, and research in pairs. I think it sounds awesome – Jacob isn’t as impressed.